Delirium Cafe: Brussels, Belgium

Delirium Lane, Brussels Belgium

If you do happen to find yourself in Brussels and indeed are lucky enough to sample some of the local produce/sites make sure the Delirium Cafe is at the top of your list.

This hard to find bar is a hit with both the locals and the many tourists who visit each year. Once you track down 'Delirium Lane' in which this bar resides, take a walk through the entrance and down the steep stairs into what is a very comfortable bar setting.

Walking down the stairs into the Delirium Cafe, Brussels Belgium

Immediately you notice a very distinct 'bar' smell and the lighting has certainly been set to dim, perhaps even very dim. But this all adds incredible charm to a very popular drinking spot.

Once you find a seat all you need to do is take a quick look around to realise just how popular this place is with tourists from right around the world. Plastered everywhere in the bar and up on the roof are foreign currencies from every country you could think of. Each has a message scrawled in texta, the permanent impressions from past customers adds a nice warmth to the place.

The best thing about the Delirium Cafe and what has made this place famous is its massive beer offering. Over 30 beers available on tap at the bar and more than 2004 others in the back room... We are talking a Guinness World Record amount of beer varieties... 

A very dark glimpse into the beer fridge at the Delirium Cafe (thanks Jamie for use of the Nikon D3100 (not))

Kick things off with the small A4 sized bar menu which lists some local beers and others from surrounding countries (mainly Germany). Also feel free to have a chat with the bartenders, the are very friendly (do their best to speak english) and are very keen to recommend some popular Belgium beers to get you started. 

For the more adventurous beer drinker, its worth browsing the 'phone book' sized beer menu which lists all 2004 varieties all available at the Delirium Cafe (the large book of beers is available to purchase over the bar for 5 Euro). Beers will range from about 4-5% right through to 11%. Beers are itemised by country and Germany takes the cake with over 8 pages of beer varieties. Flick through to the Australian section and you'll soon discover that its much better to stick with the local stuff, a schooner of Coopers Pale ale will set you back 6 Euro.

Looking away from the bar at the Delirium Cafe, you'll notice the beer trays on the ceiling

And the verdict on local Belgium beers? Definitively awesome. I tried two varieties from the Belgium brewer 'Rulles'. One was a summer style ale that was quite refreshing at 5% whilst the next was a similar style beer but with more attitude at 8%. It is literally impossible to not find something you'll absolutely love (even if it takes you a decent session to do so its definitely worth it). Therefore make sure you put aside a whole night for this place because once you get started its hard to stop.

Probably the only critisism of the Delirium Cafe is the food they had available to order. As you would expect there was the usual crisps and being Belgium a small selection of cold meats and cheeses, but what this place really needed was a good selection of bar food, perhaps some fries, chicken wings, ribs etc to really cap it off...

None the less, if you only visit one bar during your stay in Brussels make sure its the Delirium Cafe.