A La Mort Subite

Photos and words by Cliff Lucas.
Edited by Breandán Kearney.

Café Society is a photographic series which celebrates the spaces at the heart of Belgian beer culture. See more here.

When Theophile Vossen opened La Cour Royale in 1910, many of their regulars were National Bank of Belgium employees who came to break up monotonous days with midday drinks and a few rounds of the popular dice game, Pitjesbak, commonly known today as “4-2-1”. Often eager to fit in one last game before heading back to the office a mere 100 metres away, the bankers would decide the final game in one roll of the dice—sudden death (‘mort subite’ in French). The moniker stuck, and suddenly ‘mort subite’ was common language amongst the regulars. It inspired the renaming of the café to A La Mort Subite in 1928 when it moved to its current location just around the corner. Today, framed drawings and newspaper clippings from the early 20th century are scattered along the walls, spaced evenly between the crown moulding and bronze-coloured leaf decor. Locals and tourists fill the well-worn wooden chairs and tables, ordering beers from a menu handwritten on arching mirrors. An Oude Geuze from Lambic brewery Mort Subite, named after the café, tops the list. Cheese sandwiches on white bread and the occasional omelette emerge from the kitchen. Café A La Mort Subite is still playing the game of 4-2-1: alive and well after four generations of ownership, as two brothers, Bernard and Olivier, continue to run one of the oldest cafés in Brussels.