Al Piccolo Mondo — Restaurant in Saint-Gilles - Sint-Gillis

On entering this place you get the feel that it is a family owned business that have the great grandsons working there. Quaint old style and quirky. They cook a lot of the food in the main dining area which is rather cool. However cool was not the operative word for the temperature of the room as it soon became so warm I was fanning myself with the menu due to all the table side cooking going on. The menu was in French, so I was busy trying to google translations. I know I am in a foreign country, but it is right near the centre and not some back street off the track place, so I would have thought an English version would have helped. The food was actually very good, and both the boyff and I enjoyed it. The lager was a bit blahh. It did take nearly 40 minutes to get the food delivered to the table though. As it was busy already a party of 6 turned up, so they turned the table into a 6 person table to accommodate, which for them was great but made you feel very closed in. I was dying for the toilet, but I was so close to the table to the left of us, add onto that the now 6 person table behind the boyff, I crossed my legs and waited. It seemed too much of an obstacle course. I was so close to the table next to me I could tell the time on their watches. We ran out of drinks and had to flag a waiter down after waiting there for quite a while with no food or drinks in front of us. When it came to the bill, that took ages to arrive too. We paid, all was fine, then as I was leaving, my ass knocked a glass off the table as I was trying to wedge myself out of the gap. All very embarrassing when the glass smashed onto the floor. Red faced I went to the exit, where I had to wait for someone to bring me my coat, so I was stood there rather awkwardly. Then on leaving I tripped over a frying pan handle sticking out of a cupboard, which then meant I fell up the stairs on my exit. #redfaced. Food was yummy, but not sure all the other elements of this place would make it a go...

A waiter accidentally splashed our clothing with sauce the minute we sat down, stains won't come out and we'll have to buy new clothes. One of the maitre'ds offered to give us the dinner for free in compensation. We accepted and stayed. They gave us a glass of champagne. Had dinner, less than average pizza, tiramisu was the only memorable thing of the dinner. When leaving we had to pay for the meal, the same maitre'd denied offering us a free dinner, saying he only could offer us champagne. Bottom line: I ruined one of my best shirts for a mediocre, expensive dinner.

Update post owner answer: the maitre'd told us " let me invite you the dinner". Even if French if your native language, and not English, dinner means dinner. You changed us to a different table because WE ASKED for it, and your first intention was to change us to the table next to us, which was even more stained with sauce. "Cleaned you add best as we could" means rubbed our clothes with a hot wet cloth. I'm clearly not threatening you with a bad review for the dinner money, I'm just sharing my experience at your restaurant, which I am entitled to. It was an accident and you apologized many times, but you offered something and then plain denied it, and that is what earned you this review, plus telling things like "we changed your table", as if you had done us a favor when it was us who had...

Upon entering the place i expected a fine dining experience, was quickly seated and offered somethingg to drink. Ordered the buffalo caprese, the quality of the mozzarella was questionable, the ruccola not very fresh and everything was drenched in oil 19 euro for this mess. The Tonno pizza i ordered came quickly after, the pizza was not finished, the tuna looked like it came from the cheapest box on the market and everything was a gooey mess. As the pizza was to oily from low quality products and the pizza not being in the oven to long, and as everyone knows in a situation like that the taste of the tuna,cheese or bread will not come out this was another 19 euro.

Total the bill came to 50 euro, the wine was 6 euro, but also the tapwater they had refilled a bottle with came to 6 euro.

All in all i feel robbed and it was a horrible experience.

Edit: As i entered the restaurant i noted to the staff that i was using an old shirt as i was only walking about the city looking for a place to eat, this was accepted.

The water was served from an open container, either it was tapwater or from a large container, i was offered water to the wine, which in most places if its not in a sealed container would then be free.

I cannot fathom how the person responding to reviews can have such a standing after serving such...