Au Soleil holds down a corner of the Rue du Marche au Charbon with a former draper's shop, a wall of Belgian beers, and a terrace that catches the afternoon. It has been the centre's easy meeting point since 1989.
The address at Rue du Marche au Charbon 86 sits in the Saint-Jacques quarter, a few minutes from Bourse and the lower town's pedestrian streets. Spotted by Locals calls it one of the city's most authentic bars, and the room earns the line. The wooden interior and mirrored walls are the original fittings of the clothing shop it used to be, which is why the place reads older than its drinks list.
This is a beer-and-people-watching bar before anything else. The fridge runs a wide Belgian range, the prices stay low by central-Brussels standards, and the kitchen turns out simple plates through the day. Because the street is car-free, the terrace is the prize. On a dry afternoon the outside tables fill first and stay full into the evening.
Au Soleil works as a first stop on a Saint-Jacques crawl and as a low-key spot to read or talk without shouting. Anyone hunting cocktails or a polished room should keep walking. Plan the wider night with our best craft beer bars in Brussels guide, or browse more Brussels beer bars.
What to order
- 01
Belgian Draft
The everyday move. Pull up a Jupiler or the rotating tap and settle in. Cheap by centre standards and poured cold.
€3 - 02
Trappist Bottle
The fridge runs a wide Belgian range, gluten-free options included. Ask for a stronger abbey beer when the terrace turns slow.
€5 - 03
House Cocktail
The list is short and unfussy. A solid choice on a warm afternoon when a beer feels too heavy.
€9 - 04
Simple Plate
Spaghetti, cottage cheese, and other day food keep the place busy past lunch. Enough to anchor a long terrace sit.
€8 - 05
Coffee
The doors open at 10am, and the early hours run on coffee and quiet. The smartest window for a terrace seat.
€3
The crowd and the timing
Au Soleil opens at 10am every day and runs to 1am, with a 2am close on Friday and Saturday. The daytime crowd is almost as deep as the evening one, built from locals, students, and people drifting off the pedestrian streets. The terrace turns over fastest in the late afternoon.
On Google the bar holds about a 4.3 average, with the terrace and the beer range drawing the most consistent praise. Mister Goodbeer files it under the city's cheap bars, and the value note repeats across reviews: this is where you drink well in the centre without the tourist markup.
Regulars flag two things. The volume is kept low enough to talk, which is rarer than it sounds in a busy centre bar, and the terrace is the reason to time a visit for daylight. The recurring caution is space, since the inside room is small and fills quickly once the weather turns. Arrive before the after-work rush if a seat matters. Service is friendly but unhurried, in keeping with a bar that treats the long sit as the point rather than a problem to turn over.
Who it's for
- A cheap, characterful first stop on a Saint-Jacques crawl
- Belgian beer drinkers who want range without a tourist markup
- Afternoon people-watchers chasing a car-free terrace
Pair this bar with
Stay in the lower town for the art-nouveau room at Le Cirio in Brussels, the surreal corners of Goupil le Fol in Brussels, or the lambic at A la Mort Subite in Brussels.