This bar's name (the sudden death) may seem off-putting. I have walked past this establishment a dozen times and always dismissed it as a passé gimmick. I was very wrong to do so, and if you've been to Brussels in search of good local beer but not thought to call in this establishment then so were you. La mort subite is a long-standing local institution; a classic Belgian bistro that has been run by 4 generations of the same family for over a century. The interior is from another era. The tables and fixtures are like time machines, and the waiters in full black and white garb play along accordingly. All you need is a fedora and an itchy wool suit and your there; somewhere between the nineteen twenties and the sixties. The soundtrack to this place can only be 'Ne me quitte pas' by Jacques Brel, whose table is supposed to be the one by the window on the right as you enter. His portrait marks the spot. If you head there on a rainy day and arrive in an old Citroen then the tableau is complete. Forget about eating here, however, the food menu is just above average and serves mostly items to soak up the alcohol. All this décor is but a mere distraction from the main feature, and that has to be the exceptional selection of beers. Several of which (and the best ones to my mind) are the home brews in the top left-hand side of the menu. The Gueuze, the Lambic and the Kriek are all poems written for the benefit of beer enthusiasts. There is also a long list of bottled classics, you really can't go wrong in this extensive beer-o-drome. If it's a tasty trip down the main avenue of what Belgians brew best, then la Mort Subite has to be on your bucket list. There is no more poetic place in which to meet a sudden ending.