De Vloamse Trine — Restaurant in Bruges

Normally I'm not a fan of posting negative reviews but after some consideration, I felt I had to share this.

Although I might not look like it but I was born and raised in Bruges. I took my Brazilian friend and another friend from Bruges here for lunch as this place is relatively speaking new and they renovated this place into a nice looking place.

I try to avoid the more tourist-y places in Bruges as I usually feel like they're over-priced and non-friendly. I thought erroneously that this was different.

We received a table outside last sunday around 13h. We had to wait for 15-20min until one of the 3 ladies serving, came and get us our order. I did understand that it was apparently very busy just before. So we did not mind the wait. However it took another 15-20min to get our drinks and then another 40min to get our food. (3x carbonades dishes).

When the food arrived we noticed the amount of accompanied croquettes were not much. So we immediately asked if we could have another side of croquettes and some mayonaise. Another 20min passed and we asked again politely if the extra croquettes and mayonaise were coming. They looked at us very rudely and rolled their eyes and went back inside. Came back immediately with mayonaise. Said nothing about the croquettes. Tried to have her attention again and she shouted at us that she heard us and is coming. When we asked again, she said she will check for the croquettes. No feedback from her whatsoever when she came back and felt absolutely ignored. After that we asked her to cancel the side dish as they obviously did not put the order in and give us the bill.

She gave us a very lame excuse about it being too busy and that she could get us some extra fries but not croquettes and that she felt sorry. However her attitude was completely the opposite of being apologetic. After she left the table, she rudely and loudly gave a sarcastic comment about tourists in our Flemish dialect. As if we couldn't understand her. The other waitresses were all behaving similarly to other customers at that time. At the time we were there, we saw 1 couple, a group of 4 and 1 guy with a dog leave because they didn't get served and ignored by them.

I can understand it's very busy and it can be very stressful but don't ever act out on your clients in such a rude way.

The food was okay albeit the portions were too small and pricy for what you get.

The waitresses were very rude and as someone from Bruges, I was ashamed for their behaviour. Unfortunately another establishment in Bruges that don't care because they know tourists will always come because it looks nice.

I don't recommend...

I went to De Vloamse Trine on my first night in Brugge, expecting a typical hearty offering of "pub grub." But what I got completely surprised me.

I chose the meat croquette sandwich with mustard as a starter, and I got the meat stew as a main, alongside a pint (50cl) of Cristal.

The sandwich was divine. The bread was ever so slightly crusty on the outside, but beautifully soft and doughy on the inside. The mustard cut through the flavour of meat very subtly. And I have a sneaky feeling that there was cheese in the croquette, as there was a lovely tang to it, but also a smoothness to the texture.

The meat stew was very cosy and warming. Made with beef, it also contained courgette and mushroom. Furthermore, it came with a side of fries and mayonnaise.

The Cristal, though a lager, was almost like a session ale, though lighter on the stomach and a lot drier than an ale.

The service was impeccable. And the interior was very warm and comfortable. I would definitely recommend De Vloamse Trine to anyone...

On our recent visit to Bruges we noticed this nice bistro which the locals go to, in a calmer corner just outside the "Markt" central square (where the Belfort is). It's right near beer cafés Monk and 't Paotersgat. Very friendly staff, good service and most importantly, good quality Belgian food. We had stoverij (carbonade flamande) there one night which was really good. Came back for salmon on toast for lunch the next and another day for croque madame (ham/cheese toasted sandwich with a sunny side up egg on top). All excellent. A small bowl of salted snacks is served with every order of drinks. De Vlaamse Trine are ambassadors for the Cristal beer from Alken which they serve from tanks they get delivered from the brewery and which are visible...