No fewer than six Belgian bars have been included in the top ten of the 2025 European Bar Guide. One spot in Brussels was crowned the best on the continent.
The quality of the thirst-quenching beers and aromatic wines poured out in bars are key factors in determining their excellence. However, the people behind the European Bar Guide believe many more factors aside from good drinks define what makes a good watering hole, including character, atmosphere, events, value for money, and good food.
Based on these criteria, this year's guide has nominated Brussels-based bar Het Goudblommeke in Papier or La Fleur en Papier Doré as the best in Europe in its 2025 edition. The iconic cosy establishment, described as a Belgian Café and historic tavern, achieved a near-perfect score of 9.7/10.
"La Fleur en Papier Doré combines several crucial constituents that make a great pub," the guide states. "The style and decor go for a vintage aesthetic, the wall covered in antique framed artwork, leaning towards medievalism and floral romanticism overall."
Meeting place for artists
The legendary Brussels café was a well-known haunt for Belgian artists such as surrealist René Magritte, author Hugo Claus and comic artist Hergé (the man behind Tintin).
In July 1997, the Royal Commission for the Protection of Monuments and Sites of Brussels classified its three taprooms and the façade as a protected monument.
Credit: Het Goudblommeke in Papier
Tucked away among the city centre's tourist hotspots, Het Goudblommeke is one of the oldest and best-known bars in the region. When it went bankrupt in 2022, it was feared it would never reopen. However, after sitting empty for nine months, the bar on Rue des Alexiens 13 was revived by Gilles Lantez, the owner of the popular Brasserie Verschueren in Saint-Gilles, in the summer of 2023.
It now attracts a healthy mix of locals and tourists visiting for the first time. "Due to the new association with Verschueren, the beers have been revamped, a genuinely excellent selection at perfectly reasonable prices, elevating the place to a near-mythical level," the guide reads. There are also plenty of non-beer alternatives.
Best of Belgium
Het Goudblommeke is one of six Belgian bars included in the guide's top ten this year.
In third place is Retsins Lucifernum in Bruges, with a score of 9.6/10. It has been in the guide's top 100 for the third year in a row. Its distinctive decor reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe and location behind an art gallery in an opulent Art Nouveau mansion contributed to it claiming the title of an "off-the-wall concept".
Credit: Retsins Lucifernum
It is followed by another Bruges-based bar, 't Brugs Biertje (the little Bruges beer). The final three bars in the top ten are also all located in Belgium. In eighth place is the Le Pot Au Lait in Liège.
Another quirky bar, Goupil Le Fol (also in Brussels' city centre) ranked ninth. It is famed for the jukebox playing French chansons and its delicious homemade fruit wines (the cherry and raspberry wine is a classic).
Finally, the family-run Kulminator in Antwerp rounded out the top ten. It is loved for its unique collection of privately aged Belgian ales going back decades.
