The first night we were in Bruges we discovered the Cambrinus Restaurant, but it was completely booked for that night and the next as well.

The menu was intriguing, there were 400 beers available, and it seemed very popular so we booked for the third night, even though our friends would be no longer with us, and we also managed to book an early lunch for the four of us the next day.

Lunch the Next Day.

Dinner the Day After

Chalkboard menu at the Cambrinus – what would you order?

We appeared promptly for our long-awaited seven o’clock reservation. Even though the restaurant was empty there was a ‘Gereserveerd‘ on every table. It appears that once you have a table you have it for the whole night.

Al started with a Maredsous 6 and me an Augustijn Blond.

Beer in the Cambrinus, tasting notes

An additional tasting note for the Maredsous 6 says that ‘Al likes it a lot and I like it too, but find the aftertaste too bitter’.

I ordered a fish stew with salmon, sole, North Sea shrimp, finely cut-up leeks, tomatoes and ‘Malheur’ beer, topped with cheese, more shrimp, chopped tomato, watercress and whipped mash potatoes — by my detailed list of ingredients you can see it was so good that I am planning to try to duplicate it at home!

Belgian Grey Shrimp and Potato ‘au Gratin’

Al’s had sole fillets and frites. It came with a ‘mouselline‘ that turned out to be a frothy whipped sauce with Speculoos ginger cookies. These little cookies are very popular in Belgium, and seemed to be added to the everything, even beer!

Arend in the Cambrinus

With our dinners the waiter recommended Arend beer, the special on ‘presion‘ that day. I don’t seem to have written anything about it other than it was very nice and got three stars.

We can’t recommend the Cambrinus enough if you happen to be in Bruges!

SOME VISITS TO A FEW TRADITIONAL BARS IN BRUSSELS:

• a 300 year-old bar in Brussels
• a la Becasse, a traditional pub in Brussels
• a la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels

MORE ON FAIRYTALE BRUGES (BRUGGE):

• lunch at the Cambrinus
• tour of the Brewery in Bruges
• t’ Brugs Beertje in Bruges
• dinner at the Cambrinus
• warming up a chilly day in Bruges
• the Verdi B&B

ON GHENT:

• beer and museums on our first day in Ghent
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 1
• Ghent SMAK exhibit, the conceptual Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 2

TO THE BELGIAN COAST:

• Off to a Photo Exhibition in Knokke-Heist