gem22 Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 On my next trip to Ypres I will be travelling alone. Normally my wife goes with me and while we are there we tend to eat in the various establishments situated around the market place. I was wondering if any Pal could recommend places away from that area. I prefer to explore new places on my own. That way I don't get an ear bashing if it turns out to be a disaster. If I upset my stomach I'm the only one who suffers. If her stomach is upset we both suffer. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 I have had good meals in most of the restaurants in the main square at Ypres, with Den Anker being a favourite for fish, and the Kollebloem (Poppy) and Old Tom also always very good. I didn't like the Trumpet as much, but it does seem popular. There is a good Italian just up from St Georges church called La Luna; never order more than one course as the amount of food there is huge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleur Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 I love the Cyper Cafe, opposit the Tom, across the square. It has cats every where (not real ones!) The staff are very friendly and the food excellent. I can highly recommend the Steak. Fleur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 Flemish beef stew at Vivaldi! Mussels and frits too! I always eat on the square so can't help otherwise except Ariane has good food but atmosphere is so much better at Grote Markt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Heyvaert Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 Mosselen met friet in 't klein stadhuis, the nearest to the cloth hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 I think some of the best steak/frites meals I have ever had have been in Ypres. This is a profound added bonus for a "foodie" like me - although if I eat after the Last Post ceremony , I always get pangs of guilt imagining some lonely Tommy pulling his water proof more tightly around him and dreaming of a meal like I have just eaten. It doesn't seem quite so bad if I eat before 8pm ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 My favourite (yes,Aurel - I'm plugging this one again!!! ) is "Ter Posterie" on Rijsellstraat. Not only have they a huge selection of beers (my main reason for being there!), but I've always found the food to be excellent, especially the steaks.I also like the surroundings being a cellar bar. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevew Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 I've only experienced Vivaldi and the Flemsih Stew, I'm back in Wipers this week so I'll look forward to trying some of the recomendations here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRIAN TALMER Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 Hi Garth As Paul says Old Toms is a good value and very good food and allow plenty of time as service is a bit slow at times and the Beer is good Cheers Brian & Lesley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 1 September , 2003 Share Posted 1 September , 2003 I'll be in Ieper on Thursday night and will be trying Bert's recommendation for the mussels and chips. Hopefully I won't get the guilts like Ian, as I'll be in there after 8. I'll post a report when I'm back next week. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Is Ter Posterie still open? I walked past the other week and it gave the definite impression of being closed down (apart from the beer shop at the front). The posh restaurant in Ieper, the St Nicholas relocated elsewhere a few years ago. There is an upmarket-looking place on the way to Zillebekke but it is too far to walk from town. My wife and I went to go in on one of our cycling trips but felt a bit shabby in our cycling gear in comparison with the rest of the clientele! Not in Ieper itself, the Amfora in Poperinge does superb food in a very nice setting. The same couple have a new hotel, the Ogygia , on the outskirts of town but I haven't been there. The Korenbloem in Langemark is a great stop for lunch in the middle of a battlefields tour. (I thought that Kollebloom meant 'cauliflower' for years thanks to the Holts' Guide. It was only when I examined the menu and noticed a large picture of a poppy on it that the penny dropped! Is this a deliberate leg-pull by Tonie and Valmai?) The Cyper's steaks are among the best I've ever eaten. I would recommend the mussels and ice cream (not together) at the Anker. The Klein Stadthuis has a great atmosphere although getting to the loos is a little hazardous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotte cardoen-descamps Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 For those who would like to have a meal away from the centre of Ypres, I would recommend Akkerwinde in Polygon Wood. I have heard very good comments on the food which is being served there. As to the restaurants on the market square: I have asked all of our guests over a number of months where they had there dinner in Ypres and whether they were pleased with the service and the meal which was provided (I did that because I am often being asked for a good restaurant to recommend). I must tell that without any doubt the best comments were on the Vivaldi restaurant as not only do they seem to have the right balance between price and quality but on top of that the service is extremely friendly (and that adds a lot to the taste of the meal too!). I am sorry to inform you that the man who was running the Korenbloem on the market square in Langemark has been killed in a motorbycke accident. His sister was very badly wounded and will probably have to stay in hospital for a long time. As a result of that this restaurant is being closed. Mark, the restaurant you refer to in Poperinge is the Amfora one I guess (Arianne is a hotel in Ypres). That is indeed a restaurant which has a very good reputation too. I would say: enjoy your meal, Garth! Charlotte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Charlotte-I am so sorry to hear about the death of the owner of the Korenbloem. It was one of my wife and I's favourite stops on our cycling tours and we always found it a friendly and lively local. I was only there a couple of weeks ago. I am always calling the Amfora the Ariane, because I stay at both hotels when I'm in the Salient. I have corrected it in my posting. The Belfort in Poperinge does reasonable snacks as well (but their salads aren't a patch on the Amfora's!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 I'd like to thank Garth for starting this thread and to the other Pals for adding to it. Why? Because I'll be in Ypres for a week in November and I didn't fancy cooking each evening after being out in the fields all day. It looks like my diet will have to start after the trip and not before like I had planned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_McGarry Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 I'll second the Flemish beef stew at Vivaldi's washed down with a few large glasses of Hoegaarden !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark A Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Just out of interest, last Saturday's Indepenedent published an 8 page travel supplement covering a weekend in Ypres (cycling, hotels, things to do). They recommended The Grote Mark as being lined with fine and unpretentious brasseries and said that "Regina Republic" there is several cuts above as far as the food goes (Belgian staples with a twist apparently). Sounded a bit funky for me though... but thought you might want to know. Happy eating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotte cardoen-descamps Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Hello Mark, Do you refer to the Regina hotel and restaurant??? That one went brooke last year (how they managed to go brooke having the nicest spot on the market square, is a mystery to me), but later in the course of the year, it has been taken over by a group of people who already own a restaurant on the market square (it is not clear to me who precisely they are). I must say that it is awfully quiet since... I haven't heard of a single of my guest having been to the Regina for a meal... Charlotte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Charlotte I am sorry also to hear about the man at the Korrenbloem, nice place good food, good people. John, mussels at Vivaldi are great but be sure it's the right time of year, I cannot remember what the wrong time is but think it's now and at such time they are tough and not near what they should be. Vivaldi beef stew is great but it's also real good elsewhere on the square, both places right by Cloth Hall for sure. There is lots of talk about these places being slow and it's true. I have had good luck drinking vast quantities of beer before Last Post and asking for my food to be ready when I get back at 8:30 and it's been there right then. It is a mystery how Regina could go broke, fine place to stay and eat in 1997 my first visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 I/we will be staying at Amfora's new hotel offshoot later this month and will report. Big advantage is gated secure car park 5 mins from town centre. Terms are B&B only, any other meals at original Amfora. Provided we can afford it, we have stayed nowhere other than Amfora in Salient for past 20 years. Happy to provide excellent food well after Menin Gate ceremony. An anecdote, also going back 20 years or more, regarding eating place with bedrooms above, North Side of Ypres square, well towards east end of block ... you could probably name it but I will not. Not been back [as you will understand] but nothing against it at all these days. No en-suite, decent enough room, went looking for smallest room, book in hand, to perform usual morning offices. Found one, opened door. The object I sought was eight feet away, slightly raised as if on a throne. On the left, a picture window, more or less floor to ceiling. No curtain. One floor up only. No lock on door. Matter pressing. Thinks ...... can't hold door shut with foot, high coach or tall lorry passing at any moment ....... not good at running/leaping with trousers round ankles. Needless to say, reading the book got short shrift that morning. And out! Perhaps Pals can see now how I turned out the way I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark A Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Hi there Charlotte, according to the Independent it's called Regina Public at Grote Markt 45. I don't know Ypres personally so maybe the Indepenedent have got it completely wrong! In which case it's bad research considering this 8 page guide came out only this Saturday (free with the paper). All the best, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain mchenry Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Garth, If you don't mind eating in Poperinge then i can really reccommend "Cafe De La Paix" in the town square. Steaks and ribs are excellent. You may also wish to try the "Cathay Dynasty" Chinese restaurant just a wee bit further along the street that Talbot House is on (Gasthuis straat....I think?) It is the best Chinese food i have ever had. Happy eating! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliecoco Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 Hi Lee, I hope you enjoy your trip to Ypres. But if you are anything like me your diet won't start when you get home! Last time I was there I ended buying some delicious pate in a butchers just opposite the cloth hall, and some gorgeous chocolates in one of the squares chocolate shops!! Of course I bought some Amstel too!! So diet took a few weeks to start!! Alie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 My wife and I stayed at the revamped Regina in the Spring. We found the whole place very peculiarly decorated-dark and dingy with uneven floors. The rooms are themed round artists and film stars like Salvador Dali. The pictures in our room were enough to give you nightmares! I didn't notice anyone eating in the restaurant in the evening. The breakfast was OK but nothing to write home about. It has a great position in the square as you say, but we won't be staying there again. One problem with the Grote Markt in the summer is the tendency to stage pop concerts and funfairs. Last year we were kept awake until 3am by deafening pop music just outside our hotel window. We are now converts to the Ariane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 But if you are anything like me your diet won't start when you get home! It had to! I start at the gym this Thursday and I need to lose between 5-6 stone by July next year so that I can fit into my kilt for my step-son's wedding Weight gain is the worst side-effect of nearly 26 months of being laid-up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 2 September , 2003 Share Posted 2 September , 2003 As a matter of interest Mark, where did the Independent advise you hire bikes from? In my experience the station's bikes are OK but you don't get a very warm welcome and they don't hire out in the Autumn, the Youth Stadium's bikes are cheap and cheerful and the Ariane's are expensive but deluxe models. The Belfort in Poperinge is also a good place to hire from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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