Herberg Vlissinghe

Herberg VlissingheHerberg Vlissinghe
Herberg VlissingheHerberg Vlissinghe
Bar, Eatery

Blekersstraat 2
Brugge, 8000
Belgium

+32 50 34 37 37 | map
cafevlissinghe.be
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.9
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
21
pDev:
10%
View: Place Reviews
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Rated: 4.58 by MikeM75 from Virginia

Sep 09, 2019
 
Rated: 3.81 by desint from Belgium

Feb 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by HopBelT from Belgium

Mar 31, 2017
Photo of atpca
Reviewed by atpca from California

4.33/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
One medium sized room, nice spacious patio. 4 beers on tap, about 20 in bottles. Fairly international crowd, but far enough from the main tourist areas that things were quite calm. Nice place for a beer and a slice of apple pie.
May 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.94 by mozartandmadnes from Spain

Apr 10, 2015
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Reviewed by almostjay from Virginia

4.48/5  rDev +14.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
It's hard for me to conceive of a better place to drink than this. Nothing better than hanging out in the backyard, eating delicious cheese and drinking delicious Belgian brews. Definitely not a party vibe, but you probably knew that already. Great place to relax and talk with friends, and strangers.
Dec 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by spointon from Illinois

Jul 10, 2014
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Reviewed by Jackofallbrews from Minnesota

3.89/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
This pub opened in 1515! Now that is impressive! The inside was quite small with old and well used woods and a prominently displayed wood stove and iron warmer in the center. Out back there was another cozy courtyard filled with smoking Europeans. Their beer list was limited but included some of the Trappist ales. I tried a newer brewery, Fort Lapin's (rabbit) Tripel which was light, fruity and perfect for the environment. At one point there was a large crash from a neighboring table as a chair catastrophically failed on a poor patron. No one seemed too injured thank goodness! This was a fine place to have a drink and catch up on our day, but I wish it had a better beer list to recommend it.
May 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by uturn from Florida

Jan 09, 2014
Photo of Reagan1984
Reviewed by Reagan1984 from Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
How the heck can this be the first review since 9/10??
This place opened in 1515 and walking into the tavern takes you back in time. The decor is awesome. If the weather is nice, they have a beautiful beer garden out back. You're not going to find an amazing list of secret beers, but they have most of the standards. Several on tap and a decent bottle list. Food caters to the snacking side of things.

Definitely hit this for a couple glasses and a quick bite while in Brugge. It's just outside of the heavy tourist traffic and was even sporting several locals
Apr 19, 2012
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Reviewed by BlackHaddock from England

2.83/5  rDev -27.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4
Visited on a cold and wet Thursday lunchtime in August 2010.

The place is lovely and olde worlde as we walk in, it is also very, very full, as is the small room you can have for parties of around 20 just down to the right. We therefore drop into the garden: tables, chairs and big umbrellas on a patio, raised decking with more seating and tables, and some grass: all pleasant, tidy and neat. The toilets are outside too.

There only appeared to be one guy taking orders even though the place was rammed, so it took a while before he got outside with the menu. Zot Blonde on draught, not in its best condition was taken by my wife and I, nice glasses though. The two pasta meals we ordered were however well presented, plentiful and just what we needed.

As others have mentioned, nice old place and a leasurely walk to find it doesn't hurt, but the beer selection is poor for Brugge and there are a host of better places in all aspects within the town.
Sep 03, 2010
Photo of jmhart
Reviewed by jmhart from Georgia

3.35/5  rDev -14.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3
Oldest bar in Bruges...yada yada yada...so we had to stop by.

Our B&B hostess said it was worth a beer or two, so that's what we did.

My wife and I shared a Hoegaarden Grand Cru and Westmalle Tripel.

Atmosphere was definitely out of antiquity but a little too run down. Excellent wooden accents all over. Great fireplace. Terrific paintings. It was very much like the brew houses in Germany...only in Belgium. Had a pretty large outdoor seating area.

Thing is, this place didn't embrace itself. It was...well, it was touristy. It relied too much on "Hey, we're the oldest bar in Bruges." It seemed like it probably had a lot of class a hundred years ago, but now is inhabited a little too much by Frat boys during their summer abroad. Seems like a place where the owners love making money off of being the oldest bar in Bruges, without actually love being the oldest bar in Bruges.

Service was average. We got our beers, didn't have to wait too long. Nothing exceptional, but no complaints either.

Beer menu was pretty standard for Belgium. Really nothing fantastic. I wanted to try the Hoegardden Grand Cru while I was in Belgium, so this was as good a place as any...better than to hold off and try it at somewhere with a better beer menu.

Overall, it was neat, glad we stopped in...but glad we didn't stay too long. I won't go back and wouldn't really recommend it. If somebody was asking me for places to go, I'd say "And there's this place, which is old, so go to it if you want to say you've been to this old bar".
Aug 08, 2010
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Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev -5.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Visited 8-22-08

For me, the thought of drinking in a tavern that had been in nearly continual operation since 1515 was thrilling. I can't say why, other than that each sip of my beer tasted like history.

Vissinghe was the first tavern we visited in Bruges and as such we ordered local - a couple drafts of Bruges Zot. Vissinghe is located a bit north of Central Bruges but truly, Bruges is a very small place and there is no beer bar that isn't walkable from any other in the city. In our case, Vissinghe made an easy first destination as it was only a minute or two from our B&B.

We were there around 6:30 PM and the place was packed with older locals. Service was fine but the beer list wasn't particularly strong. Still, Vissinghe was a bit of homage for a beer geek like me.
Jul 19, 2010
Photo of skberke
Reviewed by skberke from Illinois

3.73/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4
We visited in September 2009. It would be a long walk from the center of Brugges (which could be nice if you're in the mood), but we had rented bicylces that day so getting there was easy. The atmosphere is more classical, 19-th century than other bars, with wood paneling and a small bar carved from dark glossy wood. It is cool to say that you've been to the oldest bar in Bruges, and to contemplate what it might have been like in 1515. I had a Hoegaarden Verboden Vrucht, which I had not seen anywhere before, and which I liked a great deal. There's communal seating at long tables, and board games are available, but most are in Flemish (of course!). We liked it, and we'd go back if it was convenient, but if staying in the center of Bruges there are more conveniently located bars that are just as good if not better.
Oct 11, 2009
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Reviewed by i13tony from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
As we were staying close to the Markt, finding this pub made for a good excuse for a nice walk through the city. It was worth it, and if it had been closer to our inn, I would have gone back. Very inexpensive beers, nice snack menu, and a great lazy atmosphere for enjoying a few beers. We had soup, grilled cheese, cold gueuze, and several games of backgammon. Very toasty inside, with a wood-fired stove taking the dampness from the air. Nice view of the city from the patio area. Friendly service, in my opinion, and the staff were very happy to see the blurb in my Lonely Planet: Belgium book that identified the pub as an "author's favorite". The one sad part about this site is that it is on a mainstream tourist pamphlet walking tour. As a result, we were embarrassed by a large group of English-speaking tourists who came in like a herd of bulls just as we were preparing to leave.
Nov 24, 2008
Photo of LauraAndrew
Reviewed by LauraAndrew from New York

3.71/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
It's the oldest pub in Brugge, it was right around the corner from our hotel, so what the heck!

Honestly, I wasn't very impressed. It's a cool looking building, and a neat small wooden bar area. And, yes, it's interesting to think about the fact that people have been drinking here since 1515. However, the crowd was a bit on the "towney" side (which is very different from "local"). A young guy was chatting up the bartender, who must have been a friend of his; so her interest level in us was very small. Two old guys at the bar were going on complaining about something or other... Just not the vibe I got from the locals at many of the other very cool bars in Brugge. I felt like I was back in NY state and was looking around for the Quick Draw screen.

It's worth going to say you've been to the oldest bar, blah blah blah... but plan on spending the few rounds somewhere else.
Oct 07, 2008
Photo of barrelman
Reviewed by barrelman from New York

4.26/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Read about this place as the oldest existing bar in Brugge, but only went by because we randomly ran into it on an afternoon of biking around (Hands down the greatest way to experience the city). At the end of a random alleyway we ran into this fine establishment.

The place was nearly empty except for a table of six locals who were enjoying a lazy friday afternoon. The light was pouring in from the large windows looking out to the back garden and was setting an idyllic scene for a couple of great beers. That beer, of course was Poperings Hommel Bier (as recommended in the great book "Around Brugge in 80 Beers"). The owner, Bruno, was manning the bar and was very pleasant to talk to.

This place exuded a feel good atmosphere that wood be impossible to be uncomfortable in. They had a beer list of about 20 decent beers, but i only needed one.

Take a lazy bike ride down the canals and visit this Brugge gem.
Oct 18, 2007
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Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4
You should try to map Vlissinghe out, or you may not find the location. We visited after a rainshower and walked quite a bit from De Halve Maan looking for the previous location of Straffe Hendrik.

The place has been in business since 1515. Inside are some momentos to the era in which it started. We were going to sit outside, but the rain thought otherwise so we ducked inside for a dry table. The establishement was very nice with old wood all around and large tables. The bar was compact and also old and with character. We were the only customers in the place for quite some time.

We checked out the compact beer menu of 3 drafts and 20 bottled selections and landed on the Hoegaarded Grand Cru and Verboden Vrucht. The food menu was very small but the sausages and fingerfoods we ordered were outstanding. Get the Droge Worst which is a local sausage and will melt in your mouth.

Vlissinghe is closed on certain days so plan accordingly. The brochure on the table mentions and outside terrace and lawn bowling but it was too wet for us to ventrure out there. While in the place I happened to meet up with a friend from the US and we sat and talked with his group for awhile. Also, they only take cash.

Een Oase Van Rust, Waar Vrienden Elkaar Treffen. (An oasis of calm, where friends meet.)

Visited on September 14, 2006.
Oct 17, 2006
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Reviewed by msubulldog25 from Oregon

3.79/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
Visited on 15 Sept 2006, a warm sunny afternoon.

An ancient and historic pub, supposedly the oldest in Brugge, ca. 1515. Tucked away down a quiet street NE of the city center, Vlessinghe is a bit off the beaten path but well worth the effort to find. Reeking of history and Old World charm, the interior is a somewhat typical "brown bar" with yellowed walls, wood paneling, and high ceilings. A huge fireplace dominates one wall adjacent to the small bar. Photos and postcards on the walls show a pub mostly unchanged for over a century; likewise, without much effort one can imagine Van Eyck carousing with his buddies here centuries earlier.

On the day we visited (a group of 7 Americans with our Belgian host), sitting outside in the garden beneath the shade trees made the most sense. The courtyard garden is wonderful - a hidden oasis surrounded by mossy brick walls and centuries-old neighboring buildings. We ordered rounds from the concise beer menu (3 or 4 drafts, under 20 bottles) and enjoyed good conversation and watching men play a bowling game called 'boules' on an adjacent gravel court. Tripel Karmeliet (and the subsequent Poperings Hommelbier) never tasted better...

Service was efficient, albeit somewhat aloof. However, on a relaxing afternoon this was forgivable. Though not a major highlight of our adventures in Belgium, the stop at Herberg Vlessinghe was a nice one and definitely worth a visit for the traveller seeking some history and relaxation with his/her beer(s).
Sep 19, 2006
Photo of JohnfromDublin
Reviewed by JohnfromDublin from Ireland

3.49/5  rDev -10.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3
Visited Herberg Vlissinghe on Saturday 21st May 2005, shortly after 4pm. Took a bit of a search to find it, but if you get to the imposing statue of Jan Van Eyck you are on the right track. Reputedly the oldest bar in Bruges and worth visiting for this reason alone. Very atmospheric old room with small bar on your left on way in. There is also a fairly large garden with tables and chairs, but we much preferred to soak up the atmosphere indoors, with its fine old Belgian wooden furniture and pictures. There is a modest selection of beers comprising 19 bottles and 3 on tap, so it is hardly a specialist beerbar. I had a Poperings Hommelbier and it was fine. Worth a visit for its antiquity.

NOTE: Revisited on 31st March 2006. Pretty much as the last visit; 3 draught beers; Jupiler blonde, Leffe blonde and Brugse Zot.
May 31, 2005
Photo of bionerd
Reviewed by bionerd from North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
We didn't see this bar listed prior to visiting Bruges and found it practically by mistake while walking. It is located off of a small street and may be passed by because of the inconspicuous sign. They claim that the bar has been in operation since 1515, making it the oldest bar in Bruges. This is by no means a tourist hotspot (a la Bier Circus in Brussels) and they may prefer it that way.
The selection of beers may not be what you would find in a tourist-driven establishment but I found what I was thirsty for - a Westmalle Trappist Tripel ( and several other similar classics).
We did not try the food, but whatever was in the kitchen smelled wonderful. Overall, a real nice place to get away from the crowds, relax, and have a great brew.
Dec 08, 2003
Herberg Vlissinghe in Brugge, Belgium
Place rating: 3.9 out of 5 with 21 ratings