Latest reviews from Chimay

“The Chimay experience is here. Nice enough location to drink chimay all from tap (excl the green one). Good beers (all Chimay beers are excellent imho) and also good food, the steak was well made (medium rare as ordered) and the cheese plate was also very good with only one mediocre cheese. We had multiple electricity outages during our stay but other than that, solid place.“

tmibuckley1974 686 days ago

“Like minutemat said, nice to visit, but go to the Inn to actually drink the stiuff. They were brewing the day I was there, you could tell from the lovely smell. Nice abbey grounds, and welcoming too.“

stevoj 1915 days ago

“The famous inn located near the Chimay abbey. Although it was rebuilt a number of years ago & modernised with a larger restaurant and modest museum & gift shop dedicated to the Chimay beer and monastery, its still a fairly small place. The museum costs around 5 euros i think and is worth it to learn a little more about the history or Chimay and its charitable efforts that wikipedia wont tell you. The gift shop has all the usual tack plus a few jeroboams if you desire. The restaurant has a nice outside seating area, not as huge as Westvleteren but a lovely place to enjoy a beer and a tartine (open-topped sandwich) like we did. Worth a detour for an hour, and the abbey is a few minutes drive away“

minutemat 2216 days ago

“Backlog rating. Thought id rated before but perhaps the entry got deleted as this is the Chimay abbey only, with the official Chimay inn, gift shop and museum accessible through the forest opposite though its not signposted. You can drive round if you have a car. Little references whatsoever to the brewing division, though eagle-eyed visitors may spot the brewing section when walking around the grounds. Unlike other trappist monasteries visitors are free to enter and walk freely around. We walked into the church and sat in on a prayer service alongside a dozen or so dutch teens who we’d seen downing bottles of Chimay blue in the inn earlier, and seemed to be regretting their decision to attend this. Great to visit somewhere with such historical importance in the beer world, but thats it“

minutemat 2216 days ago

“There's not much to be seen here: it's just the premises where they brew the beer and make the cheese, and there's no visit available. Nonetheless, the abbey where the monks live and pray is beautiful and worth a visit, and the Auberge de Poteaupré is right there and they have the beers, the cheese and a nice restaurant to enjoy.“

huineman 2281 days ago

“First it should be noted that there is no Chimay stuff sold on the abbey, only religious icons, books etc. So this is the place where you should look for the beer related stuff. The place is actually 2 connected places: shop and restaurant. Since I was hurrying to the airpport I didn’t have time to visit the restaurant. Hence the rating is for the shop only. The shop had the usual Chimay beers for a nice price and also seem to have new version of oak aged Chimay for ~17 euros (not yet in ratebeer nor their webpage, unfortuantley I couldn’t pick it up). Addition to the beers, the shop had nice selection of Chimay groceries (including cheese and patte of course) and a lot of memorabilia with Chimay logos (including pens, t-shirts, bottle openers etc.). Service was friendly and the guy behind the counter spoke enough English that the transaction went smoothly. Overall: decent shop, but not worth the special trip unless you happen to be in the area or are a really big fan of Chimay.“

martjoobolut 2787 days ago

“locale non molto distante dall’abbazi dove si produce la birra; situato in un posto molto carino nelle campagne di Chimay, ambiente molto confortevole e personale gentile.“

birgik 3165 days ago

“visite din the afternoon, ok selection isnt large ofcourse since they only serve their own beer, or i must have missed something, Food was delecious had the steak in beer sause and it was superb. service was friendly only downside where the flies in the restaurant but well with all doors and windows open that tends to happen. Overall a nice place to visit and dont forge to visit the monastery itself“

SVD 3222 days ago

“Stopped by on the way back from France to the airport in Brussels as it was not to far out of the way. Split a taster and had a Doree. Tried a cheese sampler that came with bread, not too generous with the servings, and the bread after almost three weeks of traveling in France and Belgium was a huge disappointment. Nice gift shop with the opportunity to spend a lot of Euros! The place was packed on a Monday afternoon, so the monks are doing something right.“

larryLSB 3247 days ago

“The official inn of Chimay Trappist Brewery. Bar, restaurant, lodgings, shop and a nice collection of Chimay stuff.“

huineman 3352 days ago

“Been in 11/2014. Nice atmosphere where enjoy Chimay beers and cheese. The rooms upside are decent and necessary if you want to live fully the Chimay experience“

Baramba 3482 days ago

“Well, it’s been on my todo list for a while, finally made the trip. The Tripel on tap couldn’t really please me. Probably way too fresh. The food was a joke. I had the cheese croquettes. I could tell they were home made, but it’s not because something is home made, that is necessarily is good. Tasted a bit dull and the outside was greasy and soggy instead of crunchy crispy. The salad on each plate was the same uninspirational composition of lettuce, a piece of tomato, slice of cucumber, grated carrots from a jar, grated celeriac and something else. With a plastic cup of dressing. It felt like a school cafeteria. The grilled cheese ham sandwich was ok, but just one small one, instead of the regular two in Belgium. That’s a bit cheap. I guess the only reason you want to come here is for the Chimay Dorée, but as they will start selling bottles from now on, you might as well go after that. Come to think of it, they didn’t even have any Chimay Cent Cinquante (150) on the menu. Tsss.... Oh yeah, the nicest thing was actually the shop, where they have a really nice cheese selection. Took home a couple of pieces, they were delicious.“

tderoeck 4070 days ago

“Quite a nice place to visit, though a bit secluded. Nice atmosphere, better decorated, less simple, than the places of Westmalle or Westvleteren. The beers (Chimay, naturally) are nice, though not my favourite Trappist beers. And obviously there is the Spéciale du Poteaupré (formerly Doreé).

The food is quite good and inexpensive, except for the soup of the day, which was in a rather small cup and quite bland. The soft specialty cheeses (Poteaupré and Mont de Secours) are really nice, and the stars of the visit for me.“

Martinus 4197 days ago

“Marked down only because selection is limited to Chimay, but that’s pretty good, right? Food is very good and service top notch. Plus it’s the only place you can get the Chimay A Poteaupre, a Belgian blonde ale.“

stevoj 4212 days ago

“It is a nice place to visit, nice terrace and good green view. You can drink the monk light beer that the monks drink in there abbey and that is not for sale in any shop. The Poteaupré is from the monks. It is a small wake thou the abbey if you want thou visit it.“

Oostende 4574 days ago

“By Belgian distances standards, the Chimay represents quite a detour unless you’re spending a few days touring Wallonian breweries. Pairing this fact with some of the least inspiring Trappist ales around, there are many places that would be a wiser visit. The draught Chimay Dorée is an attraction, but really just a drinkable, simplistic Belgian ale like there are legions. When we visited this countryside location on a Friday afternoon, the place was almost empty despite being very large and with a nice park outside. Particularly slow service nevertheless. We still had a good time though as the food was filling and relatively inexpensive at 10 euros for a Chimay tartiflette, a good though unexceptional 5-cheese plate. The store allows you to buy the house cheeses, but don’t expect spectacular memorabilia. What makes this abbey particularly interesting if anything is the extremely peaceful abbey, a kilometer or so around the block, that can be visited freely. A very photogenic and resourcing abbey with beautiful vegetation. Even the Church can be peeked at as long as you remain respectfully silent.“

Rastacouere 4596 days ago

“After a serene walk on the grounds of the Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont (Chimay), one is compelled to taste the ale. The place to do that is just down the lane at L’Auberge de Poteaupre. Very quaint and warm, this is the official Abbaye tap house. All four chimay ales are available; the Cinq Cents and Doree’ on tap, the Grande Reserve and Premiere in bottles. I have been told the Premiere with also soon be available on tap. The food and Chimay cheeses are excellent. The Auberge is full of breweriana from Chimay, which is of great interest to collectors. There is an outdoor area in back to sit and enjoy the wonderful ales while pondering the pastoral grandeur of the Belgian Ardenne. This is truly a joyous place to spend a leisurely afternoon. There is also a gift shop and small deli (mostly cheese) counter.“

RB1 4654 days ago

“Very nice place to enjoy the Chimay beers and cheeses. I had a quadruple dégustation, both beer and cheese. It was a real nice experience! The marketing strategy of the monks is amazing ;) Downside: in the shop you pay like 3,8euro for a bottle of Chimay Bleue, when you can find it for like 3euro in a Colruyt... Bit weird...“

Mathieu87 4699 days ago

“Soul-less modernised interior as seems to be the way with trappist taps. Ok service and good food. Beer resticted to the three regular Chimay beers plus the mediocre Doree (Speciale Poteaupre). Not really worth going out of your way for.“

baxterfish 4748 days ago

“Loved to taste the "Poteaupré" (ex Capsule dorée") on tap. Loved the beer, loved the place! Great Afternoon!“

korova 4964 days ago

“A nice place just down the street from the Abbey de Scourmont. Great view of the Belgian countryside and the food is pretty goo too. Beer is only Chimay, as you would expect, but they do have the Chimay Doree (or "Special Poteaupre) that is only available there. Also, they have all of the cheeses try the vieux.“

dnstone 5059 days ago

“Stopped at Poteaupre to taste Doree, which they had on tap only. Love their sample "trays", but was driving... Had some bread and cheese as well and was pleasantly surprised by their cheese. Nice atmosphere and service was good. Definitely worth stopping for.“

CH-303 5128 days ago

“Visited around noon on a foggy October day. GPS wouldn’t accept the address but luckily there are numerous signs to direct you once you get in the area because this place is way out in the middle of no-where. Restaurant was packed (including a bus-load of retirees/pensioners that, to their credit, were almost to a person drinking beer). Went to the shop first, the young lady behind the counter was very nice with quick service - however they did not have Doree in the bottle so we went ahead and had a light lunch. Despite the crowd and my extremely poor French, we had their home-made bread on the table within seconds of sitting down. Service wasn’t extremely fast but perfect for a lazy day enjoying the view out the back window and relaxing. My 6-year old daughter saw their large playground in the back and despite the mist, went outside to play. Nice patio in the back that would be pure bliss on a nice sunny summer day. If you’re rushing to taste all the Belgian beers you can find, you’ll probably just want to order a Doree and then leave. However, I was quite pleased with the service and atmosphere - would stop by again if in the area.“

shrubber85 5351 days ago

“Great place to unwind on the patio when the weather is good and to drink the fantastically good draft Chimay beers. The Chimay Doree was on tap here and nowhere else, although I was very disappointed not to be able to get a take-home bottle as souvenir. The cheese is excellent, although the service was slow and never anybody in the shop. Nice part of Belgium though.“

MagnumPI 5441 days ago

“Way out of the way, but in a very nice area. Visited with my wife in summer ’07. Just inside the entrance they have Chimay artifacts in a showcase, leading into a small bar and gift shop. We made the mistake of speaking english first, and when we were seated, we ordered our first beers, and were subsequently ignored for 45 minutes while everyone around us were attended to. My impression is that our waiter was not comfortable trying to communicate with us. Nonetheless, we managed to order food and more beer. I had some meatballs, while my wife had a wonderful quiche made from all four cheeses.“

pythonmets 6102 days ago

“Last weekend. This place is heaven for Chimay lovers !Chimay Doreé available. Very nice for a lunch. We take first the taste 3 different beers and 4 Chimay cheeses: delicous ! Good. Whe are sleeping here one night.“

Jerre 6149 days ago

“For the tourist market, so a little souless.“

TheGrandMaster 6434 days ago

“A real tourist trap a few kilometers from the abbey (which, unfortunately, you couldn’t see from very close). The place was very crowded (no wonder at 9 pm on saturday), so didn’t even think of staying longer than to buy a six-pack of Chimay Doreé. Even that took surprisingly long with only one person serving at the take-away desk. Maybe worth a re-visit, but the location (in the middle of nowhere) is not very public transport-friendly, I guess.“

sayravai 6888 days ago

“The place where to get Chimay vintages! In small and reserve bottles. Usually from 5 to 8 yrs old samples. Chimay Doreé available. Excellent for a lunch. Here You can learn which of the 4 Chimay cheeses goes with which Chimay beer.“

Diplomat 7274 days ago