Bar Bulot Antwerpen — Restaurant in Antwerp

High hopes due to the publicity however it failed to deliver. Overall good food and services but given the reputation and rating we expected more, especially considering the price.

We started with a cocktail, since they only offer 5 we were surprised that the one we wanted was sold out.

Next we had the iberico croquettes as appetizer. The croquettes were okay for taste but the texture of the filling was a bit runny and the coating was very greasy. It completely fell apart after the first bite. When the croquettes arrived our plates were cleared by the other waiter which made the scene a bit awkward since they needed to fetch new plates when the dish was already served. It was not an issue for us but it felt a bit amateurish for such a high end place.

We chose the petit bulot lunch menu and let the chef surprise us. The first course was cheese croquettes, okay for taste but same issues as the appetizer croquettes in terms of texture. The sommelier served us with a nice Riesling which normally wasn’t available by glass, pairing was excellent. The main course consisted of steak tartaar with a salad to share, fresh mayo and fries. It was okay, but again it didn’t overwhelm. The wine served with it was again very nicely paired and catered to our taste. My husband took the Dame Blanche as dessert, not the best he had but again it was okay. I took the espresso martini which was excellent, so good my husband also ordered one after, the home made madeleines were a bit dry.

The place is beautifully decorated but the jazz music was very “present”, despite being big jazz fans, we felt that the music was a bit too intense for a restaurant. Because we were running a few minutes late we tried calling several times but the phone was switched of, again a bit amateurish. Despite that the staff was very friendly.

Overall takeaway: we had a nice lunch but for +250 euro we didn’t feel it was value for money. We were not impressed. There are better options in Antwerp for a...

I didn't have any expectations when I came here but I just want to try a restaurant that I haven't tried before in Antwerp. The food was good but it's on the pricier side compared to the restaurants around the area. It's upscale brasserie Flemish dishes with beautiful plating and their own interpretation. However the wine is horrendously expensive. Some wines were with markup of 300-400% compared to the prices by the importer. Another point is that I can't understand when restaurants serve filtered tap water at bottled spring/mineral water prices. That's a big rip off. The service staff certainly miss a smile on their face as they are not the friendliest out there. There's some hits and misses here but I did enjoy my Vol-Au-Vent...

We were sitting the 2 of us at the kitchen which was really cool, while also the rest of the restaurant is very spacious and elegantly decorated. Everyone very kind and good flow in the evening with some great dishes (scallops, entrecote with pepper sauce), although some of the other dishes were a bit disappointing (shrimp croquettes, Dame blanche), knowing that Gert De Mangeleer is behind in principle... Also the level of the waiters is a bit mixed, from very good to just good. Again, critical assessment, but such a place and name creates lots of expectations. We will still go back, as it was a very nice evening....