Eager to try this for al long long long time... Left with mixed feelings. 1. De Rare Vos-beer, house beer made by Girardinn and which is a panaché beer of kriek and geuze (at least, that is what was explained to us), was terribly bad. That is not worth to be called a beer. 2. The list of geuzes was limited for what the place claims to be and some of them were expensive e.g. Tilquin half a bottle = more than a full bottle of Girardin black label. No Cantillon, no 3Fonteinen, only average Boons etc. 3. On the upside: the food was excellent: we had a nice piece of côte à l’os, perfectly seasoned and bleu chaud (like we asked). Decent french fries (probably handcut and cooked in fresh beef fat), crispy. 4. Although service was great, except for the little bar at the entrance, the place is really not enjoyable; the interior is too much aimed at feeding the masses with no cosy feeling at all. Oity.

Stopped there on my way back from my bike tour of Grote Dorst + In Den Haas + De Cam Volksafe. This pub is in the middle of nowhere. An charming old beaten up big white house located on a small steep street. Inside you will find a very warm old fashion pub-tavern style. The type of places that you can only find in small villages. No music. Patrons are in the 35 to 60 year old range. Far from touristy, this is local hangout only. Not a party place either, this is a traditional village pub. We just made a quick pit-stop when biking our were back to Brussels so we didn’t eat there but I think they have food. Very friendly service even though you can’t help but to feel like everybody is staring at you with the “who’s that stranger?” look. As for beer selection, you’ll find a usual array of lambics with special attention to draught Girardin. They have a “house beer” which I now believe is the very same thing as the Girardin Dominicus, at least they really tasted the same to me. All in all for the beer geek it is only worth a pit stop between Brussels and de Grote Dorst. The place is charming but not a place I would spend a full day or night. The Girardin tick is nice although I suspect that investigation would eventually reveal that this is the Girardin Dominicus. So if you can find a bottle a Dominicus (although admittedly pretty rare) then there is not really any reason to stop at De Rare Vos.

Surprisingly large restaurant with a small bar area near the entrance. Came here to try the house beer. We ordered just a quick appetizer, but that turned out to not be so quick and took nearly 30 minutes of waiting around with no attention being paid to us by the waiter. Not much English spoken by the one waiter that seemed to be taking care of all the tables.

De Rare Vos is a local institution. For your information it seems to open at 11am most days (in October anyway!). We stopped past here to try the house beer by Girardin, which we rather enjoyed. They also have a fairly extensive selection of lambic in bottle. Loved the old-school interior with lots of old Gueuze signage including stuff from the now defunct De Neve brewery, which is now converted into flats….. The guy running the place didn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop him providing good service. Worth a stop if you are in the area.

Finally I got a chance to visit. Close to Eizeringen. Small and local. Very friendly locals and a good atmosphere. The house beer was fine. If you have a car go for the Rare Girardin otherwise if going with bus and such it’s not worth it. Selection is 20-30 with no other gems.

Wanted to review this most of all places visited. Worst experience of my life. We were obviously not from the area and they let us know that. Requested mussels and were told they were out. After about 90 minutesof waiting for our food it finally arrived, most of which was under cooked. During that 90 minute wait we got to watch others come in, sit down, order mussels, and get served prior to us getting served. The food was weak, the beer was too cold and aweful even when warm, the place itself was ugly, and the temperature was intolerably hot. Never again!!!

Down a small square, the Café Rare Vos does not look like much from outside, but is actually a very large place inside. The numerous rooms are all fairly different one from the other and interestingly decorated. The place is old and clearly beer-oriented. The main draw, apart from the authenticity, is definitely the Girardin special, a weird half-lambic, half-faro, half-flanders red ale that I adored and obviously bumped my love of the place. They have a solid lambic selection, said to be one of the best in Payottenland, but I would not call it an absolute must. On our afternoon visit, there were more waiters than patrons and they seemed very busy, walking quickly from one room to another and not giving us much attention. They reacted when we needed them though. Solid Payottenland café.

Odd place situated in the center of the small town divided between a small old-world entrance, beautiful patio overlooking fields, and a banquet hall-type sterility unseen in Europe, sea green(?) walls with bland tables and furniture. The heat was unbearably high. The service was noticeably poorer for us tourists than anyone else: we received our food well after others that arrived before us (1-1.5 hours after ordering), our horse was undercooked - cold. Worst of all, everyone in the restaurant was eating mussels, even those having arrived after us, despite our request for them being denied because "we are out of mussels". The beer was served way too cold as well. This could have been great, maybe next time, but in fact was one of the most disappointing experiences of our trip. Given its remote location, I’m not sure there will be a next time.

A typical Belgian pub with lots of old stuff on the walls. The house beer Rare Vos is made by brewery Girardin. It is not a lambic but a mixture of a lambic and high fermentation beer. I guess this is what they used to call a meerts. We ordered a main dish and were offered a soup for free. Friendly and humourous service. Good address to remember.

quiet place up on a hill. only locals inside. back patio has trees, birds chirping, flowers, wood tables, stone floors, brick walls, and some cigarette smoke from the old broads a table over. had a girardin rare vos and jonge lambic on tap. tried the rare vos omelet for breakfast- served in the frying pan with bacon, tomatoes, sausage, herbs, onions, tomatoes, etc. good! enjoyable meal. worth the trip for the experience, beer, food combo. service was really good.