Meat Factory Gent — Restaurant in Ghent

We really, really wanted to love this place. While on our honeymoon in Gent, we decided to stop in for an early dinner on the recommendation of a server from another restaurant. The vibes in this place are super cool. The staff is friendly. The wings were delightful-- and I mean AWESOME. Nicely crisped, unique flavor, great dipping sauce. However, the other meat in question? Not sure if they just hired a new chef and didn't check if he could cook meat, or if it was an off day, but we asked for a medium rare steak. It came in just a few minutes and was seared on the outside but raw in the middle. When I say raw, I mean physically cold to the touch, no fat rendered, fresh out of the refrigerator raw. We asked for them to cook it a little longer, and a few minutes later it came back out and looked like it had rolled around on the flames for a little longer, but ultimately was what we would consider rare. I think with a name like Meat Factory, it's super important to be nailing the cook on your meat. The staff apologized a couple times, and we didn't complain, but we were disappointed that we spent 38e on a steak that wasn't prepared correctly twice. We ultimately left a significant amount of steak on our plates because it just simply wasn't rendered enough to eat. Our advice? Grab the wings and a beer here, but go somewhere else for your main course, especially if you're craving a...

I was going to write how in the world this place has gone off the radar since at the moment of writing this review it has only 55 review with 5 star rating. And admittedly and justly so. But as I learned it has just been opened and I am confident it will become a gem very soon. This place is a MUST-TRY restaurant. The restaurant is off the beaten pad while still close enough to the main part of the city center. Just right off the street, from the outside it is not impressive at all. But wow is it cosy inside! The waiters were very kind to give us a nice table right next to the window and the hospitality and quality of the service did not decrease one bit from that first moment. Last but not the least. We went as a family of 3. My wife had filet, I had the Angus and son had the burger. And I can confidently say that it was absolutely increadable. Steaks were cooked to perfection and the burger was not only big thick and juicy but also had great bread. (Luckily son could not finish it and I devoured the left over). The only disappointing part for me was the wine choices. I would have loved some more tasty red wines to be listed but hey it is so a minor issue that I am going to overlook it. So in summary, this is a great place - a must-try - that I am sure will be so popular soon that it would be hard to find a place without a...

I'll be frank, the food was overpriced and quite disappointing. It's fair to say I have high standards, but when spending €78 on a chateaubriand, I think that's warranted. The steak was fine, flavour wise, but slightly overcooked and really overseasoned. Way too salty, way too peppery. The tartare is bland, on the other hand, and has no seasoning at all. The carpaccio is the same, bland and disappointing. I expected more from a place named Meat Factory. It wasn't awful by any means, just overpriced, and I had higher expectations from other reviews. The garden salad was nice. The fries were meh (I expect better from Belgium) the mash was okay. I think improving the side dishes could really elevate the experience. Also, having better bread served with the tartare and carpaccio would help. Some sliced baguette rather than white toast? The service was mixed. Servers were friendly, some seemed a little inexperienced and not very confident or talkative. I got a very laid back vibe from one server, more what I expect from a casual beach bar, but that's okay. The atmosphere is quite lovely though, to sit on the street outside in summer in a lovely area. That could only improve if people sitting outside weren't allowed to smoke. Still overall pleasant. If I hadn't ordered expensive food and been disappointed, I'd...