Popotes Ixelles — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

My friend and I were very disappointed that the only way to order food in this café was through a QR code, no paper menu was available. And not only is the QR code used to order, you also have to pay through the QR code from your phone at the same time as ordering.

We found this problematic for several reasons:

1. This is not a very accessible way to operate as it presumes that everyone has a smartphone with a QR code reader.
2. We feel that this approach sucks out some of the conviviality that makes going out for lunch pleasant: not only does it reduce the opportunity for any chat with the staff while ordering, but you spend the first ten minutes of your time with a friend trying to work out how to get the QR code working.
3. Paying up front for your food seems strange, what happens if you want to order something else, or if you need to ask for them to not include something in your order.

Needless to say we left and went somewhere else for lunch! If QR codes don't bother you then I'm sure this place is a lovely place to eat, but if you are worried about the pervasiveness of smartphones in every aspect of our lives then it might not be the café for you.

I'd love to eat here one day if paper menus could be considered? Fingers crossed! I hope you take this review in the constructive spirit it...

It is possible to add a comment while giving your order through their website but when they ignore it, it defeats the purpose. We have ordered 3 of the same dish (pancakes with egg on top) 1 of us did not want an egg and one of us asked it to be scrambled. We have received 3 fried eggs (3 original menu items). When asked, the answer was that they didn't make exceptions on eggs... I can understand this policy even though I disagree with it. For people with allergies, if the only ask is to remove an item without making any changes, this should be a request that can be accommodated very easily. Or someone could come to our table and explain that they cannot make any changes and ask if we would like something different instead... This is all about having quality service and we were sadly disappointed with it that day. I hope they can implement a new...

Staff is rude. I had been a regular customer and ordered everytime a large breakfast. However, once I took my laptop up the waiter, reacted like it was a Kalashnikov. I can understand that cafés are concerned when a customer orders a single expresso and occupies space for hours. I had just ordered a always my breakfast and wanted to take a look at something on my lap. I hadn´t even logged in. Can a café ask a customer to order something every hour or even half an hour? Yes of course, but to tell you what to and what not is unaccepteble. The café lost a customer and Godjo a wonderful café just down the street acquired a new one. This is how things happen in business, a café gets greedy and starts losing customers....