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The Belgian Cafe, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
BN21 3YN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about The Belgian Cafe
This bar was one of my highlights for beer and food the last time I was in town four years ago. So being in town for the tennis again I was eager to pay it a return visit.
Largely unchanged from my remembrances except that the communal bench seating that was in the left hand section have now been replaced with proper tables for 2 and 4 people.
With regards to Paul’s review below I think you only need to be seated and table service if you are dining. I had no problem walking straight up the bar to order a beer which I then took to the pleasant outside area on the Grand Parade with its great view of the pier.
On the beer front, again much as I remember it with 9 of their own craft brews on the pumps and one guest and three of the ones I tried last time were on the pumps again, but again the Oyster Stout they do was missing. And again heavily fruit based with at least three based on Mango and I went for one I hadn’t seen before called Mangoes in Black, a mango infused stout, which was a very strange brew. I got a lot of Mango and precious little stout.
I’m not sure how “Belgium” some of these brews are, but if you want the authentic product then the well known Chimay and Duvel brews are available in bottles.
We didn’t try the food this time, but the extensive list of mussel dishes was prominent on the menu and I noticed that they had added oysters.
I thought this was still a good bar and a decent alternative to the many traditional boozers in town.
On 8th July 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Belgian Cafe
More restaurant than bar, with "wait to be seated" and table service. Beers are shown on an A5 sheet, but with no clues to strength (so I still needed to wander up to the bar, where I encountered nothing less than 4.8%), or price (this was revealed at bill time - £9 for 2 x 2/3rds). My pair of beers were served in elegant 'Cristal' branded mini-mugs, albeit that one of them was not actually what I'd ordered. Food is as Belgian styled as the beer (and "large" Belgian fries was definitely a lot!). Service proved to be friendly and efficient.
Worth a try for something different, even if it's a bit frustrating.
On 20th October 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Belgian Cafe
As it says, a 'Bar - Bistro - Brewery' right on the seafront, offering something a bit different to the residents and visitors to Eastbourne. One large L-shaped room with a notably high ceiling and plenty of light from the tall windows. Well spaced furniture, unfussy decor and - for once - background music also help give a relaxed vibe. The Bear Me Brewery is down below, and ten different beers in a range of (mostly) Belgian styles are available on tap. An interesting choice, but I went for the seasonal Biere de Mars (£2.00, half, during the early evening 'happy hour').
On 20th April 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Belgian Cafe
Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) was my first visit to the Belgian Café, although I have wandered past many times. To be honest I always had it down as an expensive café so have avoided, however I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes food is available, with mussels being the specialty of the house, but this is also a bar. In fact this is the tap of the Beer Me brewery which is located in the cellar. I counted ten fonts on the bar, all dispensing Beer Me products. I went for a £5 pint of IPA, which was served by a polite barmaid. There is a cocktail menu, all priced around the £8 mark, and there is an extensive list of bottled beers.
The interior has a cobbled together shabby feel, which is intentional. To the right of the entrance is a raised seating area full of tables set for dining. To the left are some benches that are overlooked by a projector screen that was showing Six Nations rugby. The bar on the rear wall faces some sofas and armchairs, that were far to low for my back! Live music is advertised for Friday and Saturday evenings from 19:30 to 22:30.
On 6th February 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Belgium Cafe
The Belgium Cafe has a prominent position on the seafront grand parade in a striking white period building and brands itself as a bar, bistro and brewery, which is a pretty accurate description from our experience.
As a bistro it is mainly focussed on seafood with a couple of burger and pasta options as well, but most people come here for the mussels and there are 50 menu options on how to have them. As a bar, alongside some wine and cocktail offerings the main attraction is the beer with plenty of bottled options including a decent list of Trappist beers, and then the seven chrome taps on the bar dispensing the beers brewed by the in-house Belgium Craft beer brewery Bear Me, hence the brewery bit.
There are some outside tables on the grand parade side and then as you enter there is a raised area to the right which has tables mainly laid for dining, an area to the left that mainly has communal bench style seating which was mainly utilised by drinkers although you can eat in this section also. This area also has a large pull down screen which was showing the Ladies football World cup in the evenings. And then the bar itself is directly in front of you with its shiny chrome beer taps.
We found this place on our first night in town and finished up going back to try the mussels on the second and for a final beer on the third. During that time I managed to go through all the house brews, primarily because you can purchase a four glass paddle taster for £5. This was a good idea first time round as it taught me to avoid the Mango Unchained, which was far too sweet for me, and focus on the 5% dark Dubbel Trubbel and the 6.5% Big Blonde, both of which were very decent for my taste. On the second night I managed to catch the Oyster Stout being on, but it was a bit too thin for my liking.
Standard pricing is £5 a pint for all the draft beers , or £2.50 a half, unless you catch it during the 5PM to 7PM happy hour when its £3 a pint.
So this is clearly not a traditional pub experience but as a venue to visit for your good lady it ticked nearly all the boxes. Very decent mussels, some good beer supping and a pleasant environment in which to enjoy them.
On 11th July 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]