Belga Restaurant

The building of Belgian Beer Café in Debrecen always served guests. At the end of 1800s it was an inn with rooms upstairs. It happened that Posta Restaurant (Posta Étterem) in Széchenyi Street could not accommodate more guests so they directed new ones to the inn in Piac Street. At the beginning of 1900s Gyula Krúdy itself rented an office upstairs when he wrote to Debreceni Supervisor (Debreceni Ellenőr). From the middle of the 1930s Sándor Pál took over the operation of the building, became a partner of Dreher, the first Hungarian brewery, and called the place Pál Pub. The terrace of the restaurant was still very popular together with excellent foods for which the chef Mrs. Pál deserved all appreciation. In this time wines had central role in the cellar where the Cellar Master and the winemaker boy handled professionally the luscious drinks. Among the guests of Pál Pub were the citizens, officers and teachers of Debrecen, so it was a restaurant having a really good reputation. After nationalization the right of operation was transferred to Hajdú-Bihar County Catering Company, and the former Pál Pub became Szabadság Restaurant (Freedom Étterem). Six hundred or eight hundred people were served there with set courses upstairs, while downstairs there was an a la carte restaurant. It was a popular restaurant with good reputation, one of the three most renowned restaurants of the inner city besides Golden Bull (Arany Bika) and Hungária Restaurant (Hungária Étterem). By this time also live music entertained the guests; downstairs a gypsy band served music, and upstairs dance music was played. On Fridays and Saturdays the restaurant usually was full of guests. In Sunday mornings there was “Sunday beer music” until which scones or “lángos” was offered at a discount price or sometimes free with beer. In these days many sightseer group came to Debrecen and choose Szabadság Restaurant for the place of their dinner.

Then several changes were made in the operation of the restaurant in a short period of time. A renter called it Krúdy Restaurant (Krúdy Étterem), however it operated only for a short time. The building became into a very bad condition, and was left empty for almost two years.

Finally on August 21, 2001 the old fashioned building recently known as Belgian Beer Café was opened to guests.

Belgian Beer Café is one of the centers of the social life of Debrecen. In summertime the inner terrace with a display kitchen and a playground, and the outer terrace offering live music in the promenade of Piac Street appeal mainly the restaurant’s guests. In Debrecen you can choose from the widest selection of Belgian beers here, and you can find only here specialties such as Rose Pepper Tenderloin or different kinds of beef dishes made from grey cattle. Downstairs of the restaurant there are smaller and larger rooms, so each of our guests can find the most suitable place for themselves. Upstairs there are four rooms of different sizes serving as a perfect place for private events. Free WIFI connection is also offered in the whole area of the restaurant.