Bruges · Since 1977

Bij Koen & Marijke

Wood-fired grill and Belgian beer. Bruges, since 1977.

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The House

About the Restaurant

At Bij Koen & Marijke you pull up a chair at our table. No customers, no guest numbers, just twenty people in a small room and we take care of the rest. The moment you step inside, you smell and see what it's all about. The open hearth stands literally in the middle of the restaurant. Koen isn't tucked away in a closed kitchen — you simply see him at work by the flames. No gas, only wood, smoke and the patience it takes to bring meat, fish or vegetables over the embers. The wood fire isn't a technique for show, it's simply how we breathe in the kitchen. Marijke, aka MissBaxel, works the room and takes care of the rest. She chooses what ends up in your glass. No encyclopaedia of a beer list, but beers with character from small-scale brewers. Exactly the right bottle for what Koen puts on your plate. But it doesn't stop at beer. We have a special selection of gins and a small, considered wine list. Not a list that needs to be 'perfect', but wines that strengthen the food and stand effortlessly alongside the fire and the meat. Because we want you to always taste what fits the moment, everything on the wine list is also available by the glass. We cook and pour the way we most love to eat ourselves: honest, without frills, with fire and with feeling. And between bites there's room for a moment of quiet — that's often where the best things happen. We take care of the fire, the plates and the atmosphere. You just have to be a guest. Pull your chair a little closer.

What drives us

Cuisine and Beer

The Grill

Koen cooks over wood. Meat, fish, and vegetables go directly over the embers. No knobs to turn or thermostats to set, just the raw heat of the fire, the right airflow, and the focus to turn everything at the perfect moment. It's about finding that ideal temperature and that perfect crispy crust where the flavor truly comes alive. Slowly and carefully roasting a good piece of meat over the hearth – that's what we do it for. The wood fire here isn't a technique for show; it's simply how we breathe in the kitchen. You'll notice it even before you step through the door. Sometimes you can smell it far down Hooistraat. If the wind is right, that scent of smoldering wood and the grill is your first greeting. No signboard or flashy marketing, just the promise of real fire and what will soon be on your plate.

The Beer

Marijke – also known as MissBaxel – chooses what goes into your glass. Beer is not an afterthought here; it's essentially our second kitchen. You won't get an encyclopedia of a beer menu in front of you that you have to endlessly browse through. We don't aim for as much as possible, but for precisely enough. A menu that lives, changes, and above all, resonates with what's happening on the table and on your plate. We almost always work with small-scale brewers. People who get their hands dirty, who search, doubt, and simply start over if it's not right. We serve beers with a soul, not with a polished marketing plan. Sometimes a bottle comes from the region, sometimes from further afield, but it's always there for a reason. That's why our menu is organized by mood, and not by a strict list of beer styles. Because for us, a beer is never just an 'IPA' or a 'stout'; it's fresh or comforting, playful or layered. Marijke finds exactly the right bottle to pair with what Koen prepares over the fire. You don't have to be an expert to enjoy it. Don't just choose with your head, but choose with your evening and with what simply feels good at that moment.

From around here

Here and now.

What we cook is rooted in the here and now. Working locally is not a hip marketing slogan on a billboard for us. We choose local ingredients, work with people from the neighbourhood who we simply know personally.

On the table

What comes off the fire.

Since 1977

Warm, old, real.

In the late seventies this place got the name In 't Nieuw Museum. The reason? There was already talk of a new museum being built nearby. Now, almost fifty years later, that museum is fi-nal-ly here — BRUSK, just around the corner (and absolutely worth the visit).

But for us the essence of this place has always been somewhere else. It was always about the people around the fire. It started as In 't Nieuw Museum with Peter and Bernadette, then it became the place of Paul and Rita (Koen's parents), and now it's Bij Koen & Marijke. That new museum is here now too, just around the corner.

4.8 / 5 · 312 Google reviews

4,7 / 5 · 1.905 TripAdvisor

#1 steakhouse in Brugge · Top 5 restaurants op Foodeist

One of the most exciting restaurant experiences of the last few years, not just in Bruges, but in Europe. Honest cooking, full of character, no gimmicks. Koen and Marijke are wonderful hosts — genuinely welcoming, and every dish comes with a beer and a gin pairing.
— Sebastian Meyen · Google

Welkom