All reader reviews by Liam

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.

Friday, August 06, 2010
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6