Ellis Gourmet Burger — Restaurant in Antwerp

My first experience of Ellis Gourmet Burger was everything but Gourmet.

Went there with a friend who recommended it and said it has some good, a bit more upscale burgers. We arrived and it was rather busy, but not too crowded. We were placed at a table that had a nice lingering sewage smell, if that doesn’t spark your appetite I don’t know what will. We asked to be moved to a different table. Our waiter went to check with the person behind the bar. And I am very sorry to say but she might have been the most unfriendly person I’ve met in a while. She just said “no, if they don’t like it they can go elsewhere”. After the long day we had we decided to stay. Maybe that was a mistake. While waiting for our food we saw food returned to the kitchen 3 times, we returned some food as well for having some suspect looking substances on it. Oh, and the bar lady? She took her sweet time delivering our drinks, we were almost done with the starter before they arrived.

And then to the burgers… well… maybe we should have just opted for a McDonald’s, we probably would have gotten a more flavoursome burger. For the price I would expect a lot more. The smashed mac n cheese burger sounds really good, but it taste like nothing basically, just bread. My friend’s veggie burger didn’t have any sauce, was bone dry and lacked any and all appeal.

I’m not sure I’ll be back to try (another) Ellis Gourmet Burger after...

Meh!

The food was alright, nothing special, and there was nothing wrong with it. We tried the burgers, and the burgers were rather plane, even though we paid 17 euros for it. I also ordered poutine, a Canadian dish, but when it was served, the cheese was already solidified and didn't represent poutine anymore. It was like I ate fries with gravy and cheese on the side. I personally think the dishes are overpriced and not worth it for what they are. We also tried some side dishes, and they were 10 euros each, but the things you get are barely anything.

The only thing I did like was their drinks.

The service was also pretty bad. It was the first time we came in and didn't know anything about what to do. Nobody greeted us or helped us to take a seat. We just took a seat ourselves, but had to ask the employee after 15 minutes sitting there how we need to order and if we could look at the menu.

So overall, it is not...

My wife and I decided to have an early dinner at Ellis. The menu was promising. The steak was good in relation to its price, and the classic burger was a good attempt to elevate the usual burger. Some side dishes weren’t available though.

The let-down was the service. So if you come here, keep your expectations low. Because we decided to sit outside (we love the cold weather), it took some effort to have our order taken. A couple inside the restaurant even had to help us get service. When the lady server came, she seemed very disinterested to help. Later on during the service, I ordered an additional bottle of water for my medication. It never came. And throughout the meal, there was zero effort at all to check up on us, which is standard in many restaurants. And to think that the place wasn’t fully occupied yet.

Definitely not a tourist trap. Good food, but...