Yeah, that was kind of the point.
Most tour guides are written with the summer in mind.
Some places, like Bruges or the seashore, are not quite the same in winter.
My Brussels Airbnb host tried to get us to visit Ostend. I said, “In January?” He said, “People like it! It’s invigorating!”
+1 on Westvleteren. Friends living in Brussels took us for a drive to the monastery on a Saturday a few years back. A fun excursion, plus you will earn major bragging rights among your beer aficionado friends. We did manage to score a few bottles of Westvleteren to bring home. (The monastery is the only place to buy it, we were told.)
I had a conference in Knokke-Heist in early March a number of years ago. It was pretty much deserted and freezing.
Hello Everyone!
Thanks to so many people for responding and sorry it’s taken me so long to report back . Unfortunately I got sick on our trip for 3 days right between Paris and Brussels so we had to cancel our lunch at Clown Bar, our trip to Bugges and I didn’t eat NEARLY as many pastries as I would have liked too.
However we still did have a wonderful time when I was well. Our first night in Paris we had an incredible meal at Frenchie Wine Bar. We got there around 6:00 and had no trouble getting a table right next to the kitchen window. Everything was fantastic but the Smoked Califlower & Black Truffle Tortellini was the standout. It was so good we ordered a second round which is something we’ve never done before at a restaurant. We also got a chance to check out Hoppy Corner right after dinner. This is exactly the type of place I would hang out at if I lived in Paris. The bartenders were awesome and the scene itself was just really laid back and inviting. I didn’t love any of the selections they had on tap that night as I was expecting more of an emphasis on IPA’s (due to the Hoppy Corner name) however since the list changes frequently I probably would find something I loved if I had time to go back a different night.
Septime was lovely- great space, delicious food. I preferred the meal at Frenchie much more but it was still enjoyable.
We walked over to Brewberry after Septime and had a great time there. The bar was closed but the bottle shop was open and we were able to have a Cantillon Kriek and chat with the bartender. What a great shop with some fantastic bottles from all over the world. If we weren’t heading to Brussels I would have bought a LOT more from that place.
We also made it to La Fine Mousse but unfortunately I started to feel really sick that night so we had to cancel our dinner at the restaurant. But again the bar was great. It’s nice to see that the wonderful way I feel about the beer community in states is just how I found it to be in Paris.
We did get some pastries at both Pierre Herme and Stohrer- I thought the vanilla eclair from Stoher was amazing although the service there was quite gruff. I tried to visit Fou de Patisserie but it was closed both times I walked by???
In Brussels we ended up going to Nuetignenough and LOVED it. The service was a bit scattered and slow but the food was incredible as was the beer list. I had the steak made with Cuvee Renee and it was outstanding. We also had an AMAZING dinner at Le Rabassier. I can’t believe that place doesn’t get more talk on the forums- it was incredible
Since we had to cancel so many things we didn’t really get a chance to try out many of the recommendations from you guys but they will certainly be on my list for the next trip. I put up photos and more detailed reviews on my website www.nyctastes.com but here’s a few pics from the trip. Again thanks to everyone for your help. It was much appreciated.
Frenchie
Le Rabassier
Septime
Storher
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Thanks Roze for sharing your trip. I really like your meal at Le Rabassier, the Frenchie meal looks delicious! I can’t tell with Septime though, from the description of the food, some combinations are a bit odd, did your partner like the meal?
So sorry that you were sick and had to cancel some reservations. This happened to me in food travelling. We tended to overeat for days. I always bought with me some pills to help digestion.
He enjoyed the meal at Septime a lot more than me actually. I didn’t love either of the main courses- the quail was too smokey and the fish was kind of strange with the pistachio but he ate them both happily. He’s usually a tough one to please too so I was quite thankful lol.
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Lovely Photos! Thanks for reporting back.
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