1-3 St Marys Bay Road,
Ponsonby
Auckland,
(09) 360 9371
The ViewAuckland Review
3 out of 5 stars
There’s a scene from In Bruges - last year’s killer movie, in more ways than one – where Colin Farrell berates his hitman mate for drinking a ‘gay beer’. Well-crafted Belgian beers are obviously not for him and he’d probably prefer a pint of lager or a Guinness. On a Saturday night at the Ponsonby Belgian Beer Café, I’m also drinking what Colin Farrell’s character would no doubt term a ‘gay beer’, but my stronger than normal (6.2%) half-litre of Leffe Brun is very good indeed. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.
At $13.50 a pint you pay for the privilege of drinking Belgian beer in New Zealand, but it certainly beats another glass of innocuous and bland lager. It’s pretty strong though so I’m already lining up a bowl of mussels and fries to ease the alcohol absorption. And if I’m really keen I could also line up around 20 more Belgian beers, and look to pay up to $15 for each of them. Maybe they need to pay for the flash makeover that’s turned this former post office into a pretty good approximation of a European café. But with Auckland’s weather tossing up an unseasonably cool and rainy evening, the high ceilings, chandeliers, and the European (well, English actually…) accents behind the bar makes it feel like a night somewhere on the Continent.
Not everyone is drinking Leffe Brun however, and good old Stella Artois is fuelling a boisterous scene in an outdoor courtyard dotted with cane furniture. A couple of half-litre glasses of Hoegarden wheat beer are also being ferried outside, looking for all the world like mini buckets. Quick, somebody be the sensible one, and order some food.
To get the most out of the Ponsonby Belgian Beer Café, you need to come along flush, and definitely arrange a lift home.
Life’s sometimes too short to drink, ordinary beer, whether you’re In Bruges or in Ponsonby.
The Ponsonby Belgian Beer Cafe has been reviewed by 4 users