La Général — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

TL;DR: disappointing.

I’ve been on the hunt for an authentic Mexican dining experience for a while, so I came in with high expectations. Honestly, I had a feeling as soon as we sat down — frites on the menu (lol), zero chips and salsa (in fact, zero salsa at all), and a heavy dose of mayonnaise as the default dip for various starters (including fried chicken that didn’t feel authentic and strange-looking calamari rings with habanero mayo on brioche…).

The guacamole was fine — but definitely felt like the classic European interpretation of Mexican food. The totopos (chips) it came with were tiny, and we had to order more (they brought out a tiny extra bowl) — and yes, they charged extra. As an American who grew up eating at authentic Mexican restaurants, that’s always a letdown — typically you’re welcomed with endless chips and salsa as soon as you sit down.

I ordered the mezcal margarita, which was delicious but honestly pretty small for the price. When I asked if they had spicy margaritas, they told me the mezcal one had a tajín rim — which, in their opinion, made it spicy (lol). For those who know, tajín is pretty mild.

The tacos were very good — the meat was well-seasoned, and it was nice to have corn tortillas, but overall, not mind-blowing.

The servers were kind, but service was slow, and several of our drinks were forgotten. We came as a party of six, and everyone got their main courses except me — mine only arrived when the rest of the table was already halfway through their meals. At the end, we asked for the bill three times before they finally told us we had to pay inside at the counter.

Overall, very expensive for what it was. I...

Beautiful atmosphere, kind and resourceful staff but the food did not do the place justice. There is an intention with a variety of flavors but somehow there is no harmony. I started with a margarita tamarindo that was refreshing I could barely taste the alcohol as the adorning spices in the rim and too much tamarin drown the cocktail as a whole. Then we shared a ceviche which was ok and a calamari pancake that was cold and had very little flavor, the side sauce was good. The mules came with amazing potato wages but the red sauce for the mules was cold and salty. The fried fish taco was dripping with oil. Overall, small sizes with no balance of flavors. Sorry, but not a great option for Mexican cuisine...

We had made a reservation, arrived early to secure that everything was ok and not only did we have to wait more, we also were sat at a tall table when we had not asked for it. There was another group that arrived after us and they were taken to an available big table. The service's excuse? That the salon was full. It is a pity. However the male waiter was very nice and attentive. Food good but a...