May 27, 2025

Belgian Beer Café Vignettes: Brasserie Verschueren, Brussels

If you’re in Brussels for more than a few days, the bustling multicultural neighbourhood of St. Gilles is a treat. And so is Brasserie Verschueren, an elegantly faded Art Deco beer cafe that evokes the Brussels of yesteryear.

En Route to Verschueren

Well connected by tram to Brussels’ other neighbourhoods and just a short hop from the chaos of the Brussels-Midi train station, St. Gilles is the kind of place where people actually live rather than merely visit. St. Gilles is to Brussels what Kreuzkölln was to Berlin in the years before gentrification—a neighbourhood where people go about their daily business at small grocers and sundry shops, relaxing afterward with a drink in one of the many cafes and restaurants. With its artists, writers, intellectuals and musicians, St. Gilles is sometimes likened to the Left Bank of Paris: more bohemian than hipster, no “ironic” fashion statements, just plenty of black and grey coats and sweaters.

Your wanderings through St. Gilles will eventually bring you to the Parvis St. Gilles, the crossroads at the heart of the municipality. The daily market here has been a fixture since 1865. With so many locals passing through the Parvis St. Gilles each day, it’s no wonder that Brasserie Verschueren is as popular as it is.

A One-Time Lambic Café

Founded in 1880 by Louis Verschueren, this erstwhile brewery and lambic café watches over the Parvis St. Gilles from the southern heights of the plaza. You can’t miss the place on a pleasant day. The boundaries between its terrace out front are fluid, with chairs and tables stretching almost all the way to the neo-Romanesque church that gives the neighbourhood its name. If you’re a fan of early twentieth-century architecture, you’ll also appreciate Verschueren’s Art Deco shopfront.

And then there’s that historic lambic connection. If Brasserie Verschueren started life as a brewery, by the 1920s it was a popular “blending café” that served lambic, geuze, and faro. More than a hundred lambic producers once flourished in the old heart of Brussels at the end of the eighteenth century. Even if the number of breweries was shrinking by 1900, the years prior to WWI were a time when nearly 300 merchants and café proprietors purchased young and old lambic for blending, which was most often served in their cafés. Verschueren was one of those places.

A Retro Feel

Lambic no longer features on the menu, but there’s still plenty to remind you of the café’s past. As soon as you cross the threshold under Verschueren’s impressive steel-framed awning, you’ll catch sight of a colourful board at the far end of the bar, which displays the Belgian football (soccer) league standings. For decades, the old-fashioned standings board seemed to have frozen time, much to the chagrin of St. Gilles’ football fans. It had been ages—nearly a century—since the once-powerful local favourite, Royale Union St. Gilloise, had been anywhere near the top of the standings. (The tide finally turned recently.)

It’s this retro feel that makes a late afternoon or early evening at Verschueren such an enjoyably languid trip back in time. Ceramic tiles on the bar counter bear figurative motifs that echo the brasserie’s history as a brewery, and cream-coloured walls accented by mahogany paneling acquired their distinct hue from the days before smoking was banned. Patterned lead-trimmed stained glass graces the upper portion of the wrap-around showcase windows, and Art Deco fixtures cast a crystalline light that bespeaks the 1920s and 1930s.

The Little Things

When I pulled up a seat at 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon in the before times, it was just me, the server, and the cat. The cat. It’s the small details that make these kinds of independent establishments so special.

As with so many of these unique establishments dotting the cities and towns of Belgium, it’s the ambience rather than an extensive beer list that lends them their charm. (If beer lists are what you’re after, Delirium will occupy you for weeks.) Places like Brasserie Verschueren are, first and foremost, places where people gather to catch up on the happenings of the day. By 5:00 p.m. the place is packed with folks out for their Friday happy-hour drinks.

Libation List

That’s not to say that quality beer isn’t important—you’ll always find at least a handful of top-notch beers, even at the hole-in-the-wall places. But the length of the beer list isn’t the hill on which these kinds of establishments stake their reputations.

That said, you’ll surely find a beer that fits your taste at Verschueren among the roughly twenty-five beers on a menu with a strong Alken-Maes presence (Grimbergen, Affligem, Blanche de Bruges, Ciney, and the like). You’ll also find a few Trappist beers scattered among offerings from breweries like Legende (Quintine), Dupont (Moinette, Saison Dupont), de Ranke (XX Bitter), and local favourite, Brasserie de la Senne (Zinnebir, Stoutterik). Not all that bad at all.

What’s more, this is the only place in town where you can get house beers brewed especially for Verschueren by Brasserie de la Senne and Ranke: a boldly hoppy and spicy Tripel from de la Senne, and a refreshing Saison from de Ranke. Verschueren also boasts an extensive list of teas and organic juices for those who’d like a break from beer.

If you’re a fan of art nouveau architecture, wander the streets of St. Gilles in search of houses designed by Victor Horta and others before or after stopping in at Verschueren. The Horta Museum isn’t far away, nor is the original location of Moeder Lambic, should you want another beer during your explorations.

A quick word about this post: I first visited Verschueren in 2017 or 2018 and then wrote a draft about it during the pandemic. The draft gathered dust till I was back in Brussels this past winter having a drink at La Fleur en Papier Doré. The pandemic almost did in La Fleur en Papier Doré—that is, until the folks who run Verschueren stepped in recently to save the place. The Verschueren connection reminded me about that half-finished draft. Now it’s done. You’ll see a post on La Fleur en Papier Doré soon as well. Hope you enjoy both!

Imbibing Beer and Flemish Splendour in Ghent

Mechelen: Het Anker Brewery and Classic Beer Cafes

Belgian Beer Cafés: Poechenellekelder, Brussels

A Few of My Favourite Things: Belgian Beer Cafes

Postcards from Belgium: De Halve Maan, Bruges

Photos by Franz D. Hofer