Sanseveria Bagelsalon — Restaurant in Bruges

The glowing reviews are what got us to try this place. We were expecting amazing bagels, but we were pretty disappointed.

The first thing that surprised us is the size of the portions: the bagels are pretty small and don't come with a side salad, as is normally standard in places like this. Their homemade iced tea is also about half the size of what you would get at other places. Not at all what we expected given the price. But hey, at least they're probably good, right? Right?

Well... the bagels themselves were dry and the ingredients were nothing special except for the spiced chicken, had it not been heavily over-salted. At first I thought my partner was exaggerating, but after tasting it for myself she clearly wasn't; there's a point where you can still argue it's a subjective matter, but this was way beyond that.

We had some hope left for the chocolate pie, but it was also underwhelming. It was okay, but let's just say we bake a better one.

When the waitress asked if everything was alright at the end of the meal, we told her they might want to check the chicken as it was way over-salted. We got no real reaction and from that point on she was basically stone cold.

After leaving we went to check the low reviews out of curiosity and we weren't ready for the snarky replies of the owner, which are simply out of this world. It goes from telling people taste is subjective all the way to telling people this is not school and "how dare you rate my amazing food anything that is not a 5". Welcome to the restaurant business: when you charge people for food, suddenly they expect quality; especially at this price point. Swallow your pride and accept you need to improve some things. Get your basic ingredients right and you can really turn this into something amazing. But hey, I probably don't know what I'm talking about, right?

This place is just lucky it's one of the only bagel places in Brugge. If it doesn't improve by the time there's some real competition, I simply don't see it surviving.

I was initially going to rate it a 3 as the food is okay (if we assume the chicken issue was just bad luck), but after seeing the entitlement and inability to handle criticism of the owner, a 2 seems...

Our 2nd time visiting Bruges, we decided against the generic continental breakfast at the hotel, which we previously found was expensive and very average quality. Instead, we did some research and scouted about to discover what Bruges had to offer and we were not disappointed.

Walking past Sanseveria on Saturday morning, we were drawn by the bright balloons above the door and upbeat music playing. Unfortunately, they were fully booked but they suggested using their website to reserve a table for the next day. I'd already seen this bagelsalon listed but wasn't sure if I could wait till 10am on a Sunday to eat but seeing it in the flesh made it an easy decision.

True enough, the website was simple to use and I reserved a table for the next day, my wife's birthday. Once I received the confirmation email, I replied asking if they could help with a mini surprise given the special occasion and they promptly responded saying that they'd try.

Arriving a few minutes after 10am, most of tables were already full and when I gave my name for the reservation, Bert didn't let on whatsoever that we'd exchanged emails. The decor throughout is very cool and welcoming. It's retro chic with a great balance of class and humour - they have Spitting Image-esque caricatures on the drinks menu.

We both went for the Short & Powerful breakfast - freshly squeezed OJ, the best Americano we had during the entire weekend, a delicious muesli bowl while we waited for the main event - a Madison bagel for my wife and I went for the Richard bagel. Both were lovingly prepared and lovingly devoured.

Without any reminders, Bert then brought over a slice of classic cheesecake with a lit candle and wished my wife a happy birthday. Perfect!

Thank you Bert and the two other ladies that were diligently working away alongside you. We came for the food and we left with great memories.

Congratulations on nailing the brief! You made us feel at home and it's no wonder you've got people queuing...

Actually brilliant.

During covid, enter with a mask or prepare to be rightly scolded. Once in, prepare for the nicest breakfast this side of Prague's Cafe Savoy (imo the benchmark)

The menu is hilarious, the service is really attentive yet passive.

Even when busy (and it does fill up, so plan ahead) it's an efficient place, I waited no more than 2 minutes and was given a table with the polite request to free it up in 40 minutes if possible, and the service made that very achievable without feeling hurried.

Its not cheap, but it's not expensive either (again, cafe savoy would be 10x the price) and the quality of the bagel sandwiches is unparalleled. Astounding food. The big glass of latte is welcoming too, rather than the thimbles of coffee other places provide.

One thing I'd add to the menu? Maybe truffle oil or white truffle shavings on one of the more royal sandwiches, and charge double for it. I'd pay it😂

My personal recommendation: The Richard and a latte (pictured).

Also, leave a nice tip, they deserve it, you'll feel like you've contributed to a hard-working part of society, and you're given a very funny message in the tip box (unless you're a belieber in which case there's no...