Cigar Library
Travel ArticlesAuthor: Cigar Inspector
Update (Aug 2014): Following my second trip to the Belgian capital I added two more places to the list of cigar shops in Brussels. During my stay I met Robert, a beer fanatic and cigar aficionado, so stay tuned for some beer-related content in the coming weeks and months.
Brussels is another European capital that is definitely worth visiting (in fact, I think all of them are!), especially if you like good food. Indeed, whereas Amsterdam doesn’t have much to offer in this field, Belgian cuisine is one that I really enjoy. A lot of dishes contain beer and cream, thus being rather heavy but delicious. They are especially good in winter. Oh, and I almost forgot Belgian ales, which are simply the best in Europe the world.
This being said, I also made sure to find a couple of cigar shops so that you don’t have to waste time locating your favorite cigars when you’re in town. The first one (pictured above) is called Le Roi du Cigare (Cigar King) and it has the Habanos Specialist label. It’s located in the East of the City Center (the center being the Grand Place, probably the most beautiful place in Europe) at 25, Rue Royale (Google Maps >). It features a nice walk-in humidor with a wide choice of Cubans and non-Cubans. I noticed that the non-Cubans are mostly the same in those European shops – some Ashtons, some Davidoffs, as well as Macanudos. You won’t find many boutique cigars in these shops. You’re not here for non-Cubans anyway, am I right? Le Roi du Cigare lists all of their prices online (the page is in French, click on a brand to see all vitolas, prix unitaire means unit price), this is pretty useful. As far as I know cigar prices are regulated in Belgium, so you’ll find the same rates across other shops.
Chances are you’ll hang around the Grand Place quite a lot. In this case, you simply have to stop by Tête d’Or (golden head) and have a look at their offerings (Google Maps >). The walk-in humidor stocks quite a wide selection of Cuban cigars as well as some surprisingly interesting non-Cuban sticks, including Tatuajes. The owner is friendly and obviously knows his stuff about cigars. In fact he was smoking one when I came in.
Another shop that I missed during my previous visit is the Davidoff B&M, located on the Place du Grand Sablon (Google Maps >). Plenty of expensive cigar accessories and a walk-in humidor (pictured above) that showcases cigars from the Davidoff group (Davidoff, Avo, Griffin’s, Camacho…) and also features a moderately large selection of Cuban cigars. The place is really classy. If you’re in the area, make sure you discover the Marolles district for an authentic Bruxelles experience.
The last shop is called Walter B and, as far as I remember, the man that you can see in the picture above is the owner. The place is smaller, but you will still be able to find the Cuban references you are looking for. Walter B is located West of the Grand Place (82, Quai aux Briques, Google Maps >). Plenty of nice sea food restaurants near this shop.
As usual, if you live in Bruxelles and/or know some other good places to buy/enjoy a cigar, please share them in the comments below.
La Tete D’or is a really great place to buy Cuban and non-Cuban cigars. Also Jerry’s cigar bar in Bruges is very well worthwhile visiting. I live on the Kent coast so can get Eurostar to Brussels very easily indeed. I have not bought cigars in England for three years now!
I’m heading to Brussels in two months for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Brussels as the main base, then excursions to museums, battlefields tours and reenactments. The hotel is reported to stock a fridge full of complementary Belgian ales for their guests. Add in a couple Habanos and you’ve got one heck of a trip!
@Komodota
Thanks for your comment. LCDH Brussels have been spamming this blog (via comments) and some other blogs and forums so I didn’t really want to go there.
I found a price list on Le Roi du Cigare’s website (here is the page: http://www.leroiducigare.com/cigares.html), and updated the article accordingly. Thanks for the suggestion.
Is there a reason you don’t mention a LCDH shop? Also, you don’t talk about prices much by way of are they generally high/low at these locations versus other places in Europe, etc.
It is not my town for sure but in BXL you have to go to LE ROI CIGARE 25 rue ROYALE 1OOO Brussels. The website is : http://www.leroiducigare.be/
La Tete D’Or in Brussels has an excellent range of cigars on offer. I bought 25 Romeo Y Julieta No 2 cigars for 137.50 (Euros) yesterday. They are priced at around 280 (pounds sterling at home! and 299 (sterling at Cigars Unlimited in Fulham I believe!). They also stock a good range of non-Cuban cigars such as Cortes. There is also a good cigar shop just a stones throw from the Marriot Hotel although it is cash only. Great range of non-Cubans but also a walk-in humidor. Jerry’s cigar bar in Bruges is an Aladdin’s cave and well worth a visit. With the current price of Cuban cigars at home a visit to Brussels is always going to save me money as I live near Dover.
Another famous Habanos specialist placed in the heart of Brussels ( Grand-Place )since 1947 La Tête d’Or
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/cigares.tabac.latetedor
let’s just say, they’re an inspiration to us all ( ;
Please inform me of the latest cigars from Casa del Habanos
That’s what I meant to say 🙂
Belgian ales are not just the best in Europe but the entire world – By a very long way.