Belga Café

[garnish]

tonight: we ordered a bottle of wine (Pinot Noir) and the waiter unceremoniously opened it and poured a full glass in mine...and then the one guy's at the table and then the other female. I swirled and tasted AS IF he'd given me the option, and it was fine, but...well. It wasn't egregious error, though, I guess, just surprising (yes, I realize the drink of choice at Belga might not have been red wine, but still).

I had mussels in white wine (I had a mussels craving...and the Bistrot du Coin just seems so far away) and that was fine, didn't try the frites, though my companions did eat them. Started with a green salad that came with a ...tomato sorbet? well, it was the best part of that salad. Not that it was bad, just that it was not remarkable, except for that bit of frozen tomato.

That's fine. I'm glad to have them on the Hill. It's a lovely space and we sat across from the kitchen, and it was fun to see them prepare the dishes.

We didn't have reservations -- got there at 5:45 and there were plenty of tables, but we were asked to be done at 7:15 when they had a reservation for our table. That seemed reasonable, and it definitely was. We even had time for dessert (I didn't have any but my companions enjoyed theirs).

We started out with drinks at the ugly mug. They were nice, and it turns out one of my companions knew a bartender there. So we had good service.

[AMTHoya]

Went to Belga for some drinks last night after free Hypnotique at Tapatinis (I told my friend that I would get tooth decay before getting a solid buzz off those...)

Good stuff, though - had the Petrus (not the Chateau) brown, which was on tap. Bartender warned me about a sweet finish, and she definitely knew her stuff...unfortunately, it was her last day (we even bummed cigs off her). Followed up w/ La Chouffe (DAMN that is fine stuff - I never had it at 2 Amys, but finally got the chance here) and a Lindeman's Kriek (which is a disappointment after having the Framboise at the Brickskeller).

But the real star was those FRIES - golden, crunchy, and HOT. I would say they even give the truffle/parmesan fries at Firefly a run for their money. All in all, worth a repeat.

[smayman]

I have been to Belga several times and have liked it just fine, but last night I went and had horrible service.

It was Friday night and they were very crowded. We had a reservation for 8:00 and were told that it would be just a few minutes. We opted not to wait in the bar as there was barely standing room, so we stood in the little area near the reservations desk. About 20 minutes later I saw the greeter woman highlight my reservation, then turn and walk into the bar and select some random couple to sit at my table!

When she returned I asked he how much longer it would be for my table to be ready. The manager helped me and said, "Oh, this is you? We couldn't find you at the bar." to which I answered that I had been standing next to him for 20 minutes. He said the next table would be mine.

About 10 minutes later a couple with no reservation comes in, and he seats them outside immediately! I said, "Excuse me, is there a table available outside? Because I have a reservation and have been waiting for over half an hour." He replied, "The next table is yours."

I finally got seated 5 minutes later. I found this service to be very unprofessional. I have no idea why they would seat customers with no reservation before they would seat customers with a reservation who had been waiting for an extended period of time. I swear I don't have B.O., didn't wear my pajamas to the restaurant, wasn't muttering to myself in an insane way... I just don't get it.

So the manager pays for our first round of beers.

I order the romaine salad and mussels, my husband orders the mixed greens salad and hangar steak. His salad comes out, mine does not. He waits for me as his tomato sorbet melts. At least 5 minutes later my salad comes out. It's another mixed greens salad. I tell the server that this is not what I ordered - she says she'll take it back and have another made. I tell her I'll keep this salad as my husband has already been waiting for a while. If she was bringing us 2 of the same salad, why was one brought out 5 minutes ahead of the other? Bizarre.

Anyway, to sum it up, I like the food at Belga, but they need to work on their service.

[chuchelo]

We had dinner there the week before last and enjoyed the food very much. Unfortunately, it was rather loud and not quite the cozy meal we intended. In fact, guests were seated at nearby tables and left again without ordering because of the noise.