July 31, 2009
How the staff know what they’re doing is a credit to the bar. If I had time to stay longer, I would have. On tap the beer is FRESH! Food is not quite as smart as the beer, but, this is only secondary! Well priced, great way to finish off the week.

April 10, 2009
BBC is exactly what it is! Great ambiance, located across the street from a local college, has the perfect sized festive garden w/ varied seating (stage, standing tables, picnic tables, gazebo, etc...) and a full sized cafe. 5 beers on tap inside & outside (Hoegaarden, Stella A, Belle Vue, Kriek, Leffe B). Outside bar has16 or so bottles of Belgians incl several Chimays (very expensive!) & very close to 50 to choose from on the cafe menu. The food was hit or miss, my choices were poor & overpriced, my fellow’s were great & overpriced. Steak was disappointing. The servers young; it appears to be kind of an uppety place. IN ALL - quite expensive but great selection & style - perfect outdoor ambiance! worth the visit - DO IT!!!

August 17, 2008
...well, it was decent inside nice atmosphere, didn’t check out the beer garden, or eat the food. Bartenders acted like they knew about beer, but didn’t. Decent selection on tap(only 2 hefes, but better than none), more bottled, but the bottled was outrageously priced. They did have the right glass for my erdinger though even though, despite the fact I didn’t order a pint, so that’s a plus.

January 3, 2008
Ok, first off it will be blindingly obvious to any visitor to this place, particularly on a Sunday arvo, that the owners have a cracking business model. Nice bluestone indoor building and expansive grounds that are kid friendly and make for a pleasant afternoon on a sunny day.brbr In the beer geek context I will have to begrudgingly admit this isn’t the worst place in Melbourne to have a decent beer. Probably 50 – 60 beers by the bottle around 6 – 8 on tap. The latter range is fairly mundane, being In-Bev, but what will be of interest is the Leffe Rossa, a beer I am not really familiar with. To my knowledge not officially part of the Leffe range, but is very similar in style to the Brune (or at least to my palate). Pricing is not great for the bottled gear, probably about 100% mark-up on competitive retail pricing. $9 to $12 will get you Orval, Chimay range etc. Nothing too crazy on the list, although I did spy a Saison from De Silly which I haven’t seen on Melbourne retail shelves. A good compromise if you are looking to have a beer with your Stella swigging mates.

October 20, 2007
Very busy on a saturday afternoon as the weather gets warmer. Standard inbev fare on tap, bottled selection is a bit better, with the chuoffe beers at $19 a bottle, and most of the Trappist beers represented... Never eaten there, but it looked pretty decent.

January 9, 2007
Sunday sessions in the sun drinking the best beer available, what more needs to be said!?!?!

December 20, 2005
A lovely old building that has a great deal of charm. There are a few negatives in that the range of beers is quite small even for this Belgian beer family. The food and service is a little pedestrian but overall it is indeed a good place to spend lots of money on accessible Balgian beers.

October 24, 2005
A great place for a beer after work. Great atmosphere on a warm summer night, but can be a bit slow at times. Range is limited to interbrew only which is weakness.

May 10, 2005
The Belgian Beer Cafe is a great spot to enjoy some belgian beers. The main buildilng is on the ground floor of a 19th century bluestone mansion. The beer garden is extensive and gorgeous with towering trees and plenty of space to enjoy the live music. They have five belgians on tap including Stella, Hoegaarden and Leffes and a dozen more in bottle. Inside, the menu caters to full dinners while they have pub grub outside. Definitely a great place to relax and enjoy some belgian beers.

February 23, 2005 [ Updated June 28, 2005 ]
Not that exciting but people seem to like these places so I thought I’d add it. It’s located on the grounds of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, which has a massive garden so it’s a really good location. One of the nicest places to have a beer in Melbourne, though the beers aren’t that exciting (all InBev on tap, basic Belgians in bottles). Pretty exy. Don’t bother if you’re only interested in beers you can’t find at home.