Brouge Bistro

As I entered Brouge, I had a feeling I was entering a basement bar rather than a restaurant - the decor is small square tables, black leather chairs; all quite tasteful, nothing spectacular.

The food was ok, but nothing much better than any standard pub fare really - mussels were served with a Thai sauce (there was a white wine alternative); not the most Belgian of dishes. I had a steak and ale pie, which was the usual flaky pastry topping on a pie dish. To be fair, it tasted quite nice - but my faith in a restaurant will be restored when a PROPER pie with PROPER suet pastry all the way around the contents of the pie arrives in front of me!

These two dishes were both served with mini (ie mug-sized) buckets of French fries. The pie deserved fatter chips to soak up the gravy with. The mayonnaise was good.

The service was nice and friendly.

It was all just a bit underwhelming - and not as cheap as expected, either.

Recommended if you want to go to a bar that specialises in Belgian beer. If you want good food, you're probably better off trying one of the nearby competitors.
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Liam - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, August 06, 2010

after a great holiday in Belgium, we took the kids here for dinner and have been back several times since.

positives: they only serve mussels when they're in season to make sure they're good quality. as an alternative we went for the fish chowder (delicious!) and the cheese burger. hubby appreciated the wide range of Belgian beers!

the kids went for burgers and the sausage and mash, and finished off with waffles. my youngest is usually a fussy eater but she cleared both plates!

negatives: we found the service sometimes sullen and the wait for some dishes a bit long, but nothing too bad.

overall, it's not fine dining but is well priced and good quality. great for families.
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Karen
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, June 10, 2009