Ellis Gourmet Burger — Restaurant in Etterbeek

Extremely rude, impolite and aggressive female waiter - manager of the restaurant - Karina CoraiBaca which effectively harassed us to the limit. For some context and better understanding, the restaurant is located in Place Jourdan best known in Brussels for Maison Antoine located the middle of the square which is one of the 2 oldest friteries priding with the best you can eat Belgian fries. There is an unwritten rule that you can serve the fries on all the terraces while ordering beer or something from the restaurants. This being said, we were 2 persons, I went to buy the fries (there are very long waiting ques usually) and my companion took a seat on the terrace of Ellis to order burgers and some drinks - important to mention that we talk about the terrace located in the middle of the square, across the road and not the terrace located on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Upon my return, drinks were already served and in less than 5 minutes a server brings the burgers. Seeing that we had the fries from Maison Antoine, he kindly informs us of the policy of Ellis that they don't allow their customers to buy and consume fries from somewhere else but as the burgers are served he is kind enough to make a joke and agrees to make an exception this time. Less than 5 minutes and the manager arrives informing us she is in charge and despite having the approval of her colleague waiter, we have to pack our fries in order to continue eating. Needless to say we were both enjoying the burgers up to that moment which lasted for another 5 minutes of intense debate during which we acknowledged the strict policy of the restaurant but as we were not informed before ordering, we asked to be left to finish our dinner in peace. Finally after several times asking, the lady visibly irritated by the fact that we did not agree to leave or pack our fries stormed out saying we'll pay a supplement. Of course our appetite was dead and asked for the check immediately. Having to pay inside by the counter (rule of the restaurant) I had to deal with the manager again as she tried to force me pay an extra amount of 3 Euros because not ordering fries from them with the threat that she will call the police if I don't agree. Furthermore, we were both called liars several times just because we did not order fries from the restaurant and were informed that we are no longer welcome there. Thanks a lot Ellis Gourmet Burger for the nice treatment of your customers, it was indeed one different and never to forget experience.

REPLY TO OWNER's response: I understood and acknowledged the policy of the restaurant, i.e. not allowing its customers to eat fries from other restaurants on its terrace. You could however be more clear about it and make sure you inform your customers about the policy which given the location of the restaurant and the policy of the other bars or restaurants from Place Jourdan is not actually common sense. BUT, this is not the matter disputed here and my review is not directed towards your policy but towards the way you enforce it, thorough your staff which are apparently trained and encouraged to treat your customers with aggression, rudeness and insults....

I went with a couple of friends on a Tuesday evening. One of my friends, and I, are vegan, while the other one is not. We went in and I wasn’t sure if it is self service or not. The guy behind the cash said hello and After greeting him back, i asked if we can sit down and if we should order next to the cash or if he would come to our table. He said we can sit and he is coming. We sat down and after 15 mins of waiting, no one came to our table. We changed the table(due to the heat) and after another 10mins, still no one came to serve us. BEAR IN MIND, we were sitting inside and although outside was busy, there was only ONE other table with customers inside and most of the waiters were just making jokes behind the bar. Finally we decided to go directly to the cash and order ourselves. When the food came, we were pretty underwhelmed! Me and my vegan friend had the beyond meat burger of course(since it’s the only vegan option) and our non vegan friend had a meat burger. The portion was pretty small and the burgers came without any sides. The sweet potato fries we had ordered at the side were €4.50 each while the beyond burgers were around €12 each. I know it’s supposedly a ‘gourmet’ restaurant according to its name but it’s still too expensive for what you get! After we were done eating, we were left with our plate on the table for another 15mins and we just decided to pay and leave cause we were too disappointed. We went to the cash to pay our bill, which also took a very long time because the workers were chatting with each other. Although I love and appreciate the initiative of adding a vegan option to such a place, I was very disappointed with the service and...

Terrible experience! We went to Ellis burger after reading the good reviews online but had a terrible experience there. For the first time ever, we walked out of a restaurant without being served our food despite waiting for over an hour for it. When we arrived, our order was taken quickly and our drinks served as well. But somehow the food did not arrive. We didn't notice any really. However, a table of 6-7 people next to us, who arrived five minutes after us got all their food and then we asked the waitress where our food was. She then told us there was a problem with the grill and because I had ordered my burger well done (I pregnant and can't eat meat that's not fully cooked) it was taking longer. She had neither mentioned this to us while we were ordering, nor did she approach us to let us know of this "delay". Though we thought it was strange that 2 burgers couldn't be cooked before 6 burgers and that a grill problem magically arose, we still waited patiently. Then 5-10 mins later, we saw two more tables get served their burgers and still there was no sign of our food. At this point, my husband went in to speak to the chef and was told nothing could be done, there was a problem with the grill again. It was completely ridiculous that 8-10 burgers could be cooked and served while "there was a problem with the grill" but only ours could not be.

We don't know if it was because the chef didn't want to cook a burger well done, or if it was because we were English speaking. But we got the message and left. Avoid,...