The Bank — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

Sunday brunch. Being used to treating ourselves to a proper brunch when in the U.S., we had expectations for a good brunch in Brussels, based on previous reviews and menu. We will not return to The Bank. Pros: friendly service, good atmosphere, nice place set in an old bank. Cons: limited brunch menu, not possible to order other items a la carte for customers not wishing for any of the brunch options. At 12:00pm on a Sunday, the pancakes were finished (pretty shocking for a brunch place, considering that all ingredients to make pancakes are present in other dishes, i.e. eggs and milk). The only options on the sweet side were a platter of mini croissants or toast with butter and jam, and no niceties were offered to the disgruntled customer that went there to have pancakes (an extra croissant? A free plate with toast and jam?). We would have liked to order a milkshake, which was in the drinks menu, but we were told they don't serve it before 4pm. Seriously, no milkshake can be had with the brunch. The eggs Benedict were supposed to come with a muffin according to the menu, but instead came with pieces of white baguette style bread. The Hollandaise sauce on the eggs Benedict wasn't tasty. The scrambled eggs were supposed to come with "country toast" but instead came with a roll of cold white baguette style bread, no country style toast in sight. A platter of salmon had tiny pieces of red salmon, apparently marinated in beets juice, according to the sweet taste and reddish color (how about writing it on the menu, so customers who despise beets know what they're ordering?). The latte was a cappuccino and not a latte. Overall, all of these remarks indicate very poor attention to the customer and a careless attitude whether that customer will return or not. The reason given to us for not having pancakes was a problem with the supplier. Again, not many ingredients are needed for pancakes, for a place that advertises brunch it's pretty appalling. Will not return and do not recommend for brunch, especially to those who know proper brunch and expect to have what was advertised on the menu. The hipster environment isn't enough to keep...

I’ve been four times, the first time was smooth, the second time we ordered at the bar and had our seats, the third time I went I waited for someone to take my order, and I waited for 40 minutes, no one came to me and not even to my section (seated outside), so I just left. The fourth time I went, my friend sat at a table outside and I went to bar but they refused to give me a drink at the bar, which was odd, because they did that before, anyways, I went back to my friend, and by that time a good 10 minutes have passed, we waited for another 5 minutes, no one showed up, which I expected based on my previous experience, I told my friend I know this place and they might not show up for another 40 minutes, we looked at the tables around us and no one had drinks, and they were all seated before us, which means they were not serviced for the past 20 minutes (at least), so we decided to leave. The place was over crowded that Sunday afternoon, the waitresses/waiter were nice, but honestly, I think this place is understaffed, how can two or three people take care of all this crowd, it’s physically and mentally impossible and inhumane. I understand that customer service in Belgium is exceptionally bad not compared to the United States, but also compared to Europe overall, but this place based on several experiences would definitely get one of the top spots for bad service, even for Brussels. Nothing against the people who work there, they were nice people, it is only that no one can take care of this amount of customers in efficient way, so am blaming the management for this. It is such a shame because it’s a good location, and if you can’t manage it well and attend to the customers then either improve or give up your spot, it seems to me that it is a...

Limited Choices, No Water:

My visit to The Bank Bar in Brussels was a letdown. Along with a friend, we ordered 5 glasses of wine, cheese croquettes, and grilled chicken.

Firstly, when ordering, we were informed that many dishes, including all cold dishes and two out of the four items we were interested in, were unavailable. This limited selection was disappointing.

Further compounding our dissatisfaction was the bar's policy on tap water. After our second glass of wine, I requested a glass of tap water, a simple and often complimentary offer. Astonishingly, the waitress refused, stating it was against the bar's policy. Seeking clarification and expecting a more reasonable response, I spoke to the manager. However, the manager reiterated the policy, offering only bottled water for purchase.

This refusal to provide tap water, particularly after we had already spent a significant sum, felt inhospitable and out of touch with basic customer...