Victor Bozar Café — Restaurant in Brussels

A beautiful afternoon meeting a friend and her newborn who was changing her baby downstairs before we went to the bozar expo. I was politely greeted by a waitress at the entrance to the café to whom I explained I was joining my friend and with a smile she let me through. Suddenly, a shorter, balder doorman/server abruptly ran after me across the floor demanding where I was going. I again repeated that I was joining my friend and pointed to the pram. He seemed worked up already. My friend came back up the stairs with her baby and we were looking for somewhere to sit when again, the same angry man stood in our personal space pointing angrily at what he said was the only place to sit for a drink even though the whole indoor space was very empty. My friend with her baby asked if we could sit somewhere near the open door where there was a cool breeze because the inside was quite warm and her baby was visibly uncomfortable. There was no effort made to accommodate us and the man said "if it's too hot go outside" again very aggressively. At that point I felt very uncomfortable, clearly we weren't welcome. During that time the waitress lady had also come up to us (im sure she noticed he wasn't treating the situation diplomatically) and kindly explained that they had a reservation for the evening in that part of the restaurant. The same man hung around, getting very close in our physical space and interrupted her to say that they had the right to reserve seating to which I replied, "please dont talk to me". He sniped back "then we won't serve you, please leave". Frankly shocked I responded "Im sure if we looked different, it wouldn't be a problem, right?" And he quipped with "sure, pull the racist card" and rolled his eyes. Maybe it was a bad day but I doubt it and honestly even if it was, that's no way to behave for someone working in hospitality and representing a space that's about joining and celebrating cultures. I had previously heard about the atmosphere here but was shocked to experience it firsthand. I love Bozar but will never go again or...

VISITORS and TRAVELERS and THEATER GOERS BEWARE

Tonight was my first and last visit to the Victor Bozar Cafe. My friend who was dining with me had been here many times. The cafe is attached to the Bozar theater. We arrived at 6:15 and informed our waiter that we had a performance starting at 8. Our drinks arrived promptly as did our appetizer. By 7:30, despite multiple reminders to the wait staff that we had a performance, our entree had not arrived. It appeared that the waiter had forgotten to place the order. The waiter refused to come over or give us our check so we could leave. By 7:45 we still had no entrees and we no longer had time to eat so we got up and went to the register to pay our bill. Our waiter finally made himself available and presented the bill for the entire meal and insisted that we pay for food that we still had not received even though we had now been in the cafe for 1.5 hours. We refused. Again he insisted. Again we refused. Finally my friend, who lives locally, spoke to the head waiter and as soon as she said that she had been there many times, he capitulated and allowed us to pay only for what we had consumed. Interestingly, he would not give me a receipt and the bill he showed me had all of the items itemized as if they had been refunded (they were not). I suspect he pocketed the 30 Euros I gave him in cash for the appetizer, water, and one glass of wine we had. Travelers and visitors beware. Do not eat here. You might have the staff try their extortion tactics on you. Only when the head waiter learned that my friend was local to Brussels did he he allow us to pay only for what we had eaten. Horrible people.

Can’t comment on the food because we never saw our entrees, much less tasted them.

This was, hands down, the worst service I’ve ever had anywhere...

VICTOR BOZAL CAFE

VICTOR is a vibrant meeting place in the Belgian capital. Visitors to an exhibition or a performance at the Bozar Fine Arts Centre as well as chance passers-by stop here for coffee, a healthy lunch or a light meal.

Architects Robbrecht & Daem undertook the conversion of the former Bozar bookshop into a café-restaurant. These leading architects are accustomed to working in a historical context. They see the restrictions specific to a protected monument as an asset rather than a limitation. Like Victor Horta, Robbrecht & Daem believe that architecture and interior design are closely linked.

Paul Robbrecht created a distinctive microcosm in the modest surroundings of a café to offer visitors a total experience. This original universe is reflected almost literally in the use of various circles in the interior: round chandeliers designed especially for Victor, round mirrors and granito circles on the floor, symbolising a planetarium of sunrises and sunsets.

The dark green of the granito and the leather bench seats refers back to the green linoleum and granito that Horta himself integrated into the building.

Even the tables are real works of art: a stylised musical instrument has been engraved in brass on...