Café Botteltje

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.

Café Botteltje is the “Small Bottle Café”. But it’s also a hotel, with 15 guest rooms, each of which is themed around a different Belgian brewery. Recycled Vedett wallpaper from a previous marketing campaign covers the hallway leading to the Duvel-Moortgat room. “I just asked if they had any extra,” recalls second-generation manager and trained chef, James Desimpelaere. Lindemans, De Halve Maan, Rodenbach, and Het Anker all appear on both the beer menu and in the fridges of their designated rooms. In the café itself, hardy stools for maritime drinkers line the bottom of a winding wooden bar while a brass-coated handrail traces its top edge. The felt cushions on these stools preserve four decades of salty North Sea air and the greasy aromas of locally-caught shrimp croquettes. Stained-glass windows partition the few booths inside. The walls, sea green with hints of sky blue, are tastefully decorated with antique beer signs and memorabilia. Oversized, thick white folders dangle from anywhere the owners have been able to hang a small hook; inside them, beer-themed humour and explanations of beer styles which all provide context to the beer menu—a long list of small bottles. If one takes your fancy, you can always get a room.