May 18, 2012
The place is huge and cozy and can accommodate hundreds. Service is really efficient. Only the dubbel is available on tap, triple served from the bottle. The best is the half dubbel - half triple concept. Whats really worth doing here is a bicycle ride along the abbey and the surrounding region and once completed, come here for a beer and meal. Not really worth to drive all the way here just for the beer.

April 20, 2012
Not the most cosy of places, but still nice enough. Rather big and impersonal, but almost almost busy with either cyclists or people just coming by to have dinner or a few Trappist beers. Service was good, quite fast considering how many people were there, and very friendly. I just don’t understand why there is no Westmalle Extra served, seems it would be a good idea from a business point of view.

November 19, 2011
If you want to try some of the most expensive Westmalle beers in the whole region, here’s the place to be. Don’t worry, you’ll always have a seat. Since the renovation the terrace has the size of football field and inside it’s about the same. And on top, it’s about as cozy as on a football field. Service tends to be slow by times. At least the good was ok. Not great, just ok. And why the hell is there no Westmalle Extra? I mean, if it would have had at least that, I would say it’s worth the effort coming to this place. But it’s not.

November 7, 2011
The Westmalle café is another surprisingly large place with something like 200 seats inside and as many outside with a large a children play area. Personally, I found the place cold and modern, like an American Italian restaurant, huge and in complete contrast to what you would expect when visiting an institution. The girlfriend disagreed. What really helped is that we were served extremely well by competent and friendly staff. The varied menu was reasonably priced (though perhaps more expensive than at Wallonian Trappists) and the food we had was tasty and pleasantly included the house ham and cheese. The brewery, located behind the fields and trees on the other side of the street, is unfortunately not accessible to the public. There is always a strong psychological component when visiting a place like this, but I found the Westmalle Tripel drank here to be the best one I’ve ever had, with the hops bursting forward, a delicate tartness that refreshed the palate and the bubbles fine like that of a Champagne. I’ve never found Westmall Tripel to be such a refreshing, gently tart and delicate drink elsewhere. The draught dubbel could not hold a candle to it. No Westmalle Extra.

September 11, 2011
The Cafe’ Trappisten is a very upscale eatery and tap house that is located directly across the road from the peaceful grounds of the abbey, and just down the road from the brewery. The place is large, with indoor and outdoor seating, and parking for cars and bicycles. Only Westmalle ales are available, with Dubbel on tap and Tripel in the bottle. Occasionally the Extra is available in bottles. A Dubbel/Tripel half & half mix, and Dubbel with grenadine added are also available. Both are worth a try. The food is good. I had a cheese plate and shrimp croquettes. Both were delicious. A very nice place for lunch, and definitely worth a visit.

July 15, 2011 [ Updated August 25, 2011 ]
Huge modern pub, pretty average food. Large patio. Room to park your bus. Decent food. Charges you for the restroom, even if you have a meal and beers. Shocking.

April 19, 2011
I recommend Westmalle Dubbel on tap. It is very smooth and drinkable. Attention: There was no Westmalle Extra.

April 4, 2011
The place itself has a Lunch Garden (non-Belgians, think of Olive Garden)/ Sunday family trip-type of atmosphere & layout, nothing café or even remotely religious about it. Looks about as religious as McDonalds. Big parking next to it, bicycle stalls & a playground for kids. The food list is much bigger than the beer list but doesn’t seem to offer much, most of the dishes are very simple & seem to be a bit overpriced. Some of the dishes are made with Westmalle cheese and/or beer, didn’t eat there. The beer list is very small, maybe 10 beers available or so. They have Westmalle Dubbel on tap (which is good, liked it more than the bottled version but you can find it elsewhere these days), Wesmalle Tripel (only in bottles) & the option to get a half Dubbel & half Tripel mixed. They don’t have the Extra. Service fits the atmosphere, not much to say about it. Westmalle Dubbel on tap is pretty much the only semi-rare thing here, everything else you can find pretty much anywhere here. Overall even if you are a big Westmalle enthusiast, this place is still not really worth visiting.

March 21, 2011
3 beers available on draft - Tripel, Dubbel and Half & Half (blend of the Tripel and Dubbel). Large modern Euro pub with plenty of indoor and outdoor patio seating. Enough bike racks for a few hundred locals to ride in. Large playground out back for the kids. Only had the cheese plate but it was great. Not a huge beer selection but possibly the only place in the world to drink a Westmalle Half & Half...?

July 28, 2010
Large, modern antiseptic belgian "cafe" with an extremely modest selection of beers; their Triple is only available in the bottled version; absolutely not worth a detour!