Where to get the best ICE CREAM in Brussels

As the nice weather unfolds on us this week I have to unload my connoisseur opinion on a subject dear to my heart.... ICE CREAM. I don't drink enough to take advantage of the Belgian Beer, but I do make up for it in waffles, chocolate, and ice cream. In a cone, between wafers, out of a cup, or an IV tube, as I prefer.... here is an around town selection of Brussels ice-cream parlours.

With its eight locations in Brussels, Capoue seems to have become king of the hill. They have homemade ice-creams and sorbets which you can eat in, or take away. Besides the regular flavors, they have some originals like champagne, bounty, or mojito, and they will also deliver to your office.

If you are in the Grand Place area... near the Bourse, try Comus & Gasterea and the Caribou . Nearby is Sikou, on the Parvis de Saint-Gilles, dishing out homemade bio ice-cream. Both Häagen-Dazs and the Australian have locations at the entrance to the Grand Place right across from each other, so you can watch the mimes and statues while licking your cones. My vote for the best people watching corner in Brussels.

If you are at the Wednesday Market in the Châtelain , take a break in the garden of Framboisier Doré . A bit lower down Avenue Louise you can hit the Häagen-Dazs, and watch the 'women who shop' parade by.

The Woluwe shopping center has a location for the the Australian too, if you prefer to do your licking inside. This place doesn't only serve ice cream, it also serves authentic Belgian waffles too.

In Uccle, it turns into a war of Capulet and Montaigu proportion as most native Belgians belong to one of two parlours. Some swear by Zizi, (French slang for a certain male body part).... others will tell you that Il Gelato is all that. I'm not going to make a call on this other than to say they are both probably a step above the rest. If you see this not as a problem....but an opportunity like I do.... It's just an excuse to have to patronise both.

Leave your comment if we left out your favorite, or you have a discovery to share.

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CANTILLION BREWERY TOUR Saturday March 5th

Cantillon Brewery is a small, family-owned brewery but since 1978, it has run primarily as the Brussel’s Gueze Museum. Having seen few changes since it opened in 1900, the brewery is working museum exhibit of late 19th-century brewery technology.

It is operated by the Van Roy-Cantillon family as a brewery for lambic, gueuze, faro, and kriek – all beers that are made with wild strains of yeast and undergo spontaneous fermentation. When it was founded, it was just one of many gueuze breweries in Brussels, but today it is the last.

Walking into Cantillon for a tour is like stepping back in time.

From 6h30 to 17h, the Master brewer, his family and friends invite you to the great brewering fair and propose you to experience the various steps in the traditional production of the Lambic and Gueuze.

ITINERARY: SATURDAY MARCH 5TH
In a 19th Century brewery with its original equipment

from 7.00 to 9.00 Brewing process
from 9 to 13.00 Filtration and hopping
from 12.00 to 15.00 Cooking
at 15.30 Pumping of wort into the cooling tun
from 7.00 to 12.00 Barrel cleaning "ancient method"

Guided tours every 2 hours as from 7.00

Admission fee: EUR 6 per person - this includes guided tour and one drink of your choice

Croissants and coffee are proposed until 8.30, free of charge

56 rue Gheude
1070 Brussels
5' from the Gare du Midi

Area map

World famous Zythos Beer Festival this weekend

Zythos Beer Fest - The reborn cousin of the 24 hours of Beer fest, offers a wide range of Belgian beer often served by the brewer.
No need to change a winning combination....Just like the previous festivals there will be around sixty brewers and numerous beer marketing companies presenting their finest brews.

By purchasing €1 coins you can have your 15cl tasting glass (deposit €3) filled with liquid candy. Throughout the hall, resting places are set up and there's a food bazaar . It is prohibited to smoke within the complex.

In order to keep the festival going, the organizers sell beer merchandising at the entrance. Sint-Niklaas can be easily reached by train from Brussels, Leuven, Gent and Antwerpen. The location is only 150m from the station. And there's parking next to the building.
BEERFEST WEBSITE