Arthur Orlans
If you like a cozy atmosphere and stylish decor, you’ll love this speakeasy-looking bar.
Here, all the cocktails are made to measure. Logically, we are in a former fashion house… Francesco Ravo was responsible for the opening of this showcase on Rue Dansaert.
A tribute to his father, Mario, a tailor for men who passed on to him his keen sense of aesthetics and noble materials. On the program of this confidential address: retro atmosphere and decoration like a “cabinet of curiosities”.
There are luxurious leather sofas, tartan carpeting, jungle patterned wallpaper… The place is undeniably a real eye-catcher. And if not, what are we sipping? Gin, of course. Gino Baldan and his team of bartenders have concocted fancy cocktails made with Monkey 47 gin. The brand has chosen Arthur Orlans as the world’s leading flagship…
This could perhaps become your new HQ?
Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 67, 1000 Brussels
Kif Kif
This Aladdin’s cave-style restaurant near the Ixelles étangs (ponds) does an incredible fusion of Moroccan and Jewish cuisine.
Golden tagines in heavy clay pots and carafes of ruby-colored Middle Eastern wines emerge from the kitchen, along with the most intoxicating smells.
Take a post-dinner stroll around the lush green ponds to work off your meal and the jewel-like pistachio pastries, dripping in honey, that the waiters present you with as you leave.
A large tagine with couscous is about €16.
KifKif, Square de Biarritz 1, +32 2 644 18 10, no website. – Photo by Olaiya Land
Goupil le Fol
Kitsch decor covers every inch of wall space in this former brothel, now one of Brussels’ coolest bars.
Expect to find anything from a politician’s bust to a rusty bicycle in Goupil’s three-story boudoir.
Sink into a chintzy velvet sofa among the candles and sip on the house speciality: secret-recipe hazelnut wine served ice-cold in a huge glass.
If you’re feeling brave, head up to the third floor to join couples smooching to the sounds of old French jazz on the record player.
Goupil le Fol, Rue de la Violette 22, http://www.goupillefol.com