Drinking culture in Flanders is a very refined affair. The Flemish drink reverently and intelligently, selecting the right glass for the right beer, and matching their drink and food choices with all the elan of characters in an art-house film. Their sophisticated approach is a lesson in appreciation.
Naturally it is Flanders' seemingly faultless talent for brewing quality beer that has engendered its global reputation as a destination for aficionados. As well as all the big boys in the business – Hoegaarden, Leffe, Stella Artois and Duvel – Flanders is also home to an extraordinary range of lesser-known, locally brewed beers. From white and brown ales, to ales brewed with fruit and even flowers, the beer list in many a bar can number in excess of 200 choices.
Fancy trying a beer brewed by a Trappist monk? Half of the world's Trappist breweries – dating back as far as the Middle Ages – are here in Flanders. Once the brothers brewed ale to drink within their own monastery walls, but today they supply Belgium's pubs and bars.
Or how about a De Koninck in Antwerp? This local brewery makes several famous beers, including the Bolleke, the Cuvée, and a winter-beer called Winterkoninck, all of which are said to taste best in their own hometown.
The glass you drink your beer in is so crucial in Flanders that you often order by the glass style, not the drink's name. Every drink has its own kind of glass perfectly shaped to allow the drinker to get the maximum aroma, taste, head and carbonation from each individual beer. Trappist beers are drunk in traditional goblet-like glasses, giving you a taste of medieval life. For maximum eccentricity, order a "Kwak", a test-tube-like glass held upright in a wooden stand, which makes a quacking sound when the beer in it is upturned before entering the mouth.
But there's more to Flanders than just great beer. Don't forget to try the famous Dutch-Belgian spirit jenever, a forerunner and close relative of gin. Made from distilling malt wine and sugar, then adding juniper for flavour and as a tonic, jenever was originally sold as a medicine in the 16th century, but within a century it had become prized for its taste. The Flemish are justly proud of it – there's even a national museum of jenever in the Belgian town of Hasselt, which is famous for distilling the drink (19 Witte-Nonnenstraat).
Brussels
Café Fontainas
Right at the heart of the hip, gay pavement scene of St Jacques, this deco-fronted bar has been attracting the arty crowd to its pavement tables for years – it's the place to be seen, sipping a cocktail, gossiping and checking out the fashionable and the fanciable.
91 Rue Marché au Charbon
L'ArchIduc
Nothing soothes the soul more than escaping into the beautiful art deco surrounds of the famous L'Archiduc – cited as the"best bar in Europe" by worldbestbars.com. Lounge around in the original 30s walnut interior, while Gregory, the handsome pianist, tinkles away on the ivories.
6 Rue Antoine Dansaert; archiduc.net
Leuven
Café Apero
Café Apero prides itself on being the cosiest and coolest bar in Leuven – with a free jazz jam on Mondays and dance-friendly DJs playing soul, funk, electro and techno the rest of the week to beautiful youths sporting asymmetric hair and asymmetric clothes.
52 Oude Markt
Café Allee
It's hard to choose from the array of Oude Markt bars, but if you like your bars a little bit old-school, Allee is the place to go. Sip on a G&T while you watch the musos and hipsters dancing to rock, indie and 80s power pop.
41 Oude Markt
Mechelen
Barramundo Lounge
With its plush leather sofas, atmospheric lighting and non-posey clientele, Barramundo is the coolest place to hang out in Mechelen by night. Select yourself a post-dinner cocktail from the extensive list and enjoy the lounge soundtrack until the wee small hours.
2 Steenweg; barramundo-lounge.be
Puro
Housed in the former Lamot brewery, Puro boasts a spectacular glass-fronted restaurant and glamorous lounge bar, where you can enjoy a glass of wine (they serve 90 different kinds) and eavesdrop on interesting conversations under twinkling chandeliers.
20 Guldenstraat; puro-mechelen.be
Ghent
Vooruit
Known as the "palace of the socialists", this egalitarian arts centre has a beautiful, huge old-fashioned cafe-bar, which stays open late every night. It's popular with artists and young people, who sprawl at tables playing chess, writing on laptops, and filling up ashtrays, to a background of laidback sounds.
23 Sint-Pietersnieuw-straat; vooruit.be
'T Dreupelkot
The bars and pubs that line the streets immediately around the river, in the heart of old Ghent, are the places to see and be seen. 't Dreupelkot (as well as nearby Bierhuis and Tavern Dulle Griet) is a quirky pub, which sells a spectacular variety of jenevers.
12 Groetenmarkt; water-huisaandebierkant.be
Pink Flamingo's
The decor in this trendy camp-kitsch lounge-bar is all "genuine plastic", from the candelabra made of Barbie dolls to the windows stacked with a mixture of Snow White dwarves and Jesus figurines. It also holds regular parties and is popular with the student crowd, during the day and evening. Other cool Ghent bars include Dépôt Central, Belga Queen and Limonada.
55 Onderstraat, Ghent; pinkflamingos.be
Antwerp
Cocktails at Nine
The clue's in the name. This stylish addition to Antwerp's bar scene can be found nestling at number 9 Linjwaadmarkt in a historic 200-year-old building. Not that you'd know when you're inside – everything from its chic interior to its creative cocktail list, mixing classics with inventive seasonal offerings, oozes contemporary chic.
9 Linjwaadmarkt; cocktailsatnine.be
De Foyer Café
On the first floor of the elegant De Bourla theatre in the Latin quarter, this is a wonderfully grand circular cafe with a vast frescoed, vaulted ceiling and immense chandeliers. It's a perfect place for a quiet coffee and patisserie mid-afternoon, or a glittering place to drink champagne at night.
18 Komedieplaats; defoyer.be
King Kong
This relaxed bar has a terrace garden and as well as drinks, offers a popular food menu. The name relates to the donation that the bar makes to ape conservation projects when you buy a drink.
58 Volkstraat
Ostend
Bistro Beau Site
Located in a stunning art deco building with large windows overlooking the sea, this has a low-key, relaxing vibe, which makes even the most active seaside stroller lazy with contentment. Settle into a window seat upstairs with a coffee or gather a group of friends for carafes of wine around the large wooden table downstairs and chill out to the sound of the sea.
39 Albert 1 Promenade
Bruges
Café Mundo
Located in a wing of the former Oud Sint Jan hospital, Café Mundo is a funky place to while away an evening. Pictures of well-known world landmarks adorn the walls inside, while outside in the courtyard Buddha statues rest on every windowsill and a large cabana-esque canopied area provides lots of comfy seating.
Site Oud Sint Jan
De Medici Sorbetière
The best place for a mid-shopping hot chocolate stop, De Medici Sorbetière serves theirs Belgian-style, handing over a cup of hot milk and a large piece of chocolate to melt in to it yourself. Take a table upstairs and observe the action on the bustling street outside while you indulge.
9 Geldmunstraat
Staminee De Garre
You'd never find this if you didn't know where to look, tucked away down a cobbled alley beneath a misleading sign advertising "Cookies". The creaking medieval building is one of the most atmospheric places in Belgium to drink. Choose from more than 300 different beers.
1 De Garre
Craenenburg
The only bar on Markt most locals would dare be seen drinking in, Craenenburg provides the perfect place for some early evening people-watching. Order a bottle of locally brewed Brugse Zot or a warming Irish coffee and take a ringside seat on the terrace to watch the tourists go by.
16 Markt; craenenburg.be
