History

Some places you find because you were looking for them. Others you find because you walked past. The Beer's Garden is the second kind. You come out onto Place Sainte-Catherine, you see the two terraces at the foot of the church, you sit down, and you stay longer than planned.

The neighbourhood. Place Sainte-Catherine is one of the few spots in central Brussels where people from Brussels still go out to eat. This was once the city harbour: the docks were filled in, but the area kept its link to fish, market stalls and counters. It sits between the canal and the Grand-Place, a few minutes' walk from De Brouckère and the Bourse. Sainte-Catherine metro station, lines 1 and 5, is right there.

Two terraces and a garden. We have two terraces facing the square, and above all an indoor garden with a fountain at the back, sheltered from the street. That is our particularity, and it is what guests mention most often in their reviews. In central Brussels, eating outside without hearing the traffic is a rare luxury, and the sound of the water finishes the job of making you forget the Bourse is two minutes away. In summer the garden fills up from lunchtime. Later in the season it stays warm longer than the terraces, because it is protected from the wind. Inside, large rooms can host groups, and private hire is possible for a birthday, an afterwork or a company dinner.

The food. We cook Belgian, plainly. Mussels, in nine preparations, from plain to the Brussels style with chicory. Flemish carbonnade slow-cooked in brown beer. Vol-au-vent, stoemp, chicory gratin, meatballs, rabbit in cherry beer. These are the dishes Belgian families know, and the ones visitors come looking for. Alongside them, nine homemade burgers, including one with a cheese croquette and onions caramelised in beer, and a vegetarian burger made here. There are also fish dishes, grilled meats, and a rib of beef of just over a kilo to share between two.

The beers. It is the name of the house, so it is a commitment: more than fifty Belgian beers. Six on tap, including our own house blonde, the Beer's Garden Blonde. In bottles, a selection running from Trappists to lambics: Westmalle triple and double, Chimay blue, Orval, Rochefort 8 and 10, Duvel, Tripel Karmeliet, Kwak, Chouffe, Delirium, a gueuze lambic, a Duchesse de Bourgogne red-brown ale, and fruity wheat beers for beginners. If you do not know what to choose, ask. It is our favourite question.

The service. If you read our reviews, you will notice that first names come up more often than dishes. That is no accident and it is what we are proudest of. A brasserie is judged on what you eat, but you come back for the way you were treated.

At lunchtime, mussels are 14.90 euros instead of 24, and the beef steak is the same price. It is the deal the local regulars take, and the cheapest way to taste the two dishes that made our name.

Open seven days a week, from 11am to 11pm, kitchen non-stop. Place Sainte-Catherine 5/7, 1000 Brussels.