Barracuda — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

You have a choice. For example, you can describe a dining area as a “terrace” even though, in reality, it’s just a sidewalk. You can set the tables out there, allowing dust and dirt to settle onto both plates and table, and only clean them when the guests ask. You can supply the indoor tables with olive oil, salt, and pepper, while leaving the “terrace” tables without. You can then make a mistake when taking orders and serve the intended main course to guests who arrived and ordered later—first one table, then others, before finally serving the customers who should have been first. As a gesture of apology, you might offer one of those guests a free drink while ignoring their companion. You can place a QR code for convenient, quick payment at the table and charge an extra €0,99 for this service, which, by the way, is only accessible once the order mix-up responsible for this service disaster has finally been resolved. My own personal choice is to avoid this restaurant in the future, because this experience, together with the food—which was decent, not exceptional—does not invite a repeat visit. We had reserved online and—unlike some other reviewers—didn’t have to wait for a table. That’s when the evening’s drama began. It took a while before we could actually order, as the tables around us filled and fellow diners changed seats (likely contributing to the confusion). Our table was dirty, plates were covered with street grime, only one knife was provided, and the table itself was sticky. At the table next to ours, guests took it upon themselves to clean the table with hygiene wipes and kindly offered us some as well. By then, we had already asked our waiter to replace the plates and wipe down the table. We recommended they replace the plates—a suggestion met with an amused comment that, after all, one wouldn’t eat from them anyway. The focaccia we had ordered turned out to be seasoned pizza bread, which was actually quite nice and even made us look forward to our main course, which, for reasons unknown, was late in arriving. The much-anticipated truffle pasta—served from a parmesan wheel—went first to the table next to ours, though they had arrived and ordered later. Then another table received theirs, again after placing their order after ours. In the meantime, the more ordinary main courses were served to our neighbors, to whom we had politely nodded when they arrived. Finally, our food was served. Sometime during the wait, I was offered a glass of wine by way of apology, as described above; it was almost empty by the time our main course arrived. We refrained from making videos for Instagram or for later recollection: the evening’s mood had already suffered, we’d seen the parmesan wheel preparation done more enthusiastically elsewhere, and there are plenty of such videos already online. After finishing our meal, we congratulated ourselves for not filming anything, because honestly, why would we want to remember it? The food just wasn’t that special.

We were ready to leave quickly. We declined the offer of dessert or coffee, and unlike the earlier complimentary wine, there was no indication that these would be offered free of charge. After more than an hour on the sidewalk at Place Flagey, we had frankly lost all interest. So we gratefully accepted the option to pay promptly by QR code. Unfortunately, the QR code at our table showed us the bill for the table next to ours (the friendly ladies who had provided hygiene wipes). Their QR code, meanwhile, was non-functional, so staff finally invited them inside to pay. Soon after, we were given the correct QR code and were finally able to settle the bill—plus a €0,99 express payment fee. In our almost 6 years living in Brussels, we’ve often heard about the city’s typically minimal service standards. Tonight, on an evening meant to be a pleasant conclusion to our time here, we finally experienced it for ourselves.

Brussels has more refined, better Italian restaurants, including several in the immediate vicinity of...

The environment is truly very beautiful! Most of the service staff are also very polite. I really love Italian cuisine and I often visit Italian restaurants, so I had high expectations for the food – after all, this is supposed to be an Italian restaurant! I chose the truffle spaghetti. The food was satisfactory but not something outstanding, at least in my opinion. I went with my husband. The table they suggested at first was in the mezzanine, right in front of the kitchen. It felt a bit isolated, the space lacked the charm of the main dining area, and at the same time we had the noise of the kitchen. The table they finally gave us after we asked to change was on a couch. I could enjoy the beautiful setting, but not my company, because there was too much noise from the other tables, making it difficult for us to talk and hear each other. Finally, I understand the management’s choice (and it’s not the only restaurant that does this) to allow a maximum table use of two hours in an effort to serve many customers. However, for me as a guest, this feels stressful and doesn’t create a welcoming atmosphere of a calm and pleasant culinary and social experience. With my husband, we each ordered a main course, glasses of wine, and dessert without any delays, and we still came very close to the time limit. My overall comment, with full respect to the restaurant’s management whom I see are trying their best: I love the neighborhood and I live nearby. I love Italian cuisine and I enjoy it often. I would have loved to make this place a regular spot, but at least for me, I did not experience that sweet, relaxed, and hospitable vibe that I cherish in other Italian restaurants. Elegant, no doubt, it was! Of course, I didn’t even consider ordering a bottle of wine – which requires good conversation (which we had!) but also time and a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy – and those we simply didn’t have. It is certainly worth visiting so that each person can form their...

I rarely post reviews unless my experience is exceptional (good or bad). I was excited to find out about the opening of a Big Mamma restaurant in Brussels - for a moment it looked like Brussels was cool - and waited for a couple of weeks for my late-evening reservation. Then in the restaurant itself we waited another half an hour by the door (and in the way to the restrooms) to be seated while busy servers and hostesses avoided eye contact with the queue. The hostess welcomed people by name, not by their position in the queue, implying that though my friend and I were there on time for our reservation, people behind us were waiting for even earlier ones. Food was good, nothing special, and service was mostly smooth - our server Camille earned one of the stars in my rating. The pleasant company of my friend earned the other. And just when I had forgotten about the wait and the menu items that were no longer on offer, and I was getting ready to pay and leave, I decided to give into the pressure from the plaque on the table that offers customers to pay online using a QR code because "we are not in the 70s". Only to find out that paying online also adds on a service charge. I have worked in a restaurant and I always enter one with support and understanding for the staff, especially the kitchen and servers. But the long wait for a disinterested hostess to seat us for a chaotic dinner, and the apparent overreliance of the management on the brand and the appeal of the decor - that lost all the other stars. I hope that things will normalize in a few months so I can come back in better times (though it seems it is taking a long time for management to learn their lessons judging by the similarly negative feedback from people I know that also visited the restaurant). Unless it goes broke by the time they realize they milked their brand just that...