La Becasse

You have absolutely no chance of stumbling on this place, (just off the Grand Place) so well hidden is this wonderful little ornate bar, and as far as I'm concerned that's a very good thing. This way it retains a sedate charm that is both welcoming but exclusive and engenders a sort of smugness that you have found it yourself.

A long scruffy passageway leads you to La Becasse - that has been a bar since 1793. Once inside, so ordered are the solid oak tables that you could imagine it as a dining room at Oxford University with oak pannelled walls to match, complemented by a marble floor.

Service is from a beautiful oak bar with a plethora of polished copper, stained glass and traditional stoneware pitchers to serve the beer (or geuze) brewed just a few miles away.

We ordered a "Grande" and looked aghast as the waiter brought us three one litre steins. Comically, 8 young French guys walked in, sat down next to us and smiled knowingly as we lived up to their stereotypical view of "Le Rosbifs".

In short - a lovely place to enjoy a quiet beer and snack away from the tourist hell of the Grand Place bars.