Poechenellekelder

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Visited in March with friends and my wife. Great location right next to the Mannekin pis. Although it was a bit colder and rainy at the time we visited, in the nice weather they have what looks to be a great patio right in front of the bar so this would be a perfect cafe to do some people watching in Brussels.

Although it is right next to one of the biggest tourist attractions in Brussels, we were able to walk in on a Friday afternoon and found a table for 4 with no problem.

I immediately noticed the old Westvleteren crates when you walk in the door and all kinds of mannekins hanging from the ceiling and other cool breweriana on the walls. There were also lots of Mannekin Pis related items on the wall including a little poster or cartoon of the Mannekin pissing on peoples heads. That was funny to see.

The bottle selection seemed to be well thought out at over 100 I would estimate. There was a nice selection of lambic beers, a bunch of the standard tourist beers like Kwak, Lindeman's, etc but still all fine beers. I have a few beers including a Malheur 12 and an Achel.

The service was pretty good as well. The waiter took time to answer some questions we had with beers on the menu.

This will be a definite stop on return trips to Brussels.

05-18-2008 08:10:44 | More by ggaughan

Travlr

District of Columbia

4.05/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Just off the Grand Place. Puppet theme with a strange collection of costumes and props. Good beer selection, not huge but very well chosen with occasional rare finds. Very decent food, lots of good cheeses, staff have good recommendations for what cheese goes with what beer. Mostly young and inexperienced waitstaff, but very friendly, especially by Brussels standards. Don't bend down to pick up the two euro coin on the stairs - it's nailed down! Great for watching tourists go berserk over that puny ridiculous statue.

11-08-2009 02:23:39 | More by Travlr

gfreed

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

A great place for a number of reasons, some of which actually relate to beer. There are puppets hanging everywhere; some are monks, some are clowns; I saw death hanging just over my own table. And it's dark, so don't expect to be able to read your phrasebook or your map. This evening, the music selections were interesting: lounge-jazz renditions of 1970s hits like "Smoke on the Water" and "Stairway to Heaven." Well.

If you get a table in the front, you can watch the hordes of people taking pictures and posing in front of the Manneken Pis which, for whatever reason, became the symbol of Brussels many years ago. I am a former adolescent boy, yet even I fail to see the attraction. If there wasn't a fence around it I'm sure people would be lining up to drink from the stream. Prove yourself a real grown-up: skip it and head here instead.

The food offerings are limited: cheese, soup and a few pasta dishes. I had the spaghetti Bolognese, which was packed into a small, attractive dish and buried under a blizzard of parmesan cheese. My daughter would have loved it. The sauce was light, the pasta was well-cooked and the cheese was... well, cheesy.

Excellent beer list, both tap and bottles. I had a Forest Blonde (bottle) and a Slagh lager (tap); the waitress didn't know who made it. The former was a pale ale that tasted nearly like a German lager; the latter was rather eh-- somewhat like a fair Pilsner but a lot fruitier.

The service is spare-- you'll be left alone once you order, so if you want another round you'll have to make yourself known. The Sunday night I was there it was quite busy; even so I managed to stay for a hour with nobody pushing me out the door. This is clearly a local favorite, based on the number of children and dogs in the restaurant. Very homey. Everybody smokes and the ashtrays are full. At first I thought the smoke might ruin the beer for me but I soon found that it only added to the atmosphere. Absolutely put this on your beer tour.

11-15-2009 18:03:36 | More by gfreed

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped here on part of a pub crawl in Brussels. Sitting outside on what I was told one of the nicest nights in Belgium all season. The outdoor cafe which is right next to Manekin Pis. In side it gets a bit creepy because this place used to be a puppet theater and they have puppets everywhere. Nice old wood and dim lighting makes this place feel very quaint. Just remember if you are sitting outside and have to go to the bathroom, it is inside, upstairs, through the bar, pass the creepy dummy sitting at a table, down the stairs passed the old stage with beer signs behind glass, make a right and there you go, but watch there is a window so people can watch as they come down the stairs. Anyway, I think the service was good, a bit overwhelming I am sure with a dozen Americans asking questions but he did good. A very nice selection of stuff I knew and never heard of. Lambics served in the basket and proper glassware all day.

09-29-2011 21:02:49 | More by OWSLEY069

SevaTse

New Hampshire

4.09/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Decent enough place. Huge bottle selection, and three drafts, which were all quality (had them all). They bring you a chex mix type snack with your beers. A nice spot to sit outside right across from the Maniken Pils. Good people watching/ relaxing atmosphere. Even cooler inside, but I wasn't gonna sit there on a nice day like that. Just like other places in the vicinity, it's close to major tourist attractions, and thus won't require a special trip.

They do not accept credit cards, so plan accordingly.

05-31-2010 04:11:24 | More by SevaTse

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

August 2007: Our first afternoon and last evening in Brussels were spent at the Poechenellekelder.

Incredibly easy to find it is located just down the well marked Rue Du Chêne, which extends in a direct line from the Grand Place. One minute's walk will take you to the infamous statue which has become logo of the city, the Mannekin Pis. Across from which you will easily notice an outside patio of 15 or so tables as well as the large sign which boldly boast the name you cannot pronounce.

At the door you'll be greeted with three chalkboards that showcase their selection of beers "blonde, ambree, and brune" as well as an extensive list of lambics. The selection isn't incredibly large, more than 50 in any case as well as 5 or so on tap. It does, however, hold a lot in depth; their selection of lambics especially which offers the guezes and krieks of all the authentic lambic makers (De Cam, Cantillon, Boon, Drie Fonteinen, so on) The prices I wouldn't consider cheap, but I would consider reasonable.

I believe what actually drew us in was our noses. The place smelt incredible and turned our appetites on like a switch. Misleadingly and a little to our disappointment the food menu is quite small - I believe 3 or so things (lasagna, spaghetti and in the winter only - soup de jour). Fortunately, however, the food came very quickly, in very fair portion and was very tasty! They also carry an essential variety of 8 or cheeses.

As you walk up a small winding staircase into the first of two rooms within, you're guided the whole way by cases of Belle Vue Gueze 1992 (which they still offer at a price of 40 euros) and stacked crates of empty Westvleteren bottles (the top one always missing one bottle so as to tease you, leaving you to wonder "maybe they have just one left for me still!") There are Jeroboams of Chimay and Duvel with years of candle wax melted down the sides. The ceiling too has crates of beer hanging upside down. The rest of the ambiance is quite kitschy, but openly kitschy. Beer memorabilia, a collection of Mannekin Pis replicas, collectors outfits that once adorned the little boy, and (an almost eerie) collection of marionettes and life size puppets. (Beware, the owner can control them via strings behind the bar. I've seen him scare people by dong it - it's quite, quite funny!) The music was always well suited and contributed to the ambiance. It consisted often of a "jazzy" nature but varied from rag-time piano, to 1930's blues, to the new Tony Bennett compilation.

The environment is really what pleased me the most. (Granted, my Drie Fontenein Kriek was exciting) but there was a liveliness and energy to the people within. Strikingly there were no tourists! The two tables beside us were business people, conducting their work meeting over a round of eight and nine percent beers (oh, the culture there!) The tables behind us were combined to fit a large family, 12 or so people with every generation (right down to the well behaved 2 year old) present and in good spirits.

Our impression with the service was initially not great. Our first visit, at lunch time, saw the place go from quiet to busy rather quickly. There was only one waiter serving well over 25 people. Needless to say getting his attention was not easy, and we were left waiting quite, quite long for our second drink. Our second visit produced the same problem, this time an evening crew of 2 waiters to serve approximately 50 people (we'd soon remark this seems to be custom in Belgium to overwork the servers.)

That second trip I eventually had the pleasure of talking in detail with our waiter about their selection, and of Belgian beer culture in general. He was incredibly knowledgeable and took great pride in his establishment and the quality and selection of what they offered.

I was left with a very positive feel form the Poechenellekelder. There is good number and immense quality to their beer list, making selecting something both too hard and too easy. The atmosphere is both social and cozy, and for the most part there is a curious absence of tourists. With it's location so conveniently located close to the Grand Place (and across from the Mannekin Pis) there is no excuse really not to find time to stop in for at least a drink or two. I certainly plan to my next visit.

08-20-2007 13:28:21 | More by biegaman

BucBasil

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Location is great - right next to the ridiculous Mannekin is. Interesting decor seems to focus on costumes and puppets and a small section dedicated to Mannekin Pis. Strange. Another room is cluttered with random beer related stuff, including a whole crate of Orval stuck upside down on the the ceiling. Quiet somewhat older crowd, mixed between beer and coffee drinker. The beer list is great, separated into about 20 browns, 15 ambers, most of the trappists, and what seems to be 40 or so blondes. There's a section dedicated to lambics and sours as well.

This was a good place to take a little stop while waiting for the rain to pass, and it was right where I was so not an out of the way place at all. Pretty reasonably priced, and the tap offerings were good as well.

11-05-2010 20:40:58 | More by BucBasil

garbercury

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I really liked this place, probably my favorite in Brussels in terms of bars. Find the Mannequin Pis, turn right and there she is...

A--A little smoky. Check out the Mannequins, they are a trip. Be careful a few of them enjoy a good beer when you are not watching it.

Q--Clean and as is the case with any good belgian bar, they use the proper classware

S--Top notch, great server (theatrics and all) knew their beer and the owner greeted me a week later on my second visit like an old friend. I like that.

S--Nothing terribly mind blowing, but certainly high quality and more than enough to keep you happy for sure!

F--Mmmmm...Chimay cheese. Enough said.

Definitely a must stop when in Brussels.

02-27-2009 00:26:22 | More by garbercury

jasonm

Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Literally across the road from the Mannekin Pis statue. I stumbled across this place while doing my touristy walking around the Grand Place area.

The inside decore is modern kitsch, with all sorts of marionettes and such handing from the ceiling. Being it was a beautiful summer day (~23/75 degrees) I choose to sit out on the patio and watch the tourists go by. Being back in the more narrow byways its nice and shady in the afternoon too.

The server was friendly and chatted with me about Chouffe based on my selection of the Houblen Double IPA Trippel. The Chouffe came with a Magic Chouffe tulip and the server did a commendable job of pouring since the Houblon was pretty lively. Selection is good from an American POV with about 60 or so choices. Prices seemed a bit high tho.

Definitely worth a stop in while doing the tourist thing while visiting Brussels.

06-28-2006 16:36:46 | More by jasonm

GreenCard

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5

This place is simply fantastic. I'm a bit irked that I haven't been to it until now (only two months from when I will move from Brussels to the UK), so I will most certainly be coming back here a few times before my departure.

The dark wood and candle-light ambience is made even more enchanting when you take a gander at all of the great memorabilia that covers every inch of wall-space and some floor-space as well. Some tables have life-size costumed mannekins sitting at them and you have all the Belgian puppet artifacts hanging on the walls. Also hard to miss are the medieval cross-bows and a pike (long-spear) with some stuffed mice perched on it. There are essentially four levels to this place if you count the chairs outside on the sidewalk. Inside there are three separate levels. The tables downstairs in the back are Singer sewing stations with the sewing machines still in place.

The selection is respectable, though not boastfully quantitative as there are "only" 71 beers on the menu (14 of them lambic products). They have a wide selection of the more mainstream Belgian beers (Leffe, Chimay, Duvel, etc) balanced out with a lot of the more artisanal ones. A newly published beer-guide I had reported that this place had draft Giradin, but this turned out to not be the case (when we visited, anyway). We ordered a bottle each of Girardin Black label which was served in small pouring baskets (a memorable image for the "unitiated"). Some of the more touristy tourists in the place were craning their necks to see what it was we had before turning back to face their pedestrian glass of Chimay.

Service was speedy on this Saturday afternoon, but that would be expected on a slow Saturday evening when there are two waitresses on duty. Though we did not try any, the food menu was wide-ranging but mainly "petite restauration" (snacky stuff like cheese or meat plates). This makes it a great place to go before heading off to another restaurant for a full dinner.

07-04-2004 10:02:23 | More by GreenCard