When you visit Trappist abbeys and breweries, eating and drinking must be on your agenda. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be taking a drive out to Bourlers, Hamont-Achel, Villers-devant-Orval, Westmalle, or Westvleteren, would you?
All of the Trappist abbeys with breweries in Belgium, except Brasserie Rochefort/Abbaye Notre Dame de St-Remy, have one café/restaurant that is owned by the monks, and serves as the official taproom of the brewery. At Chimay and Orval, there are actually two well-loved cafes near their respective breweries.
At Chimay in Bourlers, near Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont, the Auberge de Poteaupré is the café that is owned by the monks and that is well known to beer lovers who have visited the area. But there is another café-restaurant just a kilometer or so away that is equally as focused on fine cuisine, paired with the beers of Chimay.
La Ferme des Quatre Saisons (The Farm of the Four Seasons) is an excellent place to savor great Belgian cooking and the brews of Bières de Chimay S.A. They offer some other beers as well, but when in Rome…..well, you know.
The restaurant has several distinct areas and is a unique place. There is the “Brasserie” area, which is more café-like, and seats 85 people. The ”Veranda” is an area with enclosed glass facing outside which seats 38, and the terrace/patio can accommodate several dozen.
There is also a second floor, Au Fil de Saisons, that seats upwards of 30 people. It is open from noon on Sundays till whenever closing happens.
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