Belgo

Had dinner at the newly opened hot spot Belgo this
Sunday to find it surprisingly half full (couldn't even
get near the bar on Saturday). Despite all the
post-modern decor flash, I found the food to be rather
ordinary. The Chimay Trappiste cheese croquette was
presented with a simplicity that would make Howard
Johnson blush, although the actual cheese itself was
quite tasty. I chose amongst others, the Kilo 'O
Moules poivre verte. The quality of the, in this case
New Foundland, mussels was excellent, and the overall
impression of the broth was aromatic but a little flat.
I feel the place has potential, but the food part needs
to live up to the hype. The Belgian beer selection on
the other hand was more than a

We finally made it to Belgo last night. It's basically
a children's restaurant: deliberately loud and crowded,
with decor reminescent of a high school cafeteria. The
waiter's pseudo-monastic dress is too half-hearted to
be truly amusing, like something out of
sleep-away-camp theatrics.

The beer list is exceptional, though they were out of
my first choice and my second had definitely been badly
stored.

Asparagus appetizers were excellent. The mussels were
good, but no more. The fries were OK, but were nothing
like proper Belgian frites. My wife's duck breast was
overcooked.

I'm sure I can find a better moule-frite, and the whole
meal was badly overpriced.

We were there in late spring. Couldn't agree more.
Very disappointing to say the least.

We went for an opening special--they treated us which
was fun--the mussels were good, broth ok (we had a
bacon one). The beer great and we got very drunk. The
app. was quite good (scallops and braised endive) and
the fries were good, but not outstanding. The mashed
potatoes, excellent. Wild boar sausages, very mediocre.
We had a great time, but it was free, and we thought it
was actually overpriced--if we had paid. The dessert
waffle was great, but we were to full to eat it.

Please note, re complaints about the quality of the
food, that Belgo is an English chain and not a Belgian
one, and some of the presentation of the food and its
generally jocular presentation is English rather than
Belgian (although Belgians own the English chain).

I would love to hear more about the decor and service
at Belgo. Was the food served by monks?

wendy c(anada?),

belgo is pretty disappointing. the entrance is pretty
cool, a long ramp in a tunnel leading to the dining
room. the dining room is a bunch of long tables lined
up with wooden chairs. it's kind of a cold modern look
and the room itself is very cold as well
temperaturewise. don't wear shorts. i got the kilo of
mussels which is just way too much for one person
unless you're extremely hungry or love mussels. the
sauce was so sparse and definitely not soaked into the
mussels, so basically you're eating mussels without
sauce except what you can dig up from the bottom of the
bucket. truly disappointing. the fries were good, but
nothing extraordinary. maybe it would have helped if i
was drunk on some beer but it was brunch so i wasn't in
the mood. sorry, no monks serving you, just ordinary
people. our waitress was nice enough though. quite
frankly, i don't see what the big deal is with the
place. eating a bunch of mediocre mussels gets old
real fast and becomes somewhat of a chore actually.

Belgo's not the greatest place in the world, but

portions too big? Never! My four-year-old daughter

ate an entire kilo of mussels herself there...after

first polishing off a smaller appetizer portion!

Still, as Mr. Sietsema has correctly pointed

out, the mussels are better at La Petite Abielle

(and I dig the fries, though not the attitude, at Markt).

not that i don't believe . . . but i don't believe you.
:-) are you sure she had a whole kilo and not one of
their special combos? i mean, there are at least 50
mussels in that pot. there were four of us, each with
a kilo. only one of us finished the whole kilo. i'm a
pretty big eater, and although i'm sure i could have
finished if i had forced myself, i left a good 10 in
the pot. and after the first 20 or so, i had had more
than enough. it was just tiresome and didn't taste
good enough for me to keep eating. i just thought it
would be such a waste if i didn't keep going. but hey,
if your 4 yr old did eat a whole kilo, more power to
her. at least she's got a good healthy appetite.

Did I mention she REALLY likes mussels? I think it was the first time she's ever had as many as she wanted--usually she just picks them out of the boulliabaisse or whatever.

But the fries at Belgo really do bite.

Jonathan,

Does your daughter go for older men? My 14-year-old
nephew started a lifelong passion for shellfish when
he was about your daughter's age, and gobbles up
mussels, oysters, crabs, clams (possibly his favorite)
with gusto and more than a little elan.

I love watching junior chowhounds. You know that a
kid who is so open to new sensory experiences is bound
to be an interesting adult.