Le Pain Quotidien — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

I used to go here at least once a week and really enjoyed the place until one day when one of the waiters was incredibly rude and impolite to me.

I made a mistake when ordering a brunch for a visiting friend who didn't speak french, and I asked nicely if it was possible to change the order or to simply add one egg and the small yoghurt/parfait. The waiter just stared at me and said: No, it's not my fault that you made an error in ordering.

I thought he misunderstood me as if I had blamed him for the mistake, so I said: No, I know it is not your fault, it is mine, but I'm simply asking if it is possible to change it, OR if it is not possible, could I pay for an extra egg and the yoghurt?

No, the waiter insisted that it was not possible, that I had to buy a complete new formula and that I only had myself to blame for making the wrong command.

I pointed out that I went to their restaurant a few times per week and said that I found it really strange that they couldn't simply change my order or at least let me add to my order, to which the waiter replied that it didn't matter whether I went there every day, he was not going to change it anyways.

I left the restaurant after having paid for my order and thereafter wrote 2(!) emails to both the restaurant itself (Pain Quotidien Cimitière d'Ixelles) and the general Pain Quotidien email address to complain about the incident, which took place at the end of April. It is now July and I have still not had any answer from them.

It is a pity, because the incident only involved one staff member, which should not affect the whole place, but given the fact that they haven't answered my emails, or excused themselves, I strongly discourage people from visiting Pain Quotidien...

The server mistook my brunch order (which is fine, this happens) - I ordered the Farmer’s brunch and asked for no ham. He offered salmon, and I understood this offer to be a substitute for the ham, which I accepted. When my order arrived, I pointed out that the cheese was missing. I was told I would have to pay extra for it. I declined the cheese, as I didn’t want to pay more for an already expensive brunch (and it seemed ridiculous as it was in what I ordered) and explained the mistake that was made by the server. When I went to pay, the bill was €5 more - apparently the salmon was extra - and they refused to do anything about it. So not only did I not get what I ordered, but I also had to pay more for it. No apology and no attempt to correct their mistake, which is a lot worse than the mistake itself. Go to Lloyd’s if you want a nice brunch, reasonable price and...

We ordered a toast with avocado and eggs. Our friend ordered a bowl with saumon inside. What was shocking is that when we first get a bite from our toast with eggs and avocado, we tasted a very strong fish / saumon smell… We had to eat it in this way but I called the staff and told them politely how it tastes and how it is because of the ingredients of our friends plate. They said “sorry, we never do it actually. Apologies for this small error”. We said ok. Then there have been no commercial gesture or no additional question about if we want a new plate and so on. Because they consider it a “small error”. When leaving also no apologies but we just paid and left. So I believe that , if you go there and give a bad service you need to take this serious and at least learn how to cook with attention to your clients if you do not know how to be “nice” after you make a...