Kokuban — Restaurant in Brussels

EN: I visited Kokuban for lunch with my colleagues, thinking that it would be a good experience (considering the 414 reviews!) but it was disappointing. Despite having Japanese staff, the food isn't very Japanese:

Gyozas are not homemade made, you can find them at any Asian supermarket; The ramen is not like anything I've had in Tokyo or in real Japanese restaurants: the broth is watery and a bit insipid, the toppings are sparse and sometimes not very well cooked. All together, it's nothing more than a noodle soup;

When I spoke to the waiter about this and stated the fact that this is far from a real Japanese food, he said that "it's a concept for foreigners" and I agree...Kokuban offers nothing more than noodles for gaijins which is quite sad.

FR: Je suis venue chez Kokuban avec mes collègues pour un lunch, pensant que ce serait une bonne adresse (compte tenu des 414 critiques!), Mais c'était décevant. Malgré le personnel japonais, la nourriture n'est pas très japonaise:

Les gyozas ne sont pas faits maison, vous pouvez les trouver surgelés dans tous les supermarchés asiatiques; Les ramen ne ressemblent à rien de ce que j'ai pu goûter à Tokyo ou dans de vrais restaurants japonais à Bruxelles: le bouillon est flotteux et un peu fade, les garnitures sont rares et parfois pas très cuites. Dans l'ensemble, ce n'est rien de plus qu'une soupe de nouilles;

Quand j'en ai parlé au serveur et que je lui expliquais que c'était loin d'être une vraie cuisine japonaise, il m'a répondu que "c'est un concept pour les étrangers" et je suis d'accord ... Kokuban n'offre rien de plus que des nouilles pour gaijins, ce qui est...

I used to love so much getting their gyuudon for take away. Always been one of my favourites in Brussels. Until one day... Was once again ordering a gyuudon for take away but when I asked for some extra chilli (togarashi) pepper in a separate container (as I always do), an elderly guy -the owner or whoever he is- just told me no, no because that such an expensive spices and just told me to put the pepper on my meal instead. Thank you so much for this attitude which I found very insulting. I can easily find that bloody togarashi pepper in any Asian supermarket across Europe, including in Belgium, NL, and it costs no more than 5-6 euro per standard small bottle. Like, I spent 16-17 euro for your gyuudon, just to be told that it's too much for me to ask for a small amount of pepper that will cost no more than 20-25 cents in a separate container. Honestly, I found this attitude super rude and not to mention that perhaps you never took notice of myself being your regular customer.

So, in short, bye bye. I will never put my feet again in your outlet. There are many other Japanese restos in Brussels who can treat their customers much better, Menma being one of them., so for now on, I'll get my gyuudon from them instead. It's such a pity because I've been buying from you for at least 2.years whenever I visit Brussels. Frankly, if you think that bloody spice is too precious for you to share with your customers, perhaps you shouldn't even put it there in the first place. Or perhaps you should do.your math better to see that you might lose more from a long time customer abandoning you than just losing a few milligrams of...

I’ve lived in the Flagey area for a year, and I regret not discovering this place sooner! I had already convinced myself that Brussels (or even Belgium) isn’t famous for its food. I kept telling myself that as long as I could enjoy good beer, it was fine to cook at home almost every day.

We had the UDON and GYUDON and ONIGIRI here, and I have to say they are the best food we’ve ever had in Flagey, Brussels, and even Belgium. I’ve been to Japan many times—Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido… and even Kobe for their WAGYU beef. But this GYUDON is the best I’ve ever had. I believe that even if this place moved to any city in Japan, it would surely be full within half an hour of opening.

I’ll definitely come back again next week. After leaving, I actually feel sorry for anyone having RAMEN elsewhere. I can tell the difference between “good” and “average” Japanese food. After coming to KOKUBAN, I believe any Japanese food lover would realize what a “good” Japanese restaurant truly is.

Thank you, KOKUBAN, for restoring my confidence and hope in...