Mediocre pasta place popular with hipsters. The front room is more of a bar, and had live music later on in our visit, but the back room is a cute and light-filled space for dining and drinking. They have a few options for pasta, but pretty much all of them will come with a heaping amount of average spaghetti, tons of meaty sauce, and copious amounts of cheese. I like my pasta covered in parm but this was a new level, and I had to scrape off a lot. Portions are extremely large, which ends up making the prices quite reasonable, but I struggled to finish mine, and not just from the size. My short rib topping was meh; I would just stick with the normal bolognese. Beer selection is pretty good. Our first waitress was indifferent but we later had a charming and attentive waiter. Bathrooms are grungy and communal, like a dive bar or venue. I can see why this place gets recommended to tourists, as it's in a charming neighborhood with a mix of locals and foreigners, it's easy to get a seat, and it's an attractive value. However, I just didn't think the food was good. read more

Monk - Short rib pasta - Bars Near Me - Brussels, BRU

Monk was recommended to me by a random Twitter account representing a range of hostels across Europe. With this, I was slightly dubious - but they seriously know what they're talking about. After a long journey and lazy afternoon in and around the hotel, we hopped in a taxi and went straight to Monk for our first evening meal in Brussels. Aesthetically, everything is just spot on for me. From the window decal to the floor titles and the dark wooden cladding to the hidden nature of the restaurant in the back, if I could transport one place back to the UK with me it would be here. We managed to work our way through the Thursday night crowds and into the restaurant to grab a table; there was roughly a twenty minute wait but, with a Frankie & Benny's style buzzer to let us know when the table would be ready, we headed back into the bar. I went for their standard blonde on draught and Kate W. found her new favourite beer in the world, kriek boon. The atmosphere was the right balance between busy but not overwhelming, and service at the bar was super speedy despite the crowds. Once the buzzer went off, we headed immediately back through and settled down to look over the menu. It's a super simple set up - you choose your pasta sauce and cheese topping - for €10. We both went for the classic bolognese (the dish we'd read the most about) topped with parmesan. The whole meal experience was simple, no frills, but absolutely excellent. We visited again on our last day just for a drink, but their deli selection is well worth partaking in from what we saw; a whole range of meats and cheese, plus a traditional pea soup and hunks of bread, all soundtracked by someone playing the grand piano. Whether you're after a simple laid back beer or full dinner experience, this is the place to be. read more

Monk - spaghetti bolognese (2017) - Bars Near Me - Brussels, BRU

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One of the most popular bars in the city center and for a good reason. Mainly frequented by local, Dutch speaking Belgians, impressive variety of beers, friendly service. If you get hungry, there is a rather option of "Belgian" snacks, like sausage or meat balls- nothing fancy nor tasty. read more

In Brussels you may struggle to find an authentic place. What do I mean by that? Considering the huge immigration from all over Europe (of people working in the Eurobubble) and from all over the world, it gets complicated sometimes to find real spots for locals where also the expats community hangs by. Monk is one of these places. Very flemish, great beers, chilled atmosphere and wicked spaghetti bolognaise! I'm from Emilia Romagna myself and I must admit their "ragù" is one of the best I have tasted in Belgium. The staff is all young, friendly and witty and the prices are honest. The inside decoration is vintage and a decò. They have kept the bathroom and other small furniture details very well. Totally recommended. read more

While only in Brussels for 48 hours, we managed to grab drinks at Monk twice. The hip bar had a friendly staff and a convenient location in the Sainte-Catherine neighborhood. The staff seemingly appreciated my broken French attempts to order, but were happy to respond in English or Dutch as well. Bartenders presented excellent knowledge of the beers available and additionally suggested locations around Brussels to explore, making us feel welcome as visitors to their country. The Saturday night crowd was young and raucous, and the bar was lively until right before close. Like many European bars, charcuterie and cheese can be purchased directly at the bar until last call, in case you need a late night snack. Sunday night was a more relaxed atmosphere than Saturday, though celebrating birthday party in a back party kept the spirits high. For those potentially looking for a cocktail, you may have mixed results at Monk. Each beer was poured perfectly and the selection is ample, and while the liquor selection suggests quality, a cocktail napkin with an incorrectly proportioned Negroni recipe was taped by the liquor shelf. Anything but equal parts is wrong. Would absolutely return for a draught and a late night cheese board next time I am in Brussels. read more

A big busy place with lots of drink options listed above the bar. I thought the XX bitter was pretty darn good. Commits the grave sin (in my eyes) of charging for the toilets. Even though I managed to duck the charge, this is always worth the removal of a star! read more

This place is incredibly busy. If this place were in the US, it would be violating its maximum occupancy by half easily. When we stopped by it was the first day of Plaisirs d'Hiver so it was especially busy. Not only were no tables available, we would have had to find an awkward corner to stand in with our beers where doubtless one of our backsides would be right next to someone's head. We opted to brave the cold and drink our beer outside. (That turned out alright, we caught the procession to the lighting ceremony at St. Michael & St. Guluda.) If you have a mind to come here, be prepared to stick it out for a table, or even a seat at the bar. read more

Went out here with friends that were visiting from out of town to show them a fun bar in the center. My boyfriend suggested we go here as he's visited before and thought everyone would like it. I loved it! This place reminds me of a very classy English style pub with the seating lining the wall along with the dark wood paneling and mirrors. It is also quite a huge bar, we were lucky enough to find a table for the four of us in the back. Beer selection is especially good--I had enough to drink that night so I stuck with water but all the others enjoyed sharing a large bottle of beer, which all enjoyed. Location is great, just by St. Katherine and seems quite popular. I'll be going back again! read more

I really liked this place. Nice people, good music and good vibes. Monk is located very central, by St. Katherine and it's surrounded by bars and restaurants. This is a good area for both night and day life, full of different options. I went there for drinks on a Friday night so my review is based on the 'night experince'. It was super crowded but we managed to find some sits, the staff were very outgoing and friendly, they served the orders pretty fast too. Good service, I liked it, also not too expensive. They had music from the 80's on and the Dj was really living it haha. The only thing is that it can get a bit too crowded so it might be hard to find sits and a bit too loud as well. Otherwise I liked the atmosphere a lot and I totally recommend it as a start off place for a fun night! :-) read more

A reviews seems totally silly because I'm sure word of mouth does all the work for this place. If you're in Brussels and you want good beer - go to monk. The prices are absurdly low, the quality is phenomenal, the ambience is great, service is wonderful etc. etc. You can pop next door to their restaurant for dinner - we didn't so I cannot attest to their food. Although apparently they make an excellent spaghetti bolognese. Also yay- free wifi! Absolutely check this place out! Note - this is for Belgian beer - if you want regular Americanized beer lol why are you in Brussels? read more

Monk - Bars Near Me - Brussels, BRU

I was excited to try this place. Unfortunately it's nearly impossible to get service. No table service offered, and I felt pretty invisible trying to order beer at the bar. Guess I'm just not cute enough any more. We wanted a charcuterie platter and more drinks but ended up leaving for a more friendly bar in order to eat. Very disappointing. My money is getting spent elsewhere.... read more

A nice place with a laid back atmosphere selling some interesting beer and selection of cheese and salamis to accompany.

One of my favourites. Great choice of beers and delicious charcuterie. I recommend the rillettes!

Went here based on other Yelp reviews and have to agree this place is great. Spaghetti bolognese was delicious and the atmosphere was fun. It was swing dance night and people were dancing away to big band and standards from the 1940's. Our waitress was very nice and the food came out in about 10 minutes. We didn't spend much time in the bar area, but everyone looked to be having a great time. read more

Monk - Spaghetti special - Bars Near Me - Brussels, BRU

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The beer was great and the food LOOKED good but the service was awful. After motioning us to hurry up and pick a drink after about one minute sitting at the bar (menus are not in English, so we needed a minute or two to choose), the bartender took our two beer orders, told us it was 6,5 euros, then ignored us until we flashed the money at him when we finished the beer. We fully intended to order another round and something off the charcuterie menu, but the bartender would not acknowledge us.. Even after sitting with empty glasses for 20 minutes at a non-crowded time in the afternoon. Definitely a local place.. But one not very friendly to outsiders. We just finished a four-city tour of Europe and this was the fist place we felt genuinely uncomfortable. read more

Been here a few times. Cool sit-down bar/cafe with a nice atmosphere. Decent beer selection and snack list. One of the better places to grab drinks in the area. read more

Great bar.. Nice atmosphere.. Great selection of beers and snack foods like cheese and sausages.

Really fun place, friendly staff and great pasta! Large portions too, the maxi was enough for two.

Loved this place. My wife ordered the bolognese which she liked. I got the Sri Lanka version and I loved it. A lot. It was spiced up with just a bit of curry and covered with Orval cheese. I've never had anything like it. Just watch out for the portion size. I got the large plate and it was far more than I could eat. There was a piano in the front room but it was covered. If it were being played, I'd score them a 6. Oh yea, they have a good selection of beer too. read more

It remains a good, busy place that is especially pleasant early in the evenings when you can sit there with friends at large tables and enjoy the variety of beers on offer. It does get rather loud later on, but a bustling crowd and atmosphere is assured. read more

Imagine an old irish bar, then make the servings belgian beer and pasta bolognese and put it in a nice artsy area of brussels.