Estaminet

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title: "Estaminet" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["drinking-establishments-in-belgium", "drinking-establishments-in-france", "beer-in-belgium", "beer-in-france", "nord-pas-de-calais", "belgian-cuisine", "french-cuisine"] description: "Type of bar from Belgium and Northern France" topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estaminet" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Type of bar from Belgium and Northern France ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Godewaersvelde_estaminet.JPG" caption="Flemish estaminet ''Le Blauwershof'' ("the den of [[fraudster]]s") in [[Godewaersvelde]], Nord, France."] ::

An estaminet is—in Picardy, French Flanders, Luxembourg, and Brussels—an establishment that serves various types of drinks, sells tobacco, and offers traditional games. The estaminets are part of the cultural heritage of these regions. In Brussels, a three-hundred-year-old estaminet is still open.

The word estaminets has also been in use in Paris in the 19th century, as Jules Lovy wrote about them on 18 April 1858 in Le Tintamarre.

In modern usage, estaminet refers to taverns, bistrots, inns, and brasseries typical of Nord Département in France that make use of ancient tools and typical rural, or traditional, decorations, and serve dishes and drinks from the region. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Estaminet_picard.jpg" caption="Estaminet ''La Cuisine de Papet'' in [[Éplessier]], Picardy, France."] ::

Etymology

In 1802, the Académie française defined the estaminet in a very short description: "Assemblée de buveurs et de fumeurs" (An assembly of drinkers and smokers).

The word has a Picard origin and comes from "estamet", which refers to the pillar supporting the roof of a room, and, by extension, the room itself.

The estaminets in the 19th century

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Lesser_Ury_Estaminet.jpg" caption="''Flämische Schenke'', (Estaminet, Flemish Tavern) by [[Lesser Ury]] 1884, [[Alte Nationalgalerie]]."] ::

At the beginning of the 19th century, in the more elegant cafés, tobacco was forbidden, but smoking was permitted in the estaminets. The word "estaminet" was in common use before World War I and referred to an establishment where one could have a drink and smoke. There could be, at the same place, a grocery or a farriery facility, like nowadays multi-service cafés.

A place to socialize for workers, the estaminet was also the meeting point for local societies, like pigeon-keeping club members or feather-bowling players.

Some singing societies also included in their name the one of the estaminet where they are gathering. For instance, in Flers, there is a society called Les Amis-Réunis de l'estaminet du Pont du Breucq (the friends of Pont du Breucq estaminet). In Lambersart, there is a Société des Rigolos Réunie à l'Estaminet de la Carnoy à Lambersart (Society of amusing people gathered at la Carnoy estaminet in Lambersat). In Lille, there are several societies called Les Amis-Réunis à l'Estaminet du Grand Quinquin, Les Amis-Réunis à l'Estaminet du Réveil-Matin, Les Bons Buveurs de l'Estaminet de l'Alliance. In Roubaix, there are Les Amis-Réunis à l'Estaminet du Bas Rouge à Pile, Les Amis-Réunis Estaminet Bauwens, Les Amis Réunis à l'Estaminet du Poète de Roubaix, Les Amis-Réunis à l'Estaminet tenu par Augustin Roger. In Tourcoing, there is the Société des Amis Réunis, Estaminet du Lion-Blanc, à Tourcoing.

In Lille, on the eve of the First World War, the people were more likely to enjoy their hard lives in the estaminets, where they could relax, meet up with friends, sing patois refrains, and play a variety of games. These games included jeu du beigneau (throwing shuffles into a hole), jeu du bouchon (knocking down corks 9 meters apart), skittles, darts, and strength competitions.

Estaminets during World War I

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/The_Estaminet_Art.IWMART3787.jpg" caption="The Estaminet, by [[Haydn Reynolds Mackey]]: Depiction of British soldiers in an estaminet on the Western Front during [[World War I]]."] ::

Egg and chips became popular in Britain during World War I due to a shortage of meat. It was a favourite food of Tommies behind the lines on the Western Front in northern France and Belgium, eaten at estaminets, which also sold cheap wine and beer.

The estaminets revival

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Drincham_L’estaminet_du_Gallodrome_(5).jpg" caption="cockpit]] estaminet) in [[Drincham]], Nord, France."] ::

Nowadays, the name "estaminet" is given to different taverns, bistrots, or inns that make use of ancient tools as ornaments and typical, rustic, and traditional decorations. Hop is hanging from the ceiling, and old pictures are on the walls. Old bottles and "Vierpots" (ember pots) to light one's pipe are gathered on the fireplace. The menu shows dishes with Flemish names like "Waterzoï" or "Potjevleesch". Above the entry door, a placard is placed, with a depiction of the scrutiny of God, and is a warning to the customers against cursing (in Flemish: Hier vloekt men niet). ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Drincham._estaminet_du_Gallodrome_Hier_vloekt_men_niet.jpg" caption="''Hier vloekt men niet'' placard in Estaminet du gallodrome, [[Drincham]]."] ::

Estaminets in culture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Dourges_-_Cité_Bruno_Ancienne_des_mines_de_Dourges,estaminet(01).JPG" caption="Estaminet ''Oude herberg'' (Old inn) in [[Dourges]], Pas-de-Calais, France."] ::

Victor Hugo used the word "estaminet," among other Walloon words, in his naturalistic novels set in the north of his country.

"Estaminet" is also the title of a short story by Gerard Walschap.

"The Estaminet" is a poem by Ivor Gurney published in Selected Poems about comradeship between soldiers during World War I.

Estaminet 'In 't Spinnekopke' is one of the recipients of the Bronze Zinneke, an award handed out by the cabinet of the Brussels Region to individuals, personalities, organisations, or companies that perform a role as informal ambassadors of the Brussels Region.

Gallery

|align=center |title=Estaminets in culture |Lille - Estaminet 'T Rijsel - 20190423 (1).jpg|Estaminet 'T Rijsel in Lille, Nord, France. |Close up of a bottle of Kassels Bier showing brewery.JPG|Close up of a bottle of Kassels Bier, the "House Beer" of the Estaminet 'T Kasteel Hof, in Cassel, Nord, France, showing brewery (Brasserie de Saint-Sylvestre). |Gastronomie lilloise servie dans un estaminet.jpg|Dishes served in an estaminet in Lille (potatoes, carbonade flamande, welsch, potjevleesch). |align=center |title=Estaminets in art |David Milne - Vimy Ridge from Souchez, Estaminet among the Ruins.jpg|Vimy Ridge from Souchez, Estaminet among the Ruins, 1919, by David Milne, National Gallery of Canada. |James Ensor (1875 ca) Estaminet 001.jpg|Estaminet, painting by James Ensor (1875 ca). |Joueurs de boules dans la cour d'un estaminet Teniers le Jeune musée des Beaux-Arts de Chartres Eure-et-Loir France.jpg|Boules players in the yard of an estaminet, by David Teniers the Younger. |Bovinet - un estaminet.jpg|Un estaminet - engraving by Edme Bovinet after Adriaen van Ostade.

References

1. [https://sosoir.lesoir.be/601427/article/2020-02-28/trois-estaminets-qui-ont-su-garder-leur-ame-depoque-bruxelles sosoir.lesoir.be "Trois estaminets qui ont su garder leur âme d'époque à Bruxelles"]
2. [https://www.lebonbon.be/bruxelles/actu/vieux-spijtigen-duivel-plus-vieux-cafe-bruxelles-depuis-300-ans/ The oldest estaminet in Brussels, still active since more 300 years, Antoine Lebrun 19 December 2024] www.lebonbon.be (in French)
3. ''[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5668952d/f5.image.langFR Les cafés de Paris]'', ''[[Le Tintamarre]]'', 18 April 1858, {{p.. 5, 2nd column. [[Commons:File:Café Caveaux - Le Tintamarre - 18 avril 1858.jpg. See the original of the article on Commons.]]
4. Jean Dauby, {{lang. fr. Lexique du bâtiment et de la maison en rouchi , dialecte picard du valenciennois, Études et recherches sur Saint-Amand-les-Eaux et sa région, no 9, 1987, pp. 1-9.
5. [http://www.leershistorique.com/page2_6estaminets.html Les estaminets] [[Leers]] website]
6. Collectif, dir JP Wytteman. (1988). "{{lang". Bordessoules.
7. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6470003b.r.langFR A song by Société des Rigolos Réunie à l'Estaminet de la Carnoy à Lambersart] (in French)
8. La Pile is a neighborough in Roubaix.
9. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5450849b.r.langFR {{lang. fr. Manière d'engager ses amis à souper], a song by the ''Les Amis Réunis à l'Estaminet du Poète de Roubaix'' goguette.
10. [http://www.mediathequederoubaix.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/article/Fonds_de_poche/FDP_2010-05.pdf {{lang. fr. Exhibition Chantons... mais en patois !] {{Webarchive. link. (11 October 2014 held from the 8 June to 1 July 2010 in Roubaix Media library.)
11. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k54507883.r.langFR A song by ''la Société des Amis Réunis, Estaminet du Lion-Blanc, à Tourcoing''] and [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6429914n.r.langFR Another song, by ''la Société des Amis Réunis, Estaminet du Lion-Blanc, à Tourcoing'']
12. (2014). "Food in Zones of Conflict: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives". Berghahn Books.
13. Aude Pidoux, [https://hebdoblogtrotters.typepad.com/blogtrotters/2007/08/les-estaminets.html Les estaminets], 17 August 2007.
14. Pascal Goffaux, [https://www.rtbf.be/article/hier-vloekt-men-niet-damien-deroubaix-a-la-louviere-9784387 Les estaminets], 9 December 2017.
15. [[Victor Hugo. Hugo, Victor]] (1865). [[Les Misérables]]. J. Hetzel et A. Lacroix, Paris, The year 1817, p. 69 : {{lang. fr. Un estaminet plein de fumée se présenta, ils y entrèrent et le reste de leur conférence se perdit dans l'ombre.

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