Flemish feast in Ponsonby

Each type of beer will have a special glass at The Ponsonby. Picture / Nicola Topping

If metre-long bratwurst sausages, Flemish-style lamb and mussels stuffed with salmon and dill have your tastebuds singing, then Auckland's newest Belgian beer cafe is the place to head to.

It opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the old Ponsonby Post Office building at the top of College Hill Rd in Ponsonby on April 28.

The cafe, to be known as The Ponsonby, has had a $1 million fit-out, recreating the ambience and atmosphere of a cosmopolitan Flemish pub straight out of Brussels, says co-owner Trevor Ready.

The Ponsonby is the fourth Belgian beer cafe to be opened in Auckland by Trevor and Lynn Ready, who also have The Occidental in Vulcan Lane, De Post in Mt Eden and De Fontein in Mission Bay. But the menu at The Ponsonby is radically different, says Trevor.

"It still retains the signature dishes that we are famous for and naturally all our dishes have beer-matching suggestions but we have some very original foods at the new beer cafe."

The historic Ponsonby Post Office building was built in 1912 and is a protected historic building.

In its new incarnation it will serve the full range of Belgian beers available in New Zealand - all served in the traditional Belgian style - including Stella Artois, Hoegaarden White, Leffe Blond, Leffe Dark and the Belle Vue Kriek range of flavoured beers.

There will be a strong focus on tap beer and each will have its own special glass, Trevor explains.