On our first night in Bruges we spotted this tasty-looking menu outside the Cambrinus. This plus the 400 different beers(!) had us slavering for a meal.

Alas they were totally booked up that evening, and the next as well. However, lunch the next day had one table left at one o’clock, and we grabbed it!

The next day we arrived promptly at one o’clock, even though it seemed awfully early to eat lunch, especially after the huge breakfast at our B&B.

The menu was as thick as a book, mostly containing masses of information about the endless (400+) beers on offer.Al and I ordered variations on the white asparagus which was in season, El a fish soup and B steak with frites. The 400+ beer menu was so bewildering we had the waiter recommend beers that would complement our food choices.

The small bites menu mostly featured the delectable white asparagus that was in season only for the few weeks that we were in Belgium – I had the ‘Gratin van asperges‘ and Al ordered the ‘Gemarineecole zalm met asperges‘. The beers arrived tout de suite but the food was not so quick. Initially we amused ourselves by taking photos of our beers against the stained glass windows. The waiter had chosen the Arende to complement El’s ‘Fish Soup’ and the Augustin for B’s ‘Steak and Frites’. Inspired by the sketching done in bars by artists such as Picasso and Magritte, I started sketching the woman at the next table…

from my journal: the girl at the table next to us

Our drinks had long gone dry and been whisked away by the bus person when our waiter finally came back to the table. He acted as if this was the first time he had ever seen us, and asked us what we would like to drink. We ordered more beers and then tentatively inquired about our food. The waiter looked slightly startled, and ran off. A waitress came back with our beer order, and a few minutes later our waiter reappeared with the news that there was a problem with our order…

The food eventually arrived (at 2:30), and by this time we were really hungry. El regarded her ‘lite’ order of soup with dismay, saying, “if I had known it was going to take this long I would have ordered something more than soup!”

This was what I ordered: ‘Gratin van asperges’. The white asparagus is more delicate than our green asparagus at home. It was served ‘au gratin’ in Bruges cheese sauce (sort of like Gruyere) with a hint of nutmeg.Al had a ‘White Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Salad’ which also contained arugula, tomato, finely chopped parsley and grated cheese.
Al had a Delirium Tremens with his salad. I suspect that this was Al’s choice, not the waiter’s.
B’s ‘frites’ with mayonnaise were a piece of Belgian art!
At lunch we found out that there was still space available for dinner the next day! Al and I immediately reserved a table. It’s not too often you find a place where the food is so good it’s worth waiting an hour and a half for it to appear!

• Dinner at the Cambrinus the next day.
• More about travelling through Belgiums famous Route de la Bière…