La Trinquette – Your second living room
Henri moved to Belgium five years ago and that’s when he opened ‘La Trinquette’, located between Chatelain and St Gilles. The place is quite spacious, a bit winded with some unexpected rooms and corners. When you enter, you’ll immediately spot the center piece on your right: the bar. On the other side is a wall full of badminton rackets and of course, wine bottles. The whole place is decorated in a very cosy, sometimes random, way, making this a very pleasant place to sip on your glass of wine at.
The thing you should know about the products here, is that they all come from the Languedoc region in France. That’s where Henri’s father is a vigneron and so Henri knows all the stuff about good wines, be it natural, biodynamic, bio or just the good old traditional wines. And that’s what you’ll get at ‘La Trinquette’, a variety of wines to choose from. Great reds, whites and roses from all over the region, by bottle or by glass and of course Henri is more than happy to talk you through the selection. But not only the wines, also the rillettes, the sausages, the ham, olives, cheese…everything is from Languedoc and everything tastes fresh and of high quality.
The vibrant wine bar definitely feels like your second living room. Its cosy interior, the very friendly, very French and lively owner and his helpers are up for a good laugh and some banter and immediately make you feel welcome.
Emma and I went for the mixed charcuterie platter and a glass of their “Grande Cuvee” followed by a glass each of the natural Demoiselle red. The cuvee was my personal favourite, a cuvee from Grenache, Syrah and a bit of Carignan, oh yes. Feeling tempted to try something else we also went for the artisanal duck rillettes – very delicious.
The place also has seating outside, so if Brussels weather is in your favour that’s a nice spot, too. It’s a great spot to hang out with friends or to go when your parents are in town. Relaxed, but not too much, vibrant but not too noisy and great wines and produce from France. What more?!
- Rue de l’Aqueduc Rue de l’Aqueduc, 1060 – Saint-Gilles
- Reservations: 02 537 94 59
- Prices: Around 4-6E for a glass, 23-30 for a bottle, 16E for a mixed charcuterie platter
