9 Best Bars in Ixelles and Saint-Gilles, Brussels

A fantastically hip, cozy brick-walled cocktail bar where the quality is never less than high and the drinks deceptively potent. A huge selection of rums and whiskeys adorn the menu, and the cocktails go by season, so there's always something interesting to try.

Set in an ocean-liner-like Art Deco building, this is a favorite among Brussels’s beautiful people. It's the kind of place you'd spot a minor local TV star sipping a cocktail or mint tea at the zinc bar, or outside gazing at the swans on the Ixelles ponds. DJs play until late; it's also a popular brunch spot for hungover locals on Sunday.

The hipster-dense Parvis de Saint-Gilles area is stuffed with great bars, but this popular joint is among the more pristine. It does a fine brunch, and late-night DJs often go on until late on weekends. It's named after a demolished Victor Horta–designed building, the loss of which is often used as one of the worst examples of Brussels's gentrification.

The first bar of the Moeder Lambic brewery opened in the 1980s. It's an icon on the Brussels beer scene, and alongside its own brews, it claims to stock 300 Belgian beers and quite a few foreign ones. Soak up the old-school vibe and pore over a fine collection of comic books while you sip. It has a second branch on place Fontainas in the center.

This likable craft beer bar usually has at least 15 draft beers on tap and an ace in its pocket. The selection is huge, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable, but you can also order Japanese food from the rather fine restaurant across the street (Tokidoki). A definite winner.

A tiny but mighty wine bar that is usually packed. You'll be lucky to squeeze in, but if you do, you're in for a treat; there's a great range of natural wines in particular, plus a rotating cadre of guest chefs who have put together some interesting pop-ups in the past.

Sounds has been dishing up contemporary jazz along with decent Italian food since 1986, and it shows no signs of losing its rhythm. It also does plenty of good, regularly offering its space to gigs in support of local nonprofit organizations.

Another to add to the growing number of natural wine bars in the capital. Together with Titulus, this bar and neighboring shop stock some 400 references from France, Italy, Spain, Georgia, and what owner Matthieu Vellut calls "punk wines"—those you're not even sure are a wine! The bar also runs tasting nights and courses.

The first of what is now a flood of natural wine bars in the capital. This cozy, chic shop-cum-bar in the Matonge area even has its own label, made on the owners' vineyard in France's Loire Valley, where they all grew up. With bottles from around €17, it's good value (natural wine usually has a high markup), and staff will cheerfully talk newbies through the selection of some 400 references. They also serve up some excellent sharing plates.