Latest reviews from Westmalle

“2016 august. Hamirubi wrote almost everything regarding the ambiance of the place. So not much to add - just another highway cafe. But then there is more. You go to places like this for somekind of special treat, and for me it's a rare creature called Westmalle Extra. I know, that sometimes you can find it in some beershops of Bruxelles, but to try it at it's almost birth place is a exquisite experience, a lure you cannot resist. So imagine how did i felt, when i went there, and Westmalle extra was not even in la carte. Such a dissapointment! Went with draught Dubbel (oh no!), sinking my tears in the glass of that dark amber magical liquid. Still, not Extra! Cheese was good, the best of all trappist abbeys offer. Still, no Extra! But with empty glass I gathered myself, went to the bar, and asked the men - do you have Westmalle Extra? The grey old fox with moustache smiled to me, bent his back to reach something under the bar, and presentend it to me - a bottle of Westmalle Extra, the one i lingered for! And the rest is another story. The thing, that quite horrible looking place serves Westmalle Extra, which is not included to the meniu, but they usually have it. Just ask for it.“

deuxmortim 2358 days ago

“Visited De Trappisten on 13 VIII 2017. This used to be a very charming, cosy and small bar, opposite to the brewery and abbey domain. The place had little scenic seats for families, making place for private tastings and being together. Now, the small, picturesque café has made place for a large and too-modern venue with huge indoor and outdoor facilities. Making the place just clean, unpleasant and polished - quite the contrasting experience. Why would you want to go to this place now? Well, there is the Westmalle Dubbel from tap, which is a lovely treat. The Westmalle Tripel comes from the shelf or from the fridge, as you wish. You can even had the "half-en-half", a half Tripel is poured out of the bottle, the other 15 or so centiliters come from draught. Not the best mouthfeel, a beer experience which is neither fish nor flesh, but hey... where else would you have this? The food is neat and tasteful. The bar-restaurant has a high-priced chart, for sure. The place itself is most often crowdy and loud, so go to a table on the outside pavement with view on the play garden. This is visit-worthy when you are in the neighbourhood, or when you just go and see the abbey woods and footpaths. Then you definitely should pop in and have that draught Westmalle Dubbel. Nothing more, nothing less.“

Hamirubi 2458 days ago

“The cafe attached to the brewery, I suggest going and walking around the grounds first, because the cafe doesn’t offer a whole lot to see, modern and large. They offer the two beers, dubbel and tripel, or a mix of the two if you want, and also cheese and bread, the other trappist products. If you’re trying to hit all the trappists, worth a stop, but there are plenty of other places to get the beer.“

jbruner 2567 days ago

“Wonderfull tradition of brewing, great equipment, great beers, great personnel.“

fogarasia 2959 days ago

“Modern restaurant met groot terras. Bieren van de abdij van het vat en een paar andere. Eten is ook mogelijk. Prijsniveau is nogal hoog.“

Icedwarf 3211 days ago

“If you’re ever in Flanders, don’t forget to visit this amazing brewery, stroll around its walls and try its beers and cheese.“

huineman 3303 days ago

“Massive, modern place. Not much in the way of ambience but not bad. Beers are the dubbel, tripel & Zundert and service good. There are, however, many much nicer cafe to drink these beers. Not really much to recommend unless huge , modern & efficient is your thing. The 410 Antwerp/Turnout bus stops outside.“

baxterfish 3464 days ago

“The spot to drink the nearest Westmalle to the abbey. Dubbel and Tripel here, Dubbel from the tap and Tripel from the bottle, Cold or shelve tempereture. Also you can drink the Dubbel and Tripel mixed together, but i missed the Westmalle Extra. Very big place inside and outside. Choise of beer is very limited but for Westmalle-fans this is the place.“

goozen 3517 days ago

“A pretty good cafe with all of the beers from Westmalle and the new brew from Zundert. About as close to Westmalle as you’re going to get.“

ads135 3569 days ago

“Been there a while ago. You can have Westmalle here. With or without grenadine. That kind of place. Food is okay if I remember correctly. Not really for beer geeks this is.“

skortila 3630 days ago

“Had a beer here at a small trip to Westmalle years ago. Couldnt enter the brewery itself, but had a westmalle dubbel on the patio together with a croque monsieur.“

caesar 3718 days ago

“Official cafe for the Westmalle trappists. Looks like just another bar/restaurant. I don’t think you can even see the abby from the place. Beer was good obviously and the service excellent, but still a disappointment.“

jvdijk99 4229 days ago

“the new official spot of the Westmalle Abbey. Ugly, bland, completely without any form of athmosphere.. Yes, they’ve got the entire Westmalle Gamma. But still...“

rotjoch 4274 days ago

“Visited 2005. Large and quite touristy area. Had a dubbel from tap and tripel from bottle. Nothing really special about the place but if you are out seeking Trappist/Brewery locations and you are in the area you should of course stop by.“

Dedollewaitor 4282 days ago

“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.“

happyhoppy 4382 days ago

“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.“

Martinus 4410 days ago

“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.“

tderoeck 4563 days ago

“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.“

Rastacouere 4575 days ago

“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.“

RB1 4632 days ago

“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.“

Travlr 4690 days ago

“I recommend Westmalle Dubbel on tap. It is very smooth and drinkable. Attention: There was no Westmalle Extra.“

BriSava 4777 days ago

“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.“

77ships 4792 days ago

“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...?“

beernoevil 4806 days ago

“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!“

pivnizub 5042 days ago

“small choise , way crowded in summer ! big terras tough , all the abbaye beers , even the traditional mixed ( dubbel + trippel westmalle ) an fine selection of belgian foods and cheeses easy to get too , much parkingplace , and many busses pass by directly from central station in antwerp negative is i think it’s dressed up way to modern , i would like an abbaye feel better , like i said way to crowded escpeially in summer , also not too many beerlovers more people who wanna say ’ i’ve been to the trappist brewery’s ’ ... so people who wanna be relaxed with an abbaye or trappist beer can better go to another abbayebar i think ...“

BelgBeerGeek 5150 days ago

“Visited October 2009. From the outside it sort of looked like an American chain steakhouse and upon entering you find the place has all the charm of a high school cafeteria. Hideous, soulless place having about as much to do with a monastery as lap dancing joint would. If you find Westvleteren’s In de Vrede cafe lacks character, wait until you get a load of this place. Piece of advice: if you want to sample Westmalle beers, just go to any decent cafe in Belgium and try ’em out. Don’t bother with this plastic place in the middle of nowhere. When we managed to flag down one of the uniformed waiters, we ordered food and draught Dubbels. The food was acceptable but the beer candy-sweet. The bottled Tripel was good. There was no Extra.“

madthom8 5230 days ago

“Very modern because it just got renovated. They have Westmalle Dubbel on tap, Tripel only from bottle. You can order "Half and half", which is half dubbel and half tripel. They DO NOT have Westmalle Extra, which was a big disappointment. The food is very very expensive for what you get. The croque trappist is just a croque monsieur, or rather just a toasted sandwich. The service was absolutely lousy. We had been waiting 1,5 hours before we got the food we ordered. Nothing special, and actually a really bad image-making place for the Westmalle abbey.“

Bloekie 5396 days ago

“Very clean modern place. Good service. Small choice. But they have the Westmalle Extra !“

Jerre 5473 days ago

“Located across the street from the Monestary and brewery. Very roomie and modern place. The service was nice and helpful. They only have the Dubbel and Tripel from Westmalle, but they do have a few other easy to get beers in Belgium. Few glass/beer sets to purchase as well.“

SHIG 5585 days ago