Brussels Bars & Cocktail Lounges

Brussels gets bad press but don't believe the hype. No city in Europe has better restaurants, more remarkable architecture or more finely brewed beer than the capital of Europe. From the Gothic buildings of the Grand Place, to the bars of the Bourse, the shops and cafes of Sablon, it's a cool, classy mini version of Paris without the pretension. Europe's finest young fashion designers, some great bands and dozens of Michelin star restaurants await visitors on a laid back weekend break. Check out the style bars of Place St Gery while you're here and don't miss L'Archiduc – for our money the best bar in Europe.

Archiduc

• 6 rue Antoine-Dansaert
• Brussels,
• Telephone: 00 32 2 512 06 52

The coolest bar in all of Belgium, this classic near the Bourse has to be seen to be believed. Ring a bell on the street and you enter a steel bubble swing door like entering a bank. This spins you out into an art deco room with high ceilings, half-moon balcony, pillars to the roof, a piano in the middle and tiny corner bar. Your fellow drinkers are architects, intellectuals and artistic beauties and the bar-staff know their music as well as their martinis. Anything from trip-hop to country plays until late and you only get your bill when you leave. Famous for jazz sessions too, the owner might tell you about the times Miles Davis used to come in and jam.

Belga Queen

• Rue Fosse aux Loups 32
• Brussels,
• Telephone: +32 2 217 2187

Hot new brasserie near the Bourse and Grand Place where the oysters, Champagne and Chardonnay seem to come with the furniture. The setting is a stylish, cavernous room of much wood, glass and light, specialising in seafood, Belgian beers and wines. The oysters and moules-frites are fantastic and the place manages to maintain its distinct style despite being in a tourist-rich area and far more reasonably priced than its gourmet neighbours. They do a fine array of Belgian beers, although we suggest you eat something before you try their potent monastery-made ales.

Tierra del Fuego

• 4 Rue Berckmans
• Brussels,
• Telephone: +32 2 537 427

Tucked-away Latin American bar with one of the coolest beer gardens in all of Belge. Nestled on a small street close to the fabulous Avenue Louise and just off Chaussée de Charleroi, this is where Cuba meets Brazilian via Mojitos and Caiparinhas and a lively mix of salsa, samba and so on. The garden is in a gorgeous courtyard out back, accessed via a little footbridge and it’s full of trees and plants that make you feel as if you’re in a tropical garden. There are some fine tapas dishes and a wide choice of tasty Cuban rums and we recommend you lie back on antique couches and chairs and sample the menu. Viva the best little Latin bar in Belgium!

Havana

• Rue de L'epee 4
• Brussels, Hours:+32 2 502 1224

This mightily popular Cuban-themed restaurant-meets-club bar might not be to everyone’s taste, but we defy you not to have fun if you give it a go. It’s an enormous wood floor interior, with vast seating booths and three separate dance spaces – if we were counting right. Cuisine is tasty Latin-Mediterranean, but we mostly recommend Havana for the drinks and dancing. The cocktail menu is a pretty cheesy read and leans to sweet big-bar drinks – White Russians and Sex on the Beaches – but the friendly staff have a way with the measures and mix them to perfection. There’s a vast selection of malts, bourbons and brandies, but the best potion is the Havana Special: a sweet Havana Club rum, pineapple juice, Cointreau and Grenadine concoction that will have you dancing until dawn. And literally too: they’re open until 7am weekends.