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.

Nice terrace overlooking the old Brewery across the river Dyle. Food is 'classic' Belgian pubfood:…read moreshrimp and cheese croquettes, salads, steaks, asparagus in season. OK but not exceptional. Prices a bit on the high side. I didn't even remember I had ever been here, but my comments still stand: I did forget to mention however that the exterior of the restaurant is very pretty: a restaured house from (my guess) the sixteenth century. The interior is not that special though. This time, I had shrimp croquettes - a Belgian favorite - which was OK, but again not great. At least, they looked like they were home-made (or made in one of the fish shops on the same market)

Lovely little bar in town of Mechelen. Not much happens in this town so I was very happy to find…read morethis place. Friendly waiter and great service. If you are ever in Mechelen try it, You just like it