BEEEF — Restaurant in Brussels

I saw comments from the owner in other reviews asking for feedback, so long review alert here!

First, the positives. It’s in a really cool, unexpected courtyard with outdoor seating. The inside is very new and very clean looking. Our food arrived relatively fast. The fries were above average and homemade. The onion rings were also alright - not sure if they were homemade or not, but it’s not an item you often see on menus in Brussels, so overall that was a positive.

Unfortunately, all of those positives were undone by the burger. The burger arrived room temperature - there was no effort to melt the cheese that came on top. I’m actually pretty sure my burger had been sitting there for some time. It wouldn’t even be physically possible for the burger to have cooled off in the time it took me to receive it (about five minutes). One can only conclude that it was not made to order. Secondly, let’s talk about “smash burgers”. First, this burger was not consistently smashed throughout. The middle had a different texture, color, and thickness than the outer edges which is not something you expect from a smash burger. In addition, because my burger set so long before it was served to me, it was hard. I’m talking Italian biscotti-hard. My wife and I reflected on all of the burgers that we’ve had here in Belgium. It was absolutely, without a doubt the worst one we’ve had. I actually would have preferred a burger from McDonalds. I’m really sorry to say to the owners that at least a McDonalds burger would have come out warm, with an effort to melt the cheese, and not as hard as a biscuit. Hopefully you can see what I’m getting at in the photos. I’m embarrassed to say that as the photos clearly show, I ate the whole thing (I was hungry and I’m American - we’ll eat anything, don’t judge 😂)

In summary, we came out of our way to go here today and unfortunately it wasn’t for us. We won’t back back for burgers, but I suppose if we’re walking by with a hankering for fries, we’d go...

There's definitely potential here, the food was pretty good (and cheap!) but unfortunately it was also lukewarm bordering on cold.

My guess is they just need more practice and it will get there. From what we noticed a lot of take-away orders arrived at the same time as ours and they had trouble handling the rush and prioritising. When we left, we noticed two burgers on trays waiting for their fries, so I suppose that is how our order got cold. Doesn't explain our cold fries though, especially since that should be physically impossible during a rush like this. Anyway, will have to give this another shot still!

To the owner: consider getting warming lamps for your plating area. It will make all the difference in...

Real potato chips, tasty sauce, and everything warm and made straight after my order. The portions are quite filing too.

Almost no plastic, the lemonade came in a glass bottle, and burguer and potatoes on paper bags, which I really appreciated!

The staff was kind, and made sure he did everything fast so I didn't have to wait. Did the whole thing with a smile.

All in all, this trip to Beeef brought me a smile on a pretty gray day 🩶.

Im goving 5 stars, however to make everything perfect, I'd add a menu version in English, which I consider a must in the European quarter, and I'd remove or hide the trash containers in the patio...