# Estaminet Toone

> An old estaminet down a covered alley off the Petite rue des Bouchers, under the Toone marionette theatre, with Belgian beers and puppets on every wall.

- Canonical URL: https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/places/cafe/toone
- Category: Café
- Address: Impasse Sainte-Pétronille, Petite rue des Bouchers 21, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Coordinates: 50.848056, 4.353611
- Price range: €€
- Official website: https://www.toone.be/

## Why we recommend it

The children go quiet the moment they see the puppets hanging over the bar, which buys the adults one unhurried beer. Finding it is half of it: you walk down a covered alley barely wide enough for two people, and it feels like the rest of the city has been switched off.

## About

The estaminet sits underneath the Théâtre Royal de Toone, the marionette
theatre that has been run by the same family line of puppeteers for
generations. You reach it through **Impasse Sainte-Pétronille**, a covered
alley off the Petite rue des Bouchers that is easy to walk past. There is a
sign, and you will still miss it the first time.

Inside, the walls and ceiling are hung with marionettes in costume, retired
from the theatre upstairs. The bar is carved oak, the floor is brick, and the
chairs do not match. Nothing about the room has been designed to look old.

It works with children for the obvious reason: there is a great deal to look
at, and no expectation of quiet. The beer list is Belgian and long, and the
puppet theatre upstairs runs its own programme, which is worth checking
separately if you want to make an evening of it.

Come for the room and the walk in. The kitchen is not the point.

## Distances

Straight-line distances computed from coordinates. Walking times are estimates, not measured routes.

| From | Straight line | On foot |
|---|---|---|
| Grand-Place | 170 m | approx. 4 min |
| Brussels Central | 350 m | approx. 7 min |
| Our apartment | 390 m | approx. 8 min |
| Manneken-Pis | 420 m | approx. 8 min |
| Place du Grand Sablon | 770 m | approx. 14 min |

## Links

- [Toone on visit.brussels](https://visit.brussels/en/place/Theatre-Royal-de-Toone)

## Map

- [OpenStreetMap](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=50.848056&mlon=4.353611#map=18/50.848056/4.353611)
- [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=50.848056,4.353611)
- [Walking directions from the Grand-Place](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=50.846700,4.352500&destination=50.848056,4.353611&travelmode=walking)

## Nearby

- [Le Cirio](https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/places/cafe/le-cirio) — An 1886 Belle Époque café beside the old stock exchange, its interior barely touched, home of the half-en-half.
- [Grand-Place](https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/places/sightseeing/grand-place) — The UNESCO-listed market square at the centre of Brussels, three minutes on foot from the apartment.
- [Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert](https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/places/shopping/galeries-saint-hubert) — A glazed shopping arcade of 1847, among the oldest in Europe, a short walk from the apartment and dry in any weather.

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Source: [Estaminet Toone](https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/places/cafe/toone) on [Brussels Grand Place](https://www.brusselsgrandplace.com/), the Grand-Place in Brussels building by building, written by people who live 200 m from the square.
Last updated: 2026-08-19.