Barouche Korenmarkt — Restaurant in Ghent

Horrible service. I left anxious and almost crying. Was told to “watch my mouth”. The girl who took our order was nice and honestly sweet, but there was a boy there, brunette and taller, no beard. He was EXTREMELY RUDE. Food was good, 6 of us ordered the same thing… but each one looked different. A quick rain storm hit and wind was flipping umbrellas inside out, and the rain was hitting us even under the awning. My younger cousin (10) said there was seating inside and upstairs. Sure enough there is a sign saying more seating upstairs, by the stairs. We followed him up and he must have moved a little wood thing that was blocking. There were empty tables, honestly didn’t think too hard about it, we were barely sitting down, when the worker came upstairs and told us it was closed. We were getting up and going and some of the kids also apologized, but then he goes, “obviously, it’s closed!” And I was shocked somewhat but we weren’t fighting him or anything and we’re moving to leave. He than says another two times as I am leaving that “it’s obviously closed” after we apologized twice. I didn’t need to apologize, I was being respectful, and it was in a really rude aggressive tone. I finally told him, that it was rude. We get downstairs to the rest of the family now eating at the bar, and he grabs my attention and goes “I’m rude? How am I rude” I simply said you didn’t have to keep saying “obviously” and he goes “well it is obvious”. At this point I’m beyond uncomfortable and shocked. You are acting a little rude. He than floored me by saying, “I’m not rude. … you need to watch your mouth.” It felt threatening and I had to step out at that point and felt like I was going to cry. I have worked in a restaurant as a host and server and where I have worked, if you spoke to someone like that, you would be fired on the spot. Beyond shocked and honestly saying “watch your mouth” is categorized as a threat. Beyond inappropriate. My family vacations here for holiday regularly, and brings friends and family, but we will not be visiting this location or recommending it to anyone. Atmosphere would be cool if the i didn’t feel anxious, and I couldn’t finish my food after because I felt so nauseous.

Edit: I just talked to my family after I left, he was cussing a ton, and the girl talked with my aunt who explained that her little boy read a sign that said more seating upstairs and the girl apologized to them, but the boy kept being angry and cursing until she finally told him he needed to...

I never leave reviews, but this was atrocious. Let's analyse chronologically what went wrong. Things start off weird already. Ordering has to happen in English. Everything on the menu is written in English and no other languages are offered. Moreover, I approached the staff in Dutch but quickly had to switch to English, even though both of us were Dutch natives.

Next: the price. Over 40 euros for what were essentially two bowls of salad with a little sauce, a tiny bit of chicken, hummus and an extra portion of fries because the bowls barely had any. Oh, and two drinks even though we had only ordered one. An extra portion of fries, by the way, costs over 5 euros and is served in a tiny cardboard box, even when eating indoors. Not that ecological if you ask me.

Next, the layout on the upper floor is confusing at best. There's a hole in the middle of the floor with tables around it. Fun idea, but that also makes it surprisingly difficult to get around the room. Sitting upstairs also allows you to look directly into the kitchen, which is a mess. Dirty floors with fries lying all around; clearly hygiene was not a priority.

Now, finally, the food. It was meh at best. And I would've given two stars if it wasn't for the stomach ache and diarrhoea that followed soon after. My pita bread was slightly undercooked and so a little gummy. I also felt that, considering the bowl was relatively small and most of it was salad (not homemade btw), maybe 15 euros is too much. You'll pay 40 euros and leave hungry (and ill).

I do think this place has potential though. Maybe once they're no longer trendy they will focus...

Worst experience in Ghent! We sat outside and it started raining. All the customers went inside quickly to stay dry and someone said “there’s more seats upstairs” we followed another customer up and then a young RUDE employee starts yelling at us that the place is closed! OBVIOUSLY there was no sign saying it was closed, or we would of stood in front of the register to eat standing up, since everything was taken. And we said we didn’t know… and he starts saying 3 TIMES - “ obviously it is!!! In a very aggressive way. My daughter said he was being rude… no need to continue yelling at us we were surely not trying to argue with him and quickly turned around to leave. But followed us down the stairs and continued to yell at us. My daughter again said you’re being rude and he said “DHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!” I would NEVER step in here again. So sad that this was our last experience in Ghent. Rude that having a place to allow customers to sit they would not give us...