The best cocktail bars Belgium

A Liège institution. You can't miss this mythical place behind the Place du Marché, in a cluster of ^18th-century mansions. The place is a must-see, as is the local beverage, peket, a genever available in some thirty fruity flavors... or flambé. But the special thing about the place is that it's made up of four entities (pékéterie, restaurant, wine bar and club) linked together in a maze of adjoining rooms where it's easy to get lost! There's also a popular outdoor terrace.

Ready to take a cocktail world tour from Bruges? This is the trendy place to sip these sweet treats. Behind a historic façade lies an elegant interior with a hushed ambience, inviting us to make ourselves comfortable in the satin armchairs. The stars here are the Ghost colors based on gin and IPA beer with lemon and ginger syrup, and the Zombi with its 3 rums and deliciously tangy notes of pineapple, lime and passion fruit. The ingredients are all fresh and the balance of flavors respected.

The superb old "English" pharmacy on the Mont des Arts has been transformed into a cocktail bar with a beautiful effect. The wood panelling, the shelves, the herbal and potion jars are still there, as well as the counter. It is the medication that has changed. No Belgian beers here, only cocktails of all kinds, from the classics to some very strange ones that seem to have come straight out of an alchemist's old book! Nice initiative, but a note that can quickly go up in the towers.

The Greenlab is a real gin bar opened by Sophie Barrière and Leslie Moreau. Not far from the world record with more than 150 gins, the staff gives good advice and proposes a seasonal cocktail menu. The syrups and infusions are made in-house. The bar organizes events related to the cocktail world (Brussels Cocktail Week...). It is possible to privatize the mezzanine of 30 places. You can also take advantage of the snack bar in collaboration with the cheese factory La Fruitière, with sausages from the market, small vegetarian snacks...

Tam-Tam is a tiki bar with a tropical atmosphere, and with exotic, caliente or sexotic cocktails some would say. Because in this long list, most of the cocktails on the menu are forbidden to under 18s: the Maousse Costo (very loaded!) or the Erotiques for example. There are also the Déjantés du Tam-Tam and in those, we like the Nana (rum and pineapple juice, served in a fresh pineapple). As a good tiki, the Tam-Tam serves a lot of compositions based on good rum and offers a neat bamboo decoration with tropical plants, to warm up in winter.

L'Antiquaire had a fine nose when it opened its bar in 2019! Right across from the entrance to the brand-new cable car and on a newly refurbished and pedestrianized Place Maurice Servais, it doesn't get much uglier for such an establishment. L'Antiquaire focuses on three areas: cocktails, spirits and high-end beers. As beautiful as they are good, the former are classic, sunny or creative (Mojito, Sex on the beach, Mexico '86, Elixir du Gisou...) but always beautifully presented. The interior is classy, but the terrace is a must.

Little brother of the restaurant Ma Jolie (so close that only one building separates them), this cocktail club has taken on many of the codes of its elder sister: dark walls, parquet floors, velvet and touches of rich colours... It works very well, it's cosy and it makes you want to launch into great confidences, cocktail in hand. Nicolas, the barman and mixologist, proposes surprising cocktails (including a pisco with fir tree liqueur or a negroni with hibiscus-infused grappa). To accompany all this, we pick from the menu of tapas / finger food house.

The first step is down a few steps into the bar. The jigger is the measuring instrument used to make cocktails. And that's exactly what this bar specializes in. A sweet or spicy first note? Each mixture has been thought through to the end of the straw. Even the coasters are decorated with mischievous drawings. The menu is regularly changed according to the fruit in season. The glassware is elegant, the atmosphere is subdued inside, and the paneled terrace outside has a truly magnificent green roof.

It's one of the oldest cocktail bars on the coast, but still in the top 3. Located next to the Blankenberge marina, it serves delicious concoctions, with or without alcohol, in a relaxed atmosphere and designer decor. Alongside regularly changing creations, we recommendAviation, a fresh and elegant blend of gin, violet syrup, lemon and maraschino. The gin and whisky menu is impressive, and if you're hungry, a finger food/tapas list is available. Covered terrace.

Sprezza is the ideal place to share a cocktail with friends. In this upscale hotel bar, first enjoy watching the mixologist craft your cocktail with skill and experience. Then sip it at the bar or on one of the coffee tables, amid a colorful, chic and eclectic decor. The bar also offers a fine selection of spirits, as well as tapas to share, such as an assortment of charcuterie and a trio of tapenades. An exceptional moment. On Sundays, the bar offers a more extensive menu of noble products.

Nude is the place to go out in Kortrijk if you like your venues chic and sophisticated. Elegant and warm, but also a laid-back "easy bar", the place is frequented for its menu of racy cocktails with hand-picked premium spirits. Or to dine on tapas, mezze and dishes influenced by the flavors of the Middle East, Persia and North Africa. You can also come for the aperitif, the terrace and the wines. The atmosphere is subdued, except perhaps on concert and DJ night days. On weekends, it's funk, disco and oldies.

This is THE cocktail bar in Hasselt. It's got it all: the Roaring Twenties look, the velvet on the seats, the subdued lighting, the 5-storey shelves filled with the rarest spirits, while the front of the bar displays tinctures and other bitters, the jazzy playlist... and a bartender who knows what he's doing! In addition to the good old mixes you're all familiar with, the bar has its own creations, but we recommend the "Beauty & the Beast", based on juniper of course, but with a mise-en-scène that's worth ordering on its own. That's all we have to say!

Urban jungle and tiki lounge ambience for this bar dedicated to aperitifs and cocktails. Neon lights, roses, plants everywhere, rattan seats and cushions with tropical prints give the establishment a vacation feel, all the more so as it has a lovely view over the Lys. Here, you can enjoy a spritz or a negroni, as well as more elaborate cocktails (amaretto sour, margarita...), but all in the "light and fresh" category, so as not to upset your stomach. And if you're feeling peckish, André offers a range of aperitif platters.

A long counter, subdued lighting, shelves filled with spirits and other concoctions, a back space with deep chesterfields - this is the setting at Dogma, a cocktail bar in the heart of downtown. There's a hint of speakeasy about the place, but it's not hidden. The bar's creations, led by award-winning mixologist Didier Van den Broeck, change with the seasons, but they're always surprising (like the Aix-en-Provence with... goat's cheese). Let yourself be guided by the staff or the description (fruity, tiki, long...) and enjoy!

Roaring Twenties atmosphere in this cocktail bar near Josaphat Park! When you see the muffled light and the velvet armchairs in the room, you just want to dive in and not move. This will allow you to detail the cocktail menu. There are classics of course but also signature cocktails. Let Romain, the mixologist, advise you if you hesitate. There is also a small menu of appetizers and goodies to nibble on, so that these concoctions don't go to your head.