Excellent craft beer bar! Great to enjoy a beer out on the terrace on the Grote Markt or in the…read moretrendy and cozy interior. Lots of very good beers on tap, and staff that will help you pick a good choice! Every Flemish town needs a place like this!

Updated: Honoloeloe has changed its name to "Makadam"…read more A top-notch little beer bar on Grote Markt in Mechelen. This place has a nice modern vibe to it and the staff are very friendly. The owners of this bar are true beer enthusiasts and they are focusing on great Belgian beer. The Count was impressed with level of beer knowledge displayed by the owner. They had quite a few premium Belgian bottles, plus some nice beers on tap though the tap count was low at four lines. I sampled a deliciously refreshing cherry La Chouffe and tried some other offerings that were recommended. The Belgians are warming up to hoppy beers now it would seem, and I saw quite a few IPA styles now being produced by Belgian breweries. But The Count was in search of something special this time. Something not normally available at most Belgian bars. This was an episode of "Raiders of the Lost Beer". And The Count was in search of the ever-elusive Westvleteren beer, which is considered to be among the best beer in the world. This is not an easy beer to find even for Belgians. You really need to know someone Flemish who knows their beer. Fortunately, The Count knows many Flemish! Still, this superb beer can elude even Belgian beer snobs due to limited supply and high demand. After relaying the mission to the barkeep (and demonstrating our shared commitment to fine beer), he assured us he could score some of the elusive brew. He said he was connected. I won't lie. We were skeptical. Talk is cheap. But we had such a good time at Makadam (formerly Honoloeloe) that we decided to see if he could actually come through for us. We came back the next evening, ready to rib him gently for failing the mission. No shame though as many have failed to secure Westvleteren despite the best of intentions. Much to our surprise - and delight - he was a true Indiana Beer Jones! He had scored some Westvleteren 8 and some Westvleteren 12! And it was delicious and quite a treat to have this rare beer. Mind you - it didn't come cheap, since this fellow had to drive to get it and work some connections. But it was a great gift that he did this for us and showed that this bar is SERIOUS about Belgian beer. It was worth the price. So thank you Makadam! I will be back. And you are now on The Count's list of favorite beer bars around the world. If you are in Mechelen, and want to try the very best beer that Belgium has to offer, you would be remiss in not stopping by Makadam to have a beer or two...or three. It's a great place. Don't miss it. Life is too short and the beer is too good.

Skybar is located on top of Lindner Hotel, close to Antwerpen-centraal train station. The building…read moreis not exactly tall, but it does offer a very nice view of the city. Antwerp is not known for skyscrapers after all. The bar is very spacious and cleanly decorated. Pretty classy in my opinion. I talked a bit with the bartender and told him that I was looking for a boozy cocktail that would match a bulleit rye bottle that I noticed in the bar. He didn't have any in the menu, but suggested his take on a classic: a smoked pumpkin old fashioned. I thought that the smoke was just shenanigans, but in this case it added some peat to the cocktail. I loved it. It was nice to relax a bit with a nice view and a great cocktail in hand. Too bad I could not stay long, as I had dinner scheduled with some friends in another restaurant. I can see myself spending a quality evening there. Oh, well, next time I guess.

I went there for dinner and there is only a set menu with either 3 or 4 courses starting from €44,…read morewhich I find expensive. Especielly when looking at what people was getting for that money (not very much). With the very expensive menue with very little flexibility and seemingly low value for money, I decided to only have a drink and some finger foods. On the wine list they do not have any options if you want wine by the glass only 1 white, red and rose house wine is available, which I find is really limited - especielly when you call yourself a lounge bar. Their finger food is store bought tortilla chips (bad quality) with a "Chef's famous home made salsa" which is a store bought salsa that they've added chopped tomatoes, corn and onions. I also had their large chips with sea salt which were large squares of potato chips that were covered in sea salt, very salty. In addition they were served on a piece of wood that had been chemically treated (toxic!!). I would say - come here if you want coctails and a view - for that it's great!