Cafedraal — Restaurant in Bruges

/////////// Long review but please read it ///////////

We were looking to have some oysters that night - we were a group of 8 . We saw the Google reviews on this place - and they weren’t great - but we decided to give it a try because this place was recommended by one of the B&B owners.

Short version of what was wrong: No oysters after 40 minutes and we had to ask where were they; No pesto in a past dish that clearly said ‘with Pesto’; Wrong dish; Rude overall for a place this expensive;

Waited 40 minutes for oysters that for some reason we’re coming from somewhere else, not the restaurant. We only heard this when we asked about them. Waiter knew something was wrong with them but simply did not care to inform us because the food was on the table 2 minutes later.

Food was just a little above average. My wife ordered the pasta dish with pesto but there was no pesto in it. Complained about it to this flamboyant waiter (his posture annoyed everyone) who said that the pesto was already mixed in the pasta. A couple of minutes later brings pesto to be added to the dish (Tumbleweeds).

Asked for the bill, immediately asked for the manager - he replied that he went home at 7! Clearly not because as this discussion evolved we could see him talking to another person that was responsible for the place. Finally had to discuss with the same waiter and his solution was ‘Pay the bill and then send an email’… My friend got really upset, raised his voice and said that no payment would be made. After this they took us a little more seriously.

Only took the wrong dish off the bill and the “I’m sorry” he gave us did not convince anyone. This could be a spectacular restaurant and you could charge the same for incredible food but just not for that food and service.

Would give half a star if it...

My wife and I had booked a table at this restaurant tonight. It’s our honeymoon, we’ve just been married and were celebrating our first night as man and wife. We had booked a table in advance. When we arrived to an empty checkin desk no one greeted us…eventually after 10 minutes of waiting an extremely rude staff member appeared and bluntly directed us to ask the waiters outside for our pre-booked table.

When the “waiter” eventually decided to talk with us he rudely and bluntly dismissed us and said “we’ve no tables, go wait inside”…no smile….no hello… no - we apologize for the inconvenience….when we challenged him and said we’d booked a table for 8pm he said go for a walk for 30 minutes and come back. We literally could not believe how rude, intolerable and unprofessional this person was. He (longish greased blond hair past his shoulders) had absolutely no people skills and was clearly lacking basic empathy. We were shocked by his behavior and decided to leave.

If you are the business owner reading this you need to have a very stern conversation and reality check with your staff if you want to keep your business alive. You need to review your hiring practice. These people deserve to be fired immediately and new staff hired.

A complete disgrace and unnecessary disappointment! We’re lucky another fantastic restaurant near by made our night and didn’t ruin our honeymoon! Shameful!! I look forward to seeing how rude and unapologetic the reply is from the restaurant below, maybe you’ll demonstrate once again your behavior but hopefully you’ll change...

I am a single woman dining alone. On arrival the maitre de treated me as though I was an annoyance. He put me at a table and then I was ignored unless being told what to eat. I believe the restaurant is lovely but I didn't see it! There was no opportunity to ask about menu options. I was told what to order. When my starter arrived, I realised I would not be able to eat the main course also and asked for it to be cancelled. I was told this was not possible.... I then waited for over half an hour for it to be produced. Meaning they are incompetent or it was being cooked. The meal cost over 100 euros and while the starter was delicious the cod was served in a creamy sauce and mashed carrot and parsnips. A great meal for the middle of winter! It was a hot summer evening. I ate less than 1/2 because I wanted something sweet. I ordered strawberries. They did not come, I asked, they did not come. I asked for my account. The Maitre De informed me he had delayed my food because I would be full. A waiter bought dessert. I could not see strawberries, just melted icecream which I rejected but of course had to pay for. I left feeling disgruntled and...