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Bruges is not the liveliest city at night, but there are a handful of good hangouts, including several bars that attract a younger crowd at 't Zand. Pubs, mostly catering to an under-30 clientele, are clustered around the Eiermarkt, at the back of the Markt.
There are also many gay-friendly bars in Bruges. For an update on the best hangouts for gays, visit the Gaybruges website (www.j-h.be/gaybruges).
Part of the joy of this "hobbit hole"--esque pub lies in finding it; the hidden entrance (be prepared to duck) is basically the old service hatch, where goods would be delivered direct to the cellar. In this case, the bar is the cellar. Novelty aside, this is a good, old-fashioned pub, and its beer selection is among the best in the city.
Tourists flock here en masse to see the beer wall, a glass case displaying one bottle for every brand of Belgian beer, but the real lure is the view from the terrace, overlooking the Djiver canal. A prolific selection of local brews also helps. There's a good beer shop, too.
In a city of beer bars, Blend is a tiny oasis. This new wine bar--wine shop was recently opened by two gentlemen who have both previously shared the title "Best Sommelier in Belgium," so the selection is excellent, with 30 wines by the glass and some 300 bottles to peruse, with a big emphasis on Italian grapes.
Arguably the most famous pub in town, Bruges's original specialist beer café is an iconic destination for hop lovers and stocks around 300 different brews. Expect to sample a few curiosities like the Wallonian Bush beer (one of the strongest in Belgium), the odd brew from the famed Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren monastery, an excellent choice of lambic beers from Brussels's Cantillion, and a good selection from the local Halve Maan brewery.
With more than 350 gins—from your standard "mother's ruin" to Dutch-style jenever—served every way you can imagine, this bar is the very definition of a gin palace. It's a bit off the beaten track (hidden on a cobbled street near Koningen Astridpark), and a tad at odds with the rest of beer-swilling Bruges. But sometimes that's not a bad thing, with most of the gins also for sale in 5-cl or 10-cl pharmacy bottles, to take home.
Below the hotel of the same name, the "Little Bottle" has enjoyed a legendary status among Belgian beer lovers for more than three decades---a quick glance at the more than 300 choices on offer on the menu will soon tell you why.
This busy café-bar might be attached to a hotel, but it remains a destination in itself—a wood-and-stone interior, copious (albeit fake) red roses for decor, knowledgeable staff, and a beer menu topping 150 that includes some rare Trappist finds, are all potent lures.
This old-school estaminet, lying down a narrow alleyway off Breidelstraat, is something of a local icon. Its 140-strong beer list is encyclopedic and well curated, and the 11% house tripel is so potent ("suitable for gourmets," it claims) that staff will only serve you a maximum of three. Classical music sets the scene for an older audience that many of the city bars don't cater to.
This "brown café" lies tucked away off the main shopping street, and has found a firm following among locals for its late-night blues and rock. It's cash-only, so leave your plastic at home, and the beer selection is superb.
This lovely pub is in the cryptlike cellar of an 800-year-old building, the perfect setting for sampling some of its many hundreds of different Belgian and global ales.
Ring the bell and wait to be ushered past the old paintings, voodoo temple, and weird Gothic, slightly steampunk clutter (owner Don "Willy" Retsin considers it to be a museum of sorts, but then he also claims to be a vampire…) of this former Masonic lodge-turned-secret bar. The live music has a Latin vibe, though the occasional performance from its P. T. Barnum-esque owner is worth the wait. Havana-style rum punches dominate the drinks menu, but the real star is the decor: kitsch, unique and utterly memorable.
Timeless hospitality and great beers are the name of the game at this quaintly old-fashioned café---one that is part historical pub, and part antiques shop.
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