Venture to sights like St. Bernardus Brewery as you discover the family-friendly city of Watou. Watou is situated in a rural region with hopping fields, wide panoramic views and small, steeps roads. It’s a village on the border of West and French Flanders, at the foot of the West Flemish Hills and also close to the French Catsberg. It’s a perfect fit if you want to relax and escape from the daily rat race! Watou is also renowned for its summer of poetry and contemporary visual art. At the same time, thanks to its galleries, artist's workshops and a number of cultural events, the village breathes an artistic atmosphere throughout the year. The village has a population of 1,900. It is around a two-hour drive from Brussels, on the E17 Gent/Kortrijk, followed by the E403 to Ypres. Cycling is an excellent way to discover the charms of this flat country with its unsullied horizons and endless vistas. It's best to use the existing cycling network. Buy a map at the local tourist office and track along the numbered nodes, or ‘knooppunten’, until you reach your destination.
So off we go into the quaint town of Watou, that has two breweries as of May 2022 to visit and sample a beer or three, plus a few great bars.
Sint Bernardus Brouwershuis, (+Bar Bernard) 23a Trappistenweg
Open: Brewery: Pre-booked tours. Bar: Wed 11.00 - 18.00 Thurs - Sat 11.00 23.00 Sun 11.00 - 21.00
Located only 1km from the centre of the small village of Watou. An impressive, shiny, modern new brewhouse in the Poperinge countryside. The original older building is still adjacent to the right, though this is undergoing a make-over. There is also a shop with a nice range of stuff. Not quite on a level of Chouffe in terms of merchandise, but who really needs that stuff anyway? In the summer of 2018 they opened a stunning rooftop bar for visitors and beer lovers alike. Bar Bernard is the finishing point for the brewery tours and it is where the beer tastings take place. It goes without saying that St. Bernardus beers take pride of place. The restuarant menu has created most of their recipes around them. Were they embrace the principle of food pairing. Also the house at the side of the former St Bernardus brewer, (who retired in 2002) that is connected by a door through the kitchen is a B&B with very nice rooms and an excellent breakfast. A plus is that included in the price of the room the entire range beers, as much as you like! You can drink it in the brewer’s living room, or in his enclosed patio, or garden. Tours of the brewery are available on request, be sure to ask for a day that they are actually brewing.
In Het Brouwershof (Van Eecke brewery and tap), Douvieweg 4
Open: Tues + Fri - Sun 10.00 - 20.00
Quiet a small place with a tiny patio and a terrace hidden away from the market which gives a view of the brewery. A great interior decoration, quite kitsch really. The bar has nearly all of the Van Eecke range and a few others brewed by the Le Roy family. To soak up the beers they offer a good selection of cheese and sausage plates. The brewery itself is compact and fairly modern, but not very automated. The owner and brewery staff are very friendly and informative.
’t Hommelhof, Watouplein 17
Open: Mon 12.00 14.30 Thurs - Fri 12.00 14.30 Sat 12.00 15.00 & 19.00 - 21.30 Sun 12.00 21.00
Charmingly located right on the Watou market place, beautifully decorated with an upper end restaurant’s sense of style, toned down with West-Flemish down-to-earthness, that goes very well with the beer theme. A staple in the beer cuisine world because its the place that started it all! All courses in the brewer’s menu apart from the lacklustre cinnemon apple desert and/or cheeses were splendid, beautifully incorporating the beers and just slightly edgy enough. House beer "Cuvée" a tasty blend of Watou Witte and Poperings Hommelbier, the rest of the selection focuses on the ultra-local (fair enough, in a place like Watou), but offers no real surprises, especially not from tap. Good service.
Het Ovenhuis, Watouplein 1
Open: Thurs - Mon 11.30 - 21.00
A pleasant little cafe on the square, that make a sunny Sunday afternoon in Watou an absolute treat. Inside is very elegant and wood carvings everywhere and a collage of stoneware pigs! The house beer is a pleasant flemish brown that’s lightly soured. St Bernardus Wit & Triple also on tap, with the full range in bottles as well as bottles from Van Ecke and further a field.
't Sparhof, Stoppels Weg 39
Open: Mon - Tues - Fri 18.00 - 21.30 Sat - Sun 12.00 - 22.00
Located down a cul-de-sac deep in the Witches Wood (look for the signs) between Watou and Poperinge. An excellent country restaurant where it’s ok to come for just a drink. The beer list has about 20 to 30 beers which include the local Watou beers and other regular Belgium beers and includes St Bernardus Tripel & Prior on tap and Grottenbier in bottles. The food is first class serviced in a lovely ambiance.
Het Wethuys, Watouplein 2
Open: Tues - Sun 12.00 - 20.30
One of a number of cafes on the main square which does beer from the two local breweries. Perfectly pleasant and worth a look, especially on a Sunday afternoon when the horse-drawn carriages turn up and the square comes alive. Once you've got a beer and start exploring the place (that is also a B&B) hidden in the back of the cafe as you walk trough the cafe and suddenly there is this big "bowling area" thats like playing "skittles" in and olde Devon pub. Well worth a visit.
Nouveau St. Eloi, Gemenestraat 4
Open: Mon - Wed & Fri 16.00 - 00.00 Sat - Sun 11.00 - 00.00
A very interesting place, combining the present with the past. just outside of Watou. A restaurant/bar in middle of fields and pretty far off the beaten path but is very welcoming and has a great selection of beers. The food is authentic and hearty Belgian fare. They also have a horse drawn wagon that brings people to the bar.
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