Café Vlissinghe

Visited 1st June 2022. It’s a nice walk out and it was a sunny day, this place was lovely, as it had a sunny walled garden, the inside of the place is fascinating and it’s incredible to think of the 500 years of history there. The beer menu is limited, but I had a nice bottle of Orval in the sun, burnt my head and then we went onwards !

A good place to stop by - without crowds, nice garden, impressive old interior.

Lovely ambiance, the old fashioned stove and ironing board in the center is something I've never seen before. Decor and furniture is old and rustic keeping the theme fluid. Slightly too overcrowded, would of preferred a table but we had to squeeze in the corner, and after 15 mins the intense heat from the stove was making us all fall asleep. We didn't eat but the people next to us did, and it smelled fantastic. Bit of a trek out of town, but you have to visit to put a big tick on your list.

We have never got round to visiting this on our previous visits to Bruges, but made a particular effort this time. Luckily it was a warm spring day and we could sit out in the lovely garden area. The inside of the pub itself is a maze of rooms, all dressed traditionally and if you want to see what an ancient Flanders pub is like then you should come here. You can still see a good amount of the old building in the garden and old photographs on the menu confirm this. The beer range isn't extensive by any means but it is worth a visit for the building alone.

I have no idea why this place is on ratebeer. Is it the oldest bar in Brugge and possibly Belgium? Yes. Is it very cosy? Not really, but it has a certain charm, I’ll admit that much. Is the beer menu of any value? Not at all. Limited selection, both on tap and in bottles, nothing much of interest except maybe their house beer, which I suspect to be a heavier version of the Bieratelier 6 beer, or vice versa. No idea why this place should really be mentioned or praised on ratebeer... More something for Tripadvisor or the likes.

We visited here on Saturday 6th December 2014. This was a really nice find, tucked away in a quieter part of the centre about 6-7 mins walk from Red Rose Cafe and slightly less from Bacchus Cornelius, it is near some very picturesque canals and bridges down a narrow lane. It is a very old cafe/restaurant the building is about 500 years old I believe. It was very busy when we arrived but fortunately a large group were just about to leave so we managed to bag a space. As you enter you turn left and head straight immediately in front of you there are a few steps leading up to the cafe/bar, the tiny little serving bar is on your left, it has a very cosy feel at this time of year. This place reeks history, old paintings adorn the walls, the ceiling is a wonderful old hefty wooden construction and some ancient looking large cast iron cooking ’thing’ juts right out into the room. As far as beer choice goes it’s a little limited but there are sone decent picks on the list, Loz had an Orval (no surprise there then) I had a bottle of the house beer, brewed especially for them by Fort Lapin. I wandered off looking for the toilets in totally the wrong direction, I had assumed that they would be near the entrance, I was very helpfully pointed in the right direction by one of the young chaps serving, btw they can be found across on the RH side of the outside walled courtyard. It really was a nice little find, easily bettering yesterday’s two and I would happily come here again. The food looked quite good and furthermore appeared to be reasonably priced.

At the end of a small cobbled courtyard opposite the Saint Leocollege’s south side. This is a fine single roomed bar with plenty of medieval charm about it. The tables and furniture represent this with mainly long wooden tables that are shared between groups on wooden floors with a central fireplace with a purtruding hot plate into the room that is both a heater and very old-fashioned ironing board. The very small bar is on the left as you enter with very little space to sit or stand at it, although some try. The seating space is doubled when their outdoor section is in use with an attractive walled garden area to sip the decent but not extensive selection of Belgian ales that includes a bottled house beer made by the local Fort Lapin brewery. A resident Jack Russell is here too.

Gem of a pub and an essential visit, but a very average beer menu.