1)Brussels Grill
We've been to this PLACE ROGIER branch of the Brussels Grill chain before and on this occasion, (18th of December ’10), it was our restaurant of choice, not only because of our satisfaction with the food on previous occasions, but to fit in with our purpose for visiting the city of Brussels; Christmas shopping.
Its location, not far from Brussels Nord / Noord (French / Dutch: North) was advantageous. We merely had to follow the train stations exit signs, one of which specifically directs to “PLACE ROGIER". And then, walk the 5 to 10 minute distance (less than 500metres I'd say) to the first major looking cross roads, across which is the large City2 Shopping Mall, crossing immediately to our left and there we were.
As it was just before noon by the time we had arrived in North Brussels, we decided to have lunch first. It was bitterly cold and my cheek bones were beginning to hurt, but curiously, there was no sense of a blast of heat as we entered the restaurant. It wasn't cold in there, but I would say slightly on the cool side. If nothing else, it makes for a very health environment to dine during the cold & flu season because the bugs won’t be snugly multiplying in any warmth.
On walking in (automatic sliding doors) I indicated we needed a seat for two and with were ushered to a seat a nice bit in along to the right of the main entrance and just before the stairs to the "WC” (restrooms); These are clean, F for women, H for men, but hand washing facilities are mixed.
Incidentally, though the WC is downstairs, there is a disabled persons unit inside on the main floor level, far right from the entrance doors (looking into the restaurant)
Though we hadn't been offered the option to sit were we might like, I thought these seat positions would relieve us of the experience we had on the previous visit, on the raised area, i.e. an annoying cold draft. I think it's from the air conditioning, but I can't be sure.
However, though I ended up draping a jacket over my knees to deal with it, my wife said she didn't feel any draft and even suggested I was imagining it.
On the occasion previous to that, we sat to the left of the entrance and were quite happy there.
All in all, from arrival to departure was around about an hour and a half.
I think we were first in, but as we left, though I had never noticed that many people coming in, it had become quite full, so clearly the generally very negative reviews here on TA have little or no impact.
The waitress was most amiable. Spoke English with a French accent and throughout our visit demonstrated the extent to which providing service is important to them. One simple example being that I asked for another cola, (€2.20) though my existing glass was not even half empty. She returned and topped it up, rather than simply plonking the bottle on the table as would be the case in many other places. And I’ve only just noticed the second cola is not on our bill receipt.
My wife asked for the soup of the day, Tomato and it came with an extra dish of sour-cream and an equally sized miniature bowl of croutons. I'd say there must have been at least a quarter of a litre of soup and she mentioned it was very rich and creamy. She indicated her satisfaction with an almost silent slurp and simultaneous thumbs-up.
She wasn't long finished when her bowl was taken away.
There was a bit of a delay at that point until our main courses arrived.
During this delay, 3 mini loafs of lovely warm bread, with 2 packet portions of real butter were brought to our table. These never appeared on the bill.
I had opted for the 220gram Fillet Pur, €21.90. It looked every bit its advertised size and along with being deliciously succulent and tender, it came with a good portion of French Fries, some greens smothered in dressing (I don’t like this but forgot to say so) and I had chosen the mushroom sauce, which was like a very rich, creamy, small sized portion of mushroom soup, with mushrooms et al.
My wife opted for the “Carbonnades”. These are chucks of pure meat, just as you’d find in a stew, but without the rest of the stew; they came with fries and greens also. €13.90; She was happy with them.
Later we asked for two cappuccinos. €3.20 each (Strong-ish, real coffee taste) and I opted for the “Belgium Crumble”. This was apple crumble; the apples were slices, cooked to a softened firmness, smothered in nice, dry, crispy, baked crumbly pastry, with added nut slices, topped by a portion of beige to brown coloured ice-cream, the precise flavour of which I couldn’t figure, but that too had bits of sliced nut and what looked a bit like a small dash of maple syrup. €6.90
Total price €58.90 (excluding the second cola); No service charge added or sought, but we were well satisfied so…
2) Waterstones Blvd A Max 71 – 75, B-1000… for the Minced Pies etc.
Diagonally left, across the road, there is the City2 Shopping mall. If you walk down that street you’ll be in a main shopping area. We opted for the street directly opposite the restaurant. However, it may be important for you to know that many of the shop fronts you see there are in the “Adult Store” category but it’s the most direct route to make our way down the short distance to Waterstones (Book Store), which at this time of year sells things like mince pies, Christmas Crackers, Bovril would you believe, and other such goodies that would be problematic to be hauling all the way over here by air travel. The edibles are mostly on a shelf to the left as you go in. The pks of 12 crackers are more centrally positioned, with the “Lux (6) closer to the paying desk on the right.
Further down the road, having taken the next left to that main shopping street, we wandered along till main Christmas market. There you might find several small sized and small priced unique items to bring home again along with food stalls, which, even for a nibbler like myself, could not tempt me because I still felt full after my meal, even 2 hours later. One even looked to have hot dogs with British sausage filling.
And then a little further there is the Central Brussels (train) Station, where some of the announcements were even in English, much to our surprise.