Café Bruges — Restaurant in Carlisle

-2019-

I've been to Cafe Bruges a couple of times and out of the experiences I've had, the staff are polite, attentive and very welcoming. The food I've order here was cooked to perfection. I particularly enjoy the Trappist burger because the flavors they add make it taste really good and the chef cooks it the way I like hamburgers, medium rare which in my opinion is easy to mess up, but the chef working at Cafe bruges is absolutely amazing. The muscles are also very enjoyable and I really want to stress that because finding good seafood in Pennsylvania is very difficult. I asked one of the waitresses where they get their muscles from and she told me there is a muscle farm somewhere in PA. I really can't say anything negative about Cafe bruges though the service they offer is expensive, but the quality of their food and beer is well worth the price!

-2025-

Me and my family have been regulars at Cafe Bruge for about 6 or 7 years ago and we were really saddened by our recent experience. We asked to sit at the bar and rather than respectfully decline our request, the greeter gave us a really nasty attitude and told us we had to sit at one of the tables since my brother wasn't 21 which would have been understandable if it wasn't for the attitude. Also, he had sat at the bar previously with us because that is not illegal as long as a parent or guardian is present. We took our seat and was served by a women whom also had a unprovoked confrontational demeanor about her and we couldn't figure out why. My dad went to make a joke by referencing a popular movie to which she seemed to get even more agitated with us at which point my dad went up to the counter and complained. We later left, the three of us deciding that we won't visit again for awhile and have our family nights elsewhere. We just wanted to spend some time together as a family as we had done here for a number of years as regulars, we have no idea why we got this response last night. Hope the staff feel better...

We stopped at Cafe Bruges for lunch this afternoon. I had heard about the Belgian food & the selection of beer that they have available. The restaurant itself was pretty elegant and the walls were adorned with pictures of homes, markets, streets and boats in Bruges, Belgium. They had banners & posters hanging displaying the names of some of their beers. It was pretty loud as noted by other reviewers, but not crazy.

We ordered the following food as our entree we had the waterzooi of fish, which was basically a stew of shrimp, scallop & snapper, potatoes, carrot, leak & celery for 18.00. As an appetizer we had the Liege salad, which didnt have any lettuce at all, but consisted of green beans, potatoes & bacon bits in a sauce (8.00) and lastly we shared an order of frites with curry ketchup (5.00).

I enjoyed my visit because of the atmosphere and the fact that it unique. Service was fine, but I wasnt so thrilled with the cost of the items or the portions, they were OK, but not large (minus 1 star), and the entrees didnt come with any sides. (minus 1 star) I didnt have the chance to have a drink, but the beer selection was nice: Bavik, Winterkerke, Stella Artois, etc.

I'll be back Im sure, I'd like to try the Belgian Waffle, Crepes and/or some of the desserts! It seemed pretty kid friendly, there were other families there also. About half the tables were full, families, bikers, locals. It has on street parking, and accepts cash VISA and...

Being Belgian I had to try the place and went for a classic: mussels, fries with mayo and beer. I chose the Tripel Karmeliet from the Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout near Dendermonde in Belgium, about 10 miles from my hometown. Know the brewers well and of course, I am giving this a 10! The mussels in white wine with shallots were good in quantity and served in the customary black pot. The meat size was small for this time of the year and perhaps they should use Dutch or New Zealand mussels. The taste was ok but a bit of leek and onion would have given a better appearance. There was too much butter in the pan so the otherwise delicious broth was ruined. I give this dish 4 out of 10. The fries were not Belgian fries - as a matter of fact, not even French fries. Perhaps fried twice, they were over done in what I expect old fat, giving them a hard crusty surface and most stuck together. They may have been hand cut as advertised but why use small potatoes? Where typical Belgian fries are 4 inches on average, these averaged 1 inch. The flavor was ruined by the hardness. I give them a 1 out of 10. Thankfully there was mayonnaise. Overal I was disappointed in the quality and suggest when in Belgium one should try the real ‘Mosselen met Friet’ in the Flemish area or Moules Frites in the French...