Delirium Café

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

5/5  rDev +20.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Wonderful! We were in Brussels in February of 2012, doing the tourist thing. I sent the family to a nearby restaurant while I ran in here to have a few beers. It was practically empty. I told the bartender to bring me what he thought best, and I had three of the best beers I've ever had. Great service, wonderful beer.

02-24-2013 23:47:00 | More by Beerstorian

Roman5150

Michigan

4.66/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | $$$

Sort of large pub, lot's of stuff on the wall, diverse crowd, great atmosphere, and most importantly amazing selection of beer (pretty sure it's biggest in the world). They had 2,004 when I went. Went on a Thursday night, very packed, mostly people in mid 20's low 30's, but a lot of older people as well surprisingly. It get's very packed, met some people from Norway and South Africa, and we each shared respective beers from our home countries, twas awesome. Beer drinkers from other parts of the world love American Craft Beer! Pretty much every type of beer you could imagine, didn't really bother looking at any imports from the USA so I couldn't tell you what they stocked over there, but why the hell would you want to drink that in Brussels anyways? Had some sort of coconut beer served in a wonderful coconut shell (that you can keep), not sure on the name as me and my friend pulled the complete idiot card and asked the bartenders for the "coconut beer" as we saw it was quite popular.

If you ever go here, be sure to try their signature Tremens on tap. If you've ever had this out of a bottle, having it on tap makes it one of my favorite all time beers. Amazing. Try not to drink too many though, they sneak up on you.

Price isn't off the wall, but for being so close to Grand Place, it's about what you would expect to pay for a place this popular in that location. If you have time to stop and admire the square, you have time to pop over and give this big pub a minute.

04-07-2013 02:35:32 | More by Roman5150

PhillyStyle

Georgia

3.6/5  rDev -13%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited in June 2012:

I must say, I was supremely disappointed with my stop here. My wife and I visited one rainy evening in Brussels and the first thing that you notice is how big the place is. The next thing that comes to mind is how much it looks like a college bar. Now, while I was in college, I loved those places, but not now.

We find a place to sit and a menu and start to look through it, we pick a couple beers and I head to the bar. I tell the man what I would like; he draws them from the tap and tells me how much they are. I had to ask him twice, which beer was which. I guess he expected me to know the difference, even though both looked relatively similar. The beers were not served in proper glassware. As others have noted, the menu is huge and frankly, I didn't find it all that useful. The service could have been a lot better, and the place was just too loud. Overall, I am glad that I went for the experience, but given my choice, I would go to any of the pubs that we stopped at in Brussels before I would go back here.

11-08-2012 21:16:16 | More by PhillyStyle

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

4.05/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$$

I finally made it to the actual Delirium Cafe after four attempts. And now I'm a bit disappointed compared to the hype. The beer is served well and I'm enjoying the destination, but it's Saturday night, the music is loud, and the youngsters are starting to tie one on. I sit quietly with ear plugs in to survive. Lots of energy in the place, but not the beer geek mecca of legend. The upstairs Hoppy Loft lives up to that reputation better than the Cafe.

To start, I get a draft of Buffalo Belgian Stout by Br. van den Bosche. As advertised in the giant book of beer, it's a smooth Belgian interpretation of a stout: dark with a light brown head in a soft, elegant glass, chocolate nose with near black malt, but the Belgian yeast spice clearly influences the final beer to create something that's stout-ish though something else. Nice beer and a great example of how culture and beer can cross to create new tastes.

Sitting at the bar, the range of bottles going out is incredible. All served well, poured and presented with the empty bottle, seemingly whole or decanted by style. Standard in Belgium, but such knowledge and service is an amazing sight to see and transplanting it to the US would push us to a whole new level of beer consumption. If only.

Next, I ordered a St. Idesbald Tripel; it's the first beer I've had that's not in it's own glass--just a plain chalice. Guessing it's a small brewery. A light bodied tripel with a serious funk in it--it's adequate. Looked in the book later and it's Brouwerij Huyghe of Delirium Tremens fame (pronounced her-ga according to Elke and Sven, locals I met earlier on the trip).

For a snack I ordered a Cheese Portion Gouda Jeune. A lot of words for a bowl of gouda cheese chunks that seems to be meant for a group, but I'm happily eating some excellent Dutch kaas that's not changed by American rules. Odd thing, to me anyway, is that it came with a shaker of celery salt, which is surprisingly good sprinkled lightly.

Decided to get off the taps and landed on a bottle of Kasteel Donker; it's an 11%, nearly opaque ale with a light brown head. Heady nose of alcohol, fig and chocolate. The alcohol overpowers the smooth maltiness and dark fruit of the beer. Adequate but not up to other Kasteel brews I've had in the past.

I looked through the entire list and it feels a bit like channel surfing. 200 choices and nothing to drink. Not nothing, but not as much of a selection as imagined. Delirium Cafe is a very fun stop for a vacation, but if I lived nearby and could delve into the list, I would enjoy it more. Too my surprise, this visit is increasing my motivation to drink my home state more--appreciate great local beer rather than longing for beer far a field.

I might return to the Hoppy Loft later, but my guess is that this is the end of Delirium Village for me. Off to find Mannekin Pis to finish of my day.

10-11-2012 01:44:16 | More by FightingEntropy

BelgianBeerPope

Belgium

3.24/5  rDev -21.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Delirium Café, excellent if you like a wide range of draft (and bottled) beers. The place is usually crowed (most patrons are young and international) so you will always find somebody to share some beerstories and exchange some hidden gems in beerland.
So far, so good, ... The quality and service of the staff is ... less ! Draft beers are in 'pint' glasses not in the original glas, which is a big turn down for me. Also service could improve, I guess some of the staff is there only for getting their wage. In short, if you like a wide range of beers : GO ! If you want to enjoy your beer, there are better places in Brussels.

10-04-2012 11:27:30 | More by BelgianBeerPope

Timmckee03

France

4.8/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Went to Delirium during first trip to Brussels with my wife. We first arrived early afternoon and had the place to ourselves. The bartender was very good and suggested a St. Bernardus tripel, which I tried and enjoyed. My wife had a delirium tremens. We went back at night to the Hoppy Loft after eating dinner. It happened to be National IPA day so I enjoyed a sampler of three IIPA's they had on tap from Anderson Valley, Mikkeller and one other I can't remember. They have a fantastic selection of American Micros as well as beers from all over the world. The beer list comes in two thick binders for US and rest of the world, each over an inch thick. The bar itself covers the entire block with separate tequila, rum, vodka and absinthe bars, in addition to beer bars focusing on Abbey beers (over 100), Belgians and micros. Over 2400 beers in total, very impressive!

08-03-2012 21:11:55 | More by Timmckee03

sndrspk

3.24/5  rDev -21.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

This is probably the most famous beer bar in Brussels. This comes with it's disadvantages. I wouldn't call it a 'tourist trap' directly, but it has some features of it.

Let's start on the positive side. The menu here is pretty good. All the (Belgian) beers you expect are on there. The first downside, however, is the list of prices behind the beers. Yes, this place is overpriced.

Another problem is the atmosphere. Not of the bar itself, but rather of the usual clientele, which exists of tourists and (foreign) students. Especially when the night, and the beer consumption, progresses, the atmosphere might get somewhat grim, with drunken students and tourists harassing girls or picking fights with other guys in or in front of this bar.

Some staff here is capable of informing you about your choices, but of others you expect they haven't been hired for their knowledge of beer. Finally, the service is comparable to that of most bars and restaurants in this tourist district: unfriendly, inconsiderate, and clearly not hoping for recurring visitors. If you're a tourist and want to see and taste the best Brussels has to offer, there are other beer bars to consider.

07-13-2012 15:57:11 | More by sndrspk

getlonely

North Carolina

3.76/5  rDev -9.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Read reviews, came in expecting grungy, but worthy, tap house. It met those expectations, as it is a bit dark, stale, and blasting American rock tunes (place seems to cater to US tourists).

Best part: prices. Can get pint of some wonderful Belgian whites for 4€ each. Also has delirium tremens for cheap, which is the most interesting beer I have enjoyed in a while.

Downsides: bartenders (depending on the dude/time of day) can be rude. My barkeep berated this poor Spaniard because he didn't know how to explain what he wanted in English. :(

Overall: go and grab a few quality brews if you are in Brussels. If you focus on the beer, it will be worthwhile.

06-21-2012 18:26:32 | More by getlonely

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.58/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

If your motto has anything to do with working hard for what's important, then this is your kinda bar. A bit of a scavenger hunt through the tight and competitive market alleys of Brussels, the procession through the cafes and stores turned into more of a tug-of-war as everyone who works a store pulls you into their establishment kicking and screaming. But a narrow find is marked by pink elephants, faded blue signs, and fountains of children peeing on stuff (what' that all about Belgium?)

The first attempt to quench the thirst lead down a semi-circular staircase that's lined with tiles of actual Delirium Tremens bottles that are mortared into the wall of the stair- cool stuff indeed. The broad bar anchors the back of the spacious room with low-lying ceilings. This is a much larger beer bar than is normal for Belgium but it turns out still inadequate as well over a hundred patrons filled the space even on Friday afternoon. But the smoky and crowded space denied a seat at the bar or any of the tables, so it's upstairs we go.

Here, the large bar stretches all along the right-hand side of the room with a large copper brew kettle that sculpturally decorates the middle of the room. Picnic tables and an industrial looking beer delivery seems to be a fusion of biergardens and advanced homebrewing. A vast difference from the beer propaganda and trinket riddled decor of downstairs.

Here, we are greeted with a beer menu that's basically as thick as the King James Bible that boasts over two thousand beer options. Of all the places in Belgium that could use quicker service, this is not one. On page three the attentive waitress is eager awaiting my order- "Delirium Tremens please."

No food for us, only a few glasses of beer then on our merry way. Three beers and five euros later, we feel like we took advantage of their hospitality and quality beers as the price is extremely reasonable (maybe unreasonably low). But the stop at this famous bier house is well worth the effort. Happy we came, but the bars size and semi-maddening crowd makes the bar much less personable, charming, and traditional than many smaller cafes around Belgium.

05-21-2012 17:51:01 | More by BEERchitect

libertysttav

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

We just returned from our honeymoon trip to Paris and Brussells. Thought I would add a few comments to the many varied reviews here on BA.
The Delirium Cafe is every bit a tourist destination. They boast 2400 beers. I cannot say they had them all in stock, they had what I ordered. The bartender was alittle aloof but efficient and not rude. The place was full but not packed, it was 3PM. Several servers were there but I'm not sure where they were serving, as I didn't see them actually wait on anyone. But when I asked one a question she was very nice.

Smoking is not permited in Belgium bars anymore, so I'm not sure why a recent review bemoaned the smokey room. I happen to think the hundreds of old and new beer signs and trays lining the ceiling and walls were cool.

We took our second beer outside and sat by Janneken Piz. It's just as small as Manneken Piz but female. In the 20 minutes or so we sat at least 100 people came to view the squatting pisser. Most didn't bother to go into the bar, but just left after taking a photo.

All in all we enjoyed our visit and will go again if ever we return to Brussells

05-19-2012 01:24:45 | More by libertysttav