Last Updated on 28 December 2025 by Vanessa
Le Chat Touille in Saint Gilles, in the southern part of Brussels, is Belgium’s first-ever cat café.
The café is home to five cats—Fripouille, Noël, Coca, Simba, and Chiquita—all adopted from the local shelter WAHF. I visited on Tuesday and spent the afternoon with them. The cats were all relaxed and enjoying their new life in this tiny green cat café.
Le Chat Touille aka Le New Chattouille – Belgium’s first cat café
What is a cat café?
A “cat café” – or “bar à chats” in French – is a café where you can enjoy coffee or tea while spending time with cats.
The concept began in Taiwan in the late 1990s as a way for the growing urban population to have contact with pets despite limited space. It soon spread to other countries, and cat cafés have now become popular worldwide.
The cats in these cafés are usually rescues or strays chosen for their friendly and sociable nature. Staff make sure they are healthy, well-cared for, and have room to rest or play. The cats are free to move around and decide when to interact with visitors.
Guests follow simple rules to protect the cats’ comfort, such as not picking them up without permission or disturbing them while they rest. The cafés aim for a calm, relaxed environment that works for both cats and people.
Le Chat Touille, Belgium’s first “bar à chats”
Monika Jurczykowska founded Le Chat Touille in 2014 to provide a safe home for rescued cats. After adopting five cats from the local shelter WAHF—Fripouille, Noël, Coca, Simba, and Chiquita—the café opened to visitors who could spend time with them.
The café’s focus on giving these cats permanent homes also highlights the importance of adopting pets from shelters. By showing how rescue cats can thrive in a loving environment, Le Chat Touille encourages more people to consider adoption instead of buying animals from breeders or pet stores.
Update
In 2019, the café changed ownership and became Le New Chattouille.
The location and décor stayed the same, but under the new owner Nathalie—one of the founding members of the animal welfare group Ever’y Cat—the café now offers all its cats for adoption.
Nathalie’s commitment to finding homes for rescued cats has turned the café into a small adoption center.
Fun fact: Stéphanie Challe, another founding member of Ever’y Cat, once fostered my cat Romero while working with Cat Rescue in Woluwe.
Le Chat Touille / Le New Chattouille is primarily a café with a diverse selection of teas, coffees, and beers (including a beer called “De Poes,” which means ‘The Cat” in Dutch).
For those with a sweet tooth, the café offers an assortment of sugary treats like pancakes, waffles, and pain perdu.
They also have some food options, mainly croque monsieurs. From the classic Croque Madame and Croque Hawaï to the more savory Croque Raclette, Croque Saumon, and Croque Bolo.
Practical information
Opening hours
- Monday: closed
- Tuesday: closed
- Wednesday: closed
- Thursday: 05:00 pm to 09:00 pm
- Friday: 05:00 pm to 09:00 pm
- Saturday: 01:00 pm to 08:00 pm
- Sunday: 01:00 pm to 08:00 pm
Reservations
Le Chat Touille doesn’t take online reservations. That means you have to wait in line outside.
When I visited, the wait was about 45 minutes. Luckily, the cats made it completely worth it.
If you want to avoid a long line, try arriving just before the café opens. You’ll have a better shot at getting in quickly, and you’ll probably have the chance to spend more time with the cats as well.
How to get to Le Chat Touille / Le New Chattouille?
Address
Le Chat Touille, Rue Tasson-Snel 11, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Belgium.
By public transport
Tram lines 81 and 97 stop nearby. Get off at the Albert tram stop, and the café is a short walk from there.
By car
From Brussels city center, take Rue de la Loi toward the E40. Merge onto the E40 toward Liège/Namur, and take exit 17 toward Vorst/Forest. Follow signs to Rue Jules Ruhl, then continue onto Avenue Albert, turn left onto Rue Théodore Verhaegen, and finally right onto Rue Tasson-Snel. The café will be on your left.
Where to park
Street parking near the café is limited. The easiest option is Q-Park Porte de Hal (Boulevard de Waterloo 103, 1000 Brussels), a garage within walking distance.
More cat-friendly spots in Brussels
Brussels has more to offer for cat lovers than just Le Chat Touille. Several cafés and shops around the city feature resident cats so you’ll never run out of feline company.
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Cup Cats: A cat café near the Grand‑Place with several resident cats.
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Mokafé Taverne: A brasserie in Galerie du Roi known for its resident cat “Kitty,” who often lounges where patrons eat and drink.
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Au Soleil: A long‑established bar on Rue du Marché au Charbon that has a resident feline named Jean-Claude.
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MangaKat Café: This themed cat café hosts cats alongside its manga collection in a beautiful Art-Nouveau building.
- Henrard Serrures: A cat named Minus has become a local fixture in this locksmith store.
Read next:
These Brussels’ restaurants are a cat lover’s dream!
22 cat cafés in Belgium – the purr-fect guide to coffee, cats, and cuddles.
Final thoughts
Waiting in line can be a bit frustrating, but spending time with the cats at Le Chat Touille / Le New Chattouille makes it worth it—especially knowing they’re all rescue cats. The café itself is very small (probably no more than three meters wide), so moving around and interacting with the cats can be tricky. Still, I’ll definitely come back, whether to have lunch with a friend or to get some work done.
Have you ever visited Le Chat Touille / Le New Chattouille?
If you enjoyed this article, share it with your fellow cat lovers. It’s a great way to spread the word about the café and their work finding permanent homes for rescue cats.
PS. Have you seen this Black Cat Café in Japan?
Text and photos by Vanessa Morgan
English version / version française
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