They used to say Brussels was the New Berlin. Only it isn’t. Or only sometimes. But there’s one café in Saint Gilles that looks like it could be Berlin 1979.
It’s called Mauvais Élève, Naughty Child. Owner Moçab worked in coffee bars across the city before opening his own place on the Chaussée de Waterloo.
It’s a unique spot with chalk drawings on rough walls, broken floor tiles and salvaged lamps. There’s a bit of a school classroom theme going on, with an old globe, school desks and a dusty cartable hanging from a peg.
You get the picture. It’s quite bohemian. The regulars will be artists, writers, radicals, almost everyone accompanied by a huge snorting dog.
You’ll find a few chairs outside on sunny days. Otherwise, squeeze inside, say hello to the scary dogs, and try to find a chair that isn’t made for a five-year-old.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
