The Belgian Chocolate Makers (Factory) — Local services in Brussels

On Sunday October 12th 2025, we stopped at this local spot for some waffles. Right from the start, an elderly lady with quirky glasses who worked there was somewhat impolite, but nothing out of the ordinary for Brussels. However, things took a turn for the worse when my niece (12) went to use the restroom. A man who appeared to be the cook, began shouting at her simply because she was standing near the restroom door, watching over her sister. I should mention that the restroom door had no lock and even had a hole in it, which is why she stayed there for privacy.

This man yelled at her so aggressively that she was brought to tears (severe verbal abuse toward a minor is a criminal offense). Her father confronted him, asking for an explanation or at least an apology, but instead, the man just shouted back and demanded that we leave his kitchen. I tried to step in and calm things down, but he became even more agitated and started yelling at me as well. I told him that with his attitude and anger issues, he really shouldn’t be working in a place that serves the public.

In the end, we left feeling completely mortified by the whole situation. Staff in establishments like this should be held to a higher standard—people should be treated with respect and kindness, not hostility. This was by far the worst experience we’ve had since moving to Europe, and we strongly recommend avoiding this place.

First, I want to clarify that I provided my identification intentionally—I stand by my words and see no reason to remain anonymous. Secondly, the claim that we “escaped” is simply false. We left the premises calmly, but understandably, we were shaken by the incident and wanted to avoid further escalation.

To sum up what happened: an adult (S.P.) chose to verbally assault a 12-year-old child in the basement of his establishment, while her parents and family were upstairs purchasing products from him. That fact alone should give anyone pause. Children deserve to be protected at all times, especially from situations such as this.

I sincerely hope you reflect on this experience and consider how to improve your approach to customer service and interpersonal interactions. Respect is not automatic—it must be earned through your actions. Wishing you the opportunity to learn and grow from...

Okay, there are a lot of five-star reviews of the chocolate workshop and I feel like I attended a completely different activity. This was an incredibly disappointing waste of time and money. I was eager to learn about real techniques but the reality was so much less than my expectations.

The workshop simplifies chocolate-making into a child's craft project. In fact there were several kids participating and I'm sure it was a great activity for them. For example, to make a chocolate bar, you are handed a bag of melted chocolate and told to squeeze it out into a mold and put toppings on it, then they stick it in a fridge. The instructor briefly mentioned tempering, but none of the chocolate we made in the workshop was tempered.

The instruction is extremely limited. The instructors essentially recite a script with some basic facts about chocolate and give very limited direction. There was no attempt to directly advise any specific students on technique. In addition, there were 20-30 participants crowded into the tiny room around 3 tables. It was often hard to see the demonstrations.

When we reached the truffle part of the workshop, it was immediately clear the room was way too hot and the pre-made ganache was already melting before dipping it in chocolate. I looked around the room and couldn't see anything recognizable as a belgian truffle. The instructors seemed unfazed by this outcome.

At the end of all of this, I feel like I paid €40 for a mediocre chocolate bar. Honestly, I cannot think of another time when an experience has been so far below my expectations. I still can't wrap my head around the number of five-star reviews for such an underwhelming experience. The whole thing felt like a tourist cash-grab.

Edit: I resent the implication that this is not a genuine review. I have not left reviews from multiple accounts, nor have I written reviews on multiple platforms. My review is an honest account of my experience at this establishment. If my review is similar to others, maybe many people have been disappointed by this experience. I think that all of my feedback, while harsh, was constructive and fair. After two years, the company still seems more focused on inventing conspiracies and denying reality than improving the experience for...

Workshops worden ook aangeboden via Airbnb. Direct na boeken kwam ik erachter dat het niet in de plaats was waar wij verbleven. Geheel en al mijn fout natuurlijk, maar ik had gehoopt op coulance. Nu geniet de 23 jarige ongetwijfeld getalenteerde dame van 90 euro verdient met niets doen omdat we echt niet kunnen afreizen naar Brussel.

Opvoeding en welgemanierdheid is niet meer wat het geweest is...

Response of the owner: Madam, don't blame others for your own fault or unability to manage correctly a booking made thru an external application namely Airbnb. We know that it is now a very common thing for everybody to report their own fault on others but we are not responsible if you are even not able to read correctly a simple booking form. Nobody asked you to book on Airbnb for a wrong date, certainly not us. We don't manage the refund policy on Airbnb Experiences and this is precisely why we encourage everybody to book their workshop directly from us and not thru external applications that we don't manage. By booking on Airbnb you accept the terms of sale and the refund policy. Don't blame the providers of the activity for your own unability to read and ackowledge a simple text written by the application you used namely Airbnb. Perhaps you should first start to learn how to read and understand a simple text and then you can send us your hate and lessons about education. We wonder really who need education, honestly.

My response: I asked kindly for a refund 1 minute after booking it, because only then I saw the adress. I think its unbelievable that you respond like this on a honest mistake.

We are staying in Antwerp, after booking the airbnb in Antwerp, the app shows experiences to do in the surrounding. What is your opinion about if Bruxelles is in the surrounding of Antwerp?

I did see the cancellation policy, but had absolutely no intention of cancelling if it would have been in Antwerp.

What is it that you intentionally take advantage of my honestly made mistake and just take the 90 euro. It would have been no trouble at all to refund. Its not like you have done or bought anything and that youre in a loss.

As you may understand, 90 euros is a lot of money...