Le Vaudrée II

I really liked how the place looked from the outside and the selection is great, but unfortunately the prices just didn't make any sense.

One of the established 'biercafés' in Belgium and a fixed value in the city of Liège, this pub once boasted the largest selection of Belgian beers and I have been wanting to visit it (or any of the different branches it has spawned in all those years) for a long time. Finally made it there on New Year's Day, when the entire city of Liège eats a sauerkraut dish for good fortune - available at Le Vaudrée as well, but we only had beer there. A very 'deep' pub, with a very long bar stretching all the way to the back; binders with the beer menu on or next to every table. The beer list was long but Belgian only, with a great number of lesser known, local Walloon beers, as was to be expected. Be ware, though: both the list and the bottles corresponding with it, are far from fresh, with several bottles being oxidized and prices on the list no longer up to date; my friend had a four year old Boon Mariage Parfait Geuze but when the bill came, was charged 3 € more than indicated in the list because the list was "outdated". Obviously we did not agree to pay that extra money - and we didn't - but it does show that inquiring about the prices before you order, might be recommended here. Halfway the pub, there is a refrigerated storage room which does harbour a few foreign beers (varying from Asian macro lagers to e.g. Brooklyn's Local 2) and it is possible to buy these, either to be consumed "sur place" or to take away. Be sure to ask for the prices in that case as well (which the people behind the bar will look up for you in a central computer system). Service was friendly enough, albeit a bit on the slow side in spite of the fact that apart from us, there were only about five to seven other visitors at the time, so one can wonder how service goes when the place is full... On the plus side, when the Saison Dupont Biologique my girlfriend ordered was out of stock, the lady behind the bar came up with five alternatives for it (including Saxo Bio which is what she went for eventually), something we could really appreciate. In all, certainly not an unpleasant experience albeit a bit odd; after so many years, it came as no surprise that it has a kind of 'faded glory' feeling to it and I would not go back to Liège for this pub alone.

A surprisingly nice beer focused restaurant, offering a very large selection of Belgian beers (with a tiny non-Belgian selection that’s well known). Certainly you’ll find some ticks here like the beer’s from Bouillon or Authentique. Friendly service, quiet (on Sunday lunch hour, they open at 12h), very cool walk in beer fridge. Good was actually very nice, fresh, tasty Belgian fries, well made burgers and for fair prices. Beer was on the expensive side they for Belgium. We really enjoyed our visit.

A bit pricey sometimes, but they did have an awesome selection. Only had time for 2 beers, alas, but I found at least 12 new ticks in their beer menu. And that means a lot, for a Belgian ticker like myself! They also regularly put new beers on the list, as some of them only came out recently. Atmosphere is rather poorly though. Very bright white (TL?) lights, sticky tables, rather slow and uninterested service, etc. I’ll be back, one day, but only for the ticks, not for the atmosphere.

A bit out of the centre, but worth the walk. The food looked good, but we did not try. Beer menu is fairly extensive, containing a lot of the usual stuff, but quite a few rarities too. The bottles are in a store room at the far end of the bar ans can be purchased to take out, also pop in the shop across the road.

Visited on a Thursday afternoon an it was almost empty. Ambiance is a bit boring and the physical place itself was probably nice 20 years ago. Service was decent and friendly. Selection on tap and in bottles is wide, but I had an hard time finding a single interesting bottle outside the usual 3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze / Oude Kriek and Cantillon Gueuze bio / Kriek. Very disappointing.