The Rue de Flandre cafe where a 1942 room, a legendary owner, and cheap beer outdraw every cocktail program in the city.
Au Daringman holds the corner at Rue de Flandre 37 in Sainte-Catherine, a short walk from the fish market squares. The house dates to 1942 and once hosted the Daring Brussels boxing club, which gave the room its name.
Martine has run the bar since 2000, and The Guardian placed it among the best bars in the world without the room changing a thing. The European Bar Guide called it one of the great cafes not just of the street but of Brussels.
Expect enamel beer signs, mismatched chairs, and a crowd that runs from artists to dockers to students. Nobody checks what you are wearing.
One long room with a wooden bar, beer enamels on the walls, and seating inside and out on the Flandre pavement. Vice profiled how Martine turned a hard edged corner bar into one of the city's warmest rooms without renovating away its history.
This is a beer cafe, not a cocktail room. Drafts and Belgian bottles dominate, and The European Bar Guide flagged the keen prices; most beers stay under 5 euros. Order a draft, claim a table, and let the evening run long.
Foursquare tips and Tripadvisor reviews repeat the same line: the mix of people is the charm. Locals hold the bar through the week, and the room fills late on weekends, running until 2am every night but Monday.
The benchmark Brussels brown cafe. Go once for the story, return because Martine remembers you.