Orchina

The Ochina is a place of fond memories for me. When I was a Stagiere in Brussels, a lot of my friends lived across the street from this place and when we were going out for a night at the club, I would always stop in here for a couple of gin and tonics before hand so that I would only need to buy one or two at the club and save some money.
None of my friends would ever join me though because they thought it was too much of a dive, but that is why I loved it so much. It was full of mostly 60 – 80 year old men playing table games, chain smoking, and getting rowdy. It was a little different now that you cannot smoke in bars, but they have a glassed in area with one table where you can smoke. The patrons were nearly all immigrant, I’m not sure from where, but I think Portugal.
It reminded me of the dive bars my Dad would go to on the Eastside of St. Paul, Minnesota. Twelve years later, not much has changed at the Orchina, outside of the smoking.
The drinks are still very strong and very inexpensive. Also, the waitresses and bartenders are still young and beautiful women.