The 1040 - Brasserie and Rooftop Bar — Restaurant in Etterbeek

There are three things you want in a restaurant: good food, a fair price, and attentive service. This place sadly had none of the three. Paid 150€ for 2x three course menus with glasses of wine and champagne to celebrate a special occasion. The presentation of the food is the only reason the restaurant gets one star, it was good. The rest was horrible. The food was very bland. If they put the same effort into taste that they put into presentation, it would be delicious. Sadly, it was not. It was also extremely slow. 45 min wait for the starter. The service went from average to outright terrible. At the end of our dinner there was not a single waiter to be seen for 10 min! We then heard the waiters laughing and chatting in the kitchen. We had to get up to call one of the waiters who said they’d come soon. They then come but proceed to clean several empty tables instead of waiting our table. Had to remind them once again and only then they came, realising they treated us badly, they at least apologised to us. Needless to say we will not come back here and for this price I can think of a dozen restaurants in Brussels which are much better. Utterly...

The Ambiente is beautiful, the location is great. But the food is only okay at best, it does not match the quality I would assume with the price and overall flair of the restaurant. My starter (1040 Peach) wasn’t to my taste, which is fine. But the plating was a bit pretentious and unnecessary. I find an underwhelming dish especially disappointing if it’s named after the restaurant. My main, the Duck, was tasty and a nicely thought of meal. But even though the duck itself tasted good, it was stringy and the skin was not crispy at all. I don’t expect such mistakes in a course that costs 28€ by itself. My dessert, the Sorbet, was great and I can definitely recommend it. The staff was very friendly and competent, recommending me a red wine that fit well with the main course. The wine was probably the thing I enjoyed the most of that dish. However, because I was a bit let down by the 1040 signature dish and disappointed by the duck, I only...

It was my 3rd visit there. 1st time (a few years ago) the food was barely edible. 2nd time was a special menu as Chef Watteyne was there and it was ok. 3rd time yesterday was a sad confirmation of the 1st time experience. Fish dishes indistinctly tasted like fish fumet and were much too salty and beside expectations (seashells and "Maigre à l'ostendaise") whereas the meat dish we had ("duck parmentier") was remarkably tasteless if it were for the basic and much-too-thick-to-be-honest accompanying "jus de viande". I am afraid I have to describe the whole experience as dreadful.

As for the bar, it used to make some of the best cocktails in town. This time though I specifically order a Bourbon "'on the rocks". It came neat. Had to order ice on the side...

All in all, I think it is high time Sofitel Brussels realizes the "1040" is not up...