In´t Spinnekopke

8/19/2008 1:49:07 PM, tuesday, august 19, 2008
I guess this is more a place to eat than drink. I was hoping they’re gonna have Cantillon Faro, but it seems they changed to 3 Fonteinen. I asked for the Lambik but instead they gave me the Faro. I’l give this place the benefit of the doubt because the food might be amazing, but I wasn’t so impressed by it and by the very annoying bell above the door that rings every time enters or leaves.

7/25/2008 2:07:25 AM, friday, july 25, 2008
Off the plane at 8, in for dinner here by 10. A Brussels MUST. Great traditional atmosphere and very interesting beer cooking with a limited but thrilling selection of beers. Get the draught lambics and the local beers which you have never had that the waiter recommends. The food is traditional, plentiful, and tasty. Be sure to try the beer sorbet sampler: mine had Maredsous 8, real lambic Kriek, and Betchard Blonde. Amazing.

6/4/2008 8:49:39 AM, wednesday, june 04, 2008
For dinner in Brussels we sought out Spinnekopke for some lambic cooking... on draught is 3 Fonteinen Faro (very dark brown sugar appearance, which seemed different from the version at the brewery), as well as bottled 3F Oude Gueuze. The meal was rabbit in lambic for my wife, and stouflees cooked in gueuze for myself, along with salad and frites. It was a lot of food, actually, more than I could finish, and was undoubtedly good, but I think maybe both of us ordered something good but not great. I look forward to eating here again, but perhaps I missed out on the magic of this place. Still, few complaints - good food, good beer, the waiters were curt but not impolite, and the coffee to finish the meal was nice as well. The large outside seating area is very nice.

4/28/2008 2:28:08 PM, monday, april 28, 2008
Great restaurant with a good selection. A lot of the food is à la bière like beer sorbet and the likes. I got however a splendid moules frites à la crème au vin blanc - nice! The prices are normal for a place of that level, not cheap, not expensive.

3/24/2008 9:33:49 AM, monday, march 24, 2008
OK - this is a restaurent and not a beerbar, but what a place. We went there two times, first for dinner, second time for lunch. The service is perfectly arrogant and french, as it should be, but they do have humor. The food is fantastic, we had rabbit in geuzesauce. Beerselection ok, they do have the housebeer: Betchard (Blonde & bruin) and 3 Fonteinen lambic and faro on draught. I love this place.

3/10/2008 4:12:36 PM, monday, march 10, 2008
2008-02-28. Atmosphere is much nicer than I had pictured, its actually a very nice, romantic restaurant - take note if you are dragging your significant other along on your beer adventures, they should like this place a lot! Food was superb. We ordered a cheese fondue and were a bit surprised when we got what we later figured out were cheese croquettes. After our initial puzzlement we realized that they were simply awesome, and the best of the trip as it turned out. Highly recommended. I had lapin a la gueze which was lovely, though I kept forgetting it was not chicken. Mabel had pork medallions in a delicious beer sauce. Beer list is good though not extensive. The draft lambic and faro was the highlight, but there are nice trappists and others on their bottled list. Service varied from excellent to a bit abrupt depending who you were dealing with.

3/11/2007 4:37:54 PM, sunday, march 11, 2007 [ Updated wednesday, september 19, 2007 ]
Want to have a real draft faro with your lapin a la kriek? This is the place to come. In our experience, the beer dishes and mussels have been winners, but the steaks are nothing special. Small and cramped, make a reservation. Some fun flambee desserts if you’ve still got room for them. Once we had to wait for 15 minutes despite a reservation, but they gave us a round of free beers to make up for it. Great beer selection for a good restaurant. (NOTE: The draft lambic and faro have recently switched from Cantillon to 3 Fonteinen. When I asked the waiter why--not that I was complaining--he just shrugged and said, "That’s between them and the owner." OK.)

1/31/2007 7:33:57 AM, wednesday, january 31, 2007
I’ve been there several times over the eyars. Not the place for beer finds, perhaps, but it is excellent for inspired beer cooking.

10/30/2006 9:12:26 PM, monday, october 30, 2006 [ Updated monday, october 30, 2006 ]
French bistro décor. Chairs and tables are very small and low which make them uncomfortable. A bit too clustered. 6 taps including 2 Cantillon. About 100 or so bottles on the menu (average for a good Belgium restaurant). Some good selection (Carolus, Mortal, etc.) but they were out of all the good stuff I wanted. Not updating the beer menu seems to be a Belgium (mainly Brussels) tradition. I didn’t eat there but from what I could see the food was upscale but a bit $. Recommended for a nice diner but not worth adding to a pub-crawling itinerary. May I suggest the nice house beer “Betchard” which is exclusively brewed for this restaurant by Brasserie de la Senne (at least that was the case sept 2006).

10/20/2006 8:00:33 AM, friday, october 20, 2006
I was there in 2004, I had a good time, but probably I consider it more interesting for the food than for the beers.