Blah
If you feel like waiting a long time for the wrong order, come to the Belga Cafe. Here you will experience people raising their hands for service, food portions that wouldn't fulfill anyone's needs, and a waitor that disappears into the bowels of the restaurant. It took almost 20 minutes just to get water in our glass, and about 30 minutes for our food to be delivered. That is, after we chased down the expo boy, because he took it to the wrong table. It was extremely noisy and you have to yell across the table. The host let an older couple stand for over 20 minutes to get a table when there was plenty of tables that needed to be bussed. The food was mediocre. Come here if you want to pay $1 for mayo. The fries were good though!    [17 Dec 2004 13:53:32]

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     ­Anonymous   

lots of fun
Belga Cafe is so different from most DC restaurants that it is an exciting experience just to experiment with the menu. Authentic Belgian food, great Belgian beer, and many interesting (and tasty) dishes. The decor is tasteful and New Yorky. It is a bit loud, and the service seemed a bit tentative and inexperienced, but these are minor quibbles.    [12 Jan 2005 21:10:13]

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Recommended Dishes: beer, mussels, soup, desserts

     ­Anonymous   

Totally Average Food with Really Long Wait
I agree with the other reviewer. I went yesterday, we had to wait one hour to receive our order. I thought it was because it was crowded, and at that they didn't complete the orders. For instance, the mussels were supposed to come with Belgian fries that never arrived. But, worse than the extremely long wait was the noise. The restaurant is small with exposed brick walls -- there is no sound dampening. I couldn't hear either person to the left or right of me. It was the loudest place I can ever recall being in. It hurt my ears. It wasn't pleasant at all. The food was mediocre. The feel of the place is cramped. Placements are not the proper size for a round table and overlap each other. The tables were decorated with tangerines in the center. The day before they had peas on the table. Interesting. Did I mention that the cod fillet dish is a very small portion? After all that wait, I left hungry.    [13 Jan 2005 09:51:17]

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     ­Missdailynews   

Great Food Horrible Service
This is the first time I have lodged a complaint in years about service. This place was awful. We were ignored, charged $11 for water we did not ask for and that took 10 minutes to get after we were seated and our server took our orders and brought us our check. We had to flag down others for everything else as did the diners around us. It's a shame because the food is delicious! Waffles with carmelized apples and a savory puff-pastry waffle with salmon and dill cream were delicious. The order of sea bass at the table was well-prepared, but slightly under flavored. But on the whole, the chef is clearly an expert. The wait staff will make me think twice before opening the door to this place again.    [30 Mar 2005 00:03:56]

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Recommended Dishes: Waffles, fries

     ­Anonymous   

Another Perspective
Against the advice of other postings on this board, I tried Belga Cafe for dinner Saturday night. My experience couldn't have been better. Service was top-notch, attentive without the off-putting chummy patter that is too common nowadays. My water glass was replenished before it was ever given a chance to be half-full, and the waiter checked on us periodically to make sure we didn't need anything. As for the food, it was a bargain for its price. My wife enjoyed her Belgian steak, and my order of sweetbreads was comparable to that served in far more expensive restaurants. And the Belgian fries...delicious! Another treat was finding out that the featured Belgian draft beer was Rodenbach, one of my favorites.

Although we were dining at 7:30 on a Saturday night, the noise level was not nearly as loud as I expected given the comments of previous reviews. And anyone who would complain about the size of the portions would probably be happier dining at Outback Steakhouse.

In conclusion, I am looking forward to returning to Belga Cafe to try some of their other specialties.    [05 Jul 2005 09:55:15]

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Recommended Dishes: Chicken & crab cigars, veal sweetbreads, Belgian steak, Belgian chocolate mousse

     ­Kilgore