EU leaders grab chips and beer on Grand Place after Brexit talks

You're enjoying a late-evening drink overlooking the Grand-Place, when Angela Merkel, Charles Michel, Emmanuel Macron and Xavier Bettel turn up to do the same.

That's what happened on Wednesday evening, as the leaders of Germany, Belgium, France and Luxembourg met around 23.00 and spent about an hour catching up over some of Belgium's famous chips and beer at the end of the first day of the EU summit.

The invitation came from Luxembourg's prime minister. He also paid the bill, to celebrate the outcome of last Sunday's elections in the grand duchy.

"We had a drink with colleagues - a beer and fries because we are in Brussels. It was very nice," Bettel told reporters the day after.

"Even if we are politicians, we are also human, and human relations are sometimes very important after a summit. We were able to talk about today's topics and debrief yesterday's meetings."

British prime minister Theresa May was a kilometre up the road, spending the evening at the British amabassador's residence on Rue Ducale.

Photo courtesy Hrvoje Kresic/Twitter