Weekend Trip | Belgian Beer Tasting and Classic Dishes (Mussels & Rabbit)

First things first: one beer as soon as I arrive

It’s about a one-hour flight from Berlin to Brussels Airport. Yes, this trip was “tourism” in the broad sense—but the real main event was comparing Belgian beers. And on day one, we drank a truly ridiculous amount.

As soon as we arrived, we headed straight to a nearby bar. We had this beautiful golden beer right in the heart of a beautiful city—an instant success of a start.

Sightseeing is now officially over. Let’s keep going.

Once we’d had that first beer and my engine was running, we did a quick loop around the gold-lit façades of Grand-Place.

Then I stopped by Manneken Pis for a brief greeting.

And that was it for sightseeing. The beer marathon continued.

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Why is Belgian beer this good?

Belgian beers tend to be rich and often a little on the sweeter side, don’t they? Looking back at these photos ten years later, I can’t believe how much I drank on the very first day… There’s no way I could do that now.

À la Bécasse

This is the place in photo #6, and I highly recommend it.
They serve beer in a traditional style—in a ceramic pitcher.

Basic info
Website: https://alabecasse.com/
Address: Rue de Tabora 11, 1000 Brussels
Hours: Daily 11:00–24:00 (no day-to-day variation)

Local classic #1: Mussels steamed in white wine

This is the dish you absolutely can’t miss in Belgium: mussels steamed in white wine. Eating them with fries is unbelievably good. You can find this dish in many countries, but personally, I think Belgium does it best. And of course—you wash it down with beer.

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Local classic #2: Rabbit stewed in beer—layers of flavor

The second dish was rabbit stewed in beer, a Belgian specialty.

Stewing something in beer… and then washing it down with beer. It really drives home that Belgium is a true beer nation. Rabbit tastes a bit like chicken. Personally, I still prefer steak—but this was a very “Belgium” experience.

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End the night quietly in an underground bar

To finish day one, we went to La Porte Noire, a bar set inside a cellar that dates back to the 16th century.

Stone ceilings, low lighting, a warm glow at the counter.
The clink of glasses and the sound of beer being poured become the background music.
We ended the first night in a cave-like space with one last beer—highly recommended.

La Porte Noire

Basic info
Website: http://www.laportenoire.be
Address: Rue des Alexiens 67, 1000 Brussels
Hours: Mon–Sat 17:00–late (until around 3:00 depending on the day), closed Sundays

Wrap-up: Brussels, where beer—not sightseeing—takes the lead

On day one, I focused entirely on tasting Belgian beers.

Brussels has plenty of tourist attractions, of course—but this kind of trip isn’t a bad idea either.