Cocktail barCocktail bar€€€vlamingstraatWed-Sun 17:00-01:00; Mon-Tue closed
Groot Vlaenderen on Vlamingstraat in Bruges is an elegant cocktail bar in a grand room, with a winter fireplace and a quiet courtyard out back.
Signature drink: Classic and signature cocktails
Food: Light snacks
Tip: The courtyard out back is the warm-weather seat. Closed early in the week; check before you go.
Cocktail barBrown cafe€€€sint-annaTue-Wed 12:00-02:00; Thu 17:00-02:00; Fri-Sat 12:00-04:00; Sun 12:00-14:00; Mon closed
l'Estaminet by the Astridpark in Bruges is a local brown cafe with an old wooden interior, carefully pulled beers and a famous plate of spaghetti.
Signature drink: Well-pulled beers, bar snacks
Food: Spaghetti and bar plates
Tip: The park terrace is the spot in summer. Cash works fastest; the spaghetti is the order.
Cocktail barBelgian beer bar€€€marktMon-Tue 16:00-00:00; Thu 16:00-00:00; Fri-Sat 16:00-01:00; Sun 16:00-00:00; Wed closed
't Brugs Beertje on Kemelstraat is the reference beer cafe of Bruges, pouring around 300 Belgian beers with five on draft in a small brown room.
Signature drink: 300 Belgian beers, five on draft
Food: Cheese plates and bar snacks
Tip: Ask the staff to steer you; the list is encyclopedic. The cheese plate soaks up a Trappist.
Cocktail barBeer tasting house€€€marktMon-Thu 12:00-00:00; Fri 12:00-01:00; Sat 11:00-01:00; Sun 12:00-00:00
De Garre hides down the narrowest alley off Breidelstraat in Bruges, pouring its 11% house Tripel van De Garre brewed by Van Steenberge in a snug brick room.
Signature drink: Tripel van De Garre, 11%
Food: Cheese and pâté boards
Order: The house Tripel van De Garre, served with a cube of cheese; the limit is three for good reason.
Tip: The alley is a doorway-wide gap off Breidelstraat; blink and you miss it. Cash and card both work.
Cocktail barBeer cellar bar€€€marktMon-Tue 17:00-01:00; Thu-Sun 17:00-01:00; Wed closed
Le Trappiste pours beer in a vaulted 13th-century cellar on Kuipersstraat in Bruges: 27 taps and around 150 bottles, heavy on Trappist and abbey styles.
Signature drink: 27 beers on tap, 150 by the bottle
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Closed Wednesday. The downstairs cellar is the room to ask for; the taps rotate often.
Cocktail barBeer brasserie€€€burgDaily 11:00-22:00
Cambrinus on Philipstockstraat near the Burg in Bruges is a beer brasserie with a 400-strong list and a full Flemish kitchen of beer-braised classics.
Signature drink: 400 beers, Flemish plates
Food: Flemish brasserie kitchen
Order: A stoofvlees cooked in dark Belgian ale, with a matching abbey beer from the list.
Tip: Open daily, kitchen and bar both. The list is bound like a book; take your time with it.