Nosh — Restaurant in Leuven

The food was good, and the wait staff were normal, polite people just doing their job; no issues there.

The real problem was the woman at the reception. (one of the owners apparently? From what we heard) We were made to wait outside while others who arrived later were let in before us. There was plenty of space inside, but apparently keeping a “neat” line outside was more important than making paying guests feel welcome.

Her attitude was… memorable. Unfriendly, dismissive, and just the right amount of condescending. It almost felt like we were inconveniencing her by showing up. And it wasn’t just one of us who noticed : every person in our group commented on how unnecessarily rude she was.

Even after we were seated, the passive-aggressive tone continued. As we finished eating and stayed to chat (as most people do at a restaurant), she started clearing the table and dropping not-so-subtle hints that we should leave, all with a smile, of course. It felt less like hospitality and more like being silently ushered out.

It’s one thing to be busy, and another to act like you're doing people a favor by letting them in. If you're going to work in hospitality, basic decency shouldn't be optional. No one goes out to have their afternoon or evening soured by someone on a power trip.

We won’t be returning, and honestly, it’s a shame, because the kitchen and staff inside deserve better front-of-house representation.

.. Reply to Nosh's response:) - to be clear Dear owner,

Thank you for your response. I now understand that the person we interacted with was you, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.

Just to clarify: our review wasn’t meant to be disrespectful or personal. It was an honest reflection of how our ENTIRE group felt during the visit. Everyone noticed the same passive-aggressive tone and unwelcoming attitude, and it genuinely impacted the experience.

We understand that managing a restaurant, especially with group seating, is not easy. The issue wasn’t the wait itself, but the way it was handled. From being kept outside despite available space, to being rushed out after our meal with subtle but very clear hints, it all felt unnecessarily cold and uncomfortable.

This wasn’t about the staff who were kind and professional but about the way guests were made to feel by you. That tone set the stage for the entire experience, and it’s what stayed with us.

I felt especially disappointed because I was the one who suggested the place. I wanted everyone to enjoy the afternoon, and instead, I was left feeling bad for bringing them somewhere they felt unwelcome.

It’s nice that you took the time to write a reply, even with the help of ChatGPT. But I do hope you take this as what it is: not an attack, and definitely not a threat: just honest, constructive feedback about your own attitude, and how it affected your guests.

wish you and your momcontinued...

The bagel was very good, the bread and chicken were delicious BUT we had a horrible experience with the service! One of us wanted to order beer and asked how many ml it is and got a rude and annyoed response saying it is just normal beer. But yeah what is normal beer? There were no indications on the menu so how should we now what normal is. We all felt a bit uncomfortable as we did not know what we did wrong just by asking how many ml it was. After receiving such a personal attack the person was not in the mood anymore to eat anything. The waitress then said „We are a breakfast and lunch restaurant so if you don‘t eat anything we would have put you at another smaller table as this is a table for 4 people, please consider this next time you come here“. Well no we are not coming again. Why would you have to say something like that? Just making guests feel uncomfortable. The rest of us got something to eat and when we wanted to pay seperately we were scolded again for not reading the dutch sentence that we should have told them before ordering that we want to split it (we indicated before entering the restaurant that we only speak english and translated the food part of the menu with google) She also miscalculated the change and did not believe it at first. The two stars are only for the food and the interior which does look very nice. But the service ruined it for us. We are not coming...

This is the second time that we went to Nosh and we blatantly got ignored by the staff because we didn't wait outside in front of the store (in the rain). The first time we went, we sat down outside and the server came to tell us that we have to get up and stand in front of the door to be seated.. which doesn't make any sense because after us more and more people came and we would now have to cue up whereas there was no line at all when we first arrived. So we decided to go to another place where we were welcomed in a better way. The second time we went to the place it was nearly empty and it was raining hard, we entered the place at 3:30 and sat down inside where the waitress was going around asking 2 other tables what they wanted. We sat there for 30 minutes, and at exactly 4 PM she comes to say that she can't serve us because the kitchen is closed and the coffee machines are turned off. I mean seriously? 😂 I don't understand the business model of this place, but if you want to have some good coffee and good food there are many other places in Leuven that are much more hospitable! Never going...