Achouffe Valley — Restaurant in Houffalize

Uncomfortable and irritating experience. In short: badly AI generated images of food, lying staff, forgotten order, confrontational manager

Detailed version: We came here as a larger group of 12 people in the afternoon. The first odd and off-putting thing about this restaurant were the very obviously and honestly pretty badly AI-generated images of the food on the restaurant signs. One would think that a restaurant taking pride in their food would want to show examples of their own creations here.

When the waiter came, we asked if it was possible to just order fries with no burger etc. We were aware that on the menu fries were only offered as a side, but we figured maybe it was still possible, so we asked for it. If it wasn't possible, that of course would have been understandable, but then we would have left the restaurant as we really did just want fries and no bigger meal. Luckily the waiter said it was okay to just order fries - great! So we went ahead and ordered 12 portions of fries as well as drinks.

After about 10-15 minutes the waiter came back apologising and telling us 12 portions of fries were indeed not possible to do because "then in the evening no fries will be left for burgers". Yeah sure, sounds like a totally reasonable and believable explanation... However, we did not want to assume they were just blatantly lying to us so we asked if we could order like 5-6 portions of fries, as then "more fries would be left for the evening". The waiter actually said that should be possible, leaving again with the updated order. Great - I guess.

Unsurprisingly, after 5 minutes (and probably a talk to his manager who told him that obviously the amount of fries were not the problem here but the unsatisfying revenue) the waiter came back, apologising again and telling us that actually, we could not order fries at all. Unfortunately at the same time we were served our drinks (well - most of us were served our drinks, they actually also forgot one of those) so we could not just leave.

As we really did not feel welcome here, we decided to pay right away, quickly drink up and leave. One person in our group decided to leave a one star review after this bad experience. On my way to the toilet, the manager confronted me whether someone in our group left a bad review. Feeling incredibly uncomfortable and really just wanting to go pee, I denied, but the manager still went to our table to confront us.

At the table he then proceeded to tell us weirdly aggressively that it's simply not "normal or usual" to only order fries at a restaurant. Fair enough - if, and only if, they would have told us this right away. I also did not know it was "normal or usual" to lie to customers, but you learn something new everyday! He also said that not getting fries does not warrant leaving a bad review so I decided to make things a little more clear why exactly we are leaving a bad review. Hope this helps!

Btw, 2 stars because the drinks that actually made it to our table were good and the waiter (not the manager) was...

Recently stayed for a couple of nights and overall had an enjoyable experience. I mean, being beside the home of Chouffe and the beer gnomes—what’s not to love!?

From the moment we arrived, we received a warm welcome and were personally shown to our room. It was quirky, as expected, and added to the charm. However, a couple of practical issues stood out: there was no heater in the shower room, and the extractor fan either wasn’t working or had a hidden switch we couldn’t locate. This meant that after a shower, the bathroom became quite steamy with nowhere for the moisture to escape. The lack of a radiator also made the bathroom noticeably colder, though that was more of a minor inconvenience.

As for the be, it could definitely be more comfortable. Two single toppers were used for a double bed, making for the softest sleeping surface I’ve encountered in a long time. At times, it felt like I was sleeping at a slight incline. While mattress firmness is subjective, a single double sized topper or a higher quality double mattress would likely improve the experience.

Now, on to the real highlights: the restaurant and terrace. Both were excellent! The views were fantastic, and having Chouffe beer on tap was a big plus. We had dinner twice and enjoyed lunch/snacks on both days, and overall, the food was of a good standard. The steak was a little tough to cut, though I found it tasted fine. My girlfriend, on the other hand, thought hers had a slightly odd taste, but not enough to warrant a complaint or sending it back. Everything else we tried was good.

One slightly strange thing worth noting - If you’re hoping to order just a side of plain chips, think again. The owners prefer that food is eaten as part of a proper meal rather than as a standalone snack (her words). Though, I did see a few people having bitterballen with and without chips, which made me wonder… aren't they snacks? 🤷🏼This was during the afternoon, not the evening and when people sometimes just want a small bite. It's Belgium too, home of frites.

Girlfriend was made to feel very awkward on check-out too. An issue at the time of booking, which wasn't the hotel's fault but was made into a bigger deal than it should have been and ultimately resolved with a feeling of passive-aggressiveness from the owner, which could and should have been handled better. Left a slightly bitter taste in our mouths and tainted the stay somewhat.

EDIT:

I'm not Natascha. I have an opinion too, reading other reviews, knew this would be your reply. If we chose to stay in bed and skip breakfast, our perogative. Saved you money anyway, plus two people eating and drinking for two days is more money than one 🤷🏼 Anyway, hope you at least have some humility and take criticism on board as it'll help and improve your business, you have a great location and sure you'll do well regardless. Positive reviews are good but take both into account and don't just react to what you don't like to...

One Star — And That Feels Generous

We had a reservation, but you wouldn’t have known it by the way we were treated. We stood at the entrance for several minutes with no staff in sight — no welcome, no acknowledgment. Eventually, we walked in ourselves. Only then did the owner appear, not to greet us, but to send us back out with a lecture about how he’s “strict” about guests waiting to be let in through his gate. The irony? No one was there to let us in to begin with.

Once we were finally seated, it took 22 minutes and three separate reminders just to place our order — all while the place was only half full. There was no sense of urgency, warmth, or hospitality. Just complete indifference.

After experiencing it firsthand, I went back to read some of the previous reviews — and many of them echo the same frustrations: poor service, dismissive attitude, and a general lack of care. I wish I had paid more attention to those before booking.

This is not the kind of place that values its guests. There are plenty of beautiful spots out there that know how to make people feel welcome — Achouffe Valley is, sadly,...