Firkin Around...: Stairway to Belgium

Firkin Around...Downtown Sarasota, Florida.

*** Note: This pub has closed for business since this writing. ***

Belgium lives in an amazing bar in Sarasota Florida named Stairway to Belgium. Tucked away in an upstairs building on Main Street in downtown Sarasota you will find this unique and delightful Belgian restaurant/craft beer bar. They are only steps from Sarasota Bay with its beautiful vistas of the Gulf of Mexico.

Truly nothing else like it in Sarasota.

The first thing that strikes you about the place is the smallest shingle on the outside of the building that leads to a bold wooden door. It beckons you to climb the "Stairway to Belgium". Going up the stairs there are food and beer menus on the steps, left there for you to peruse. The Pomme Frites (French Fires) and the mussels are two of the top attentions you will see. Many of the food items on the menu are also cooked with beer, and are done very well indeed. There are some exotic items, (to the American palate), such as the Flemish rabbit stew. It was cooked with a brown ale and was simply terrific. We also sampled a three egg seafood omelette that was equally delicious.

The tap room greets you as you push the large black door open at the top of the stairwell. The dining area surrounds the stairwell lobby with some window views out to Main Street below. Some colorful (artificial) flowers are in the flower boxes outside the window. But don't let that distract you...it is the only unreal thing about this place. The food is for real and the beer...oh, yeah, THE BEER! It's most definitely for real.

The Beer Selection

Yes, folks. Those are red velvet ropes in front of the coolers! The pages in the beer menu, list by style, an awesome selection of European and North American craft brews. True to their name, there is a vast selection of Belgian styles, on tap and in the bottle. There's enough to make a monk drool. We sampled an unusual pineapple flavored Lambic and also a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. We squeezed in an Abbey brown dubbel at the end of our meal, too. There's such a depth of beer in their display, it will make you come back for more. So if you have the need to scratch an itch for some fine style beer and ale, and you want to wash it down with some delicious Belgian food, look no more. You can find them both right here.