Belgo Brasserie

I have been to Belgo twice now and both times it was for lunch. The restaurant itself is very nice. Done in tones of black, red and chocolate brown wood, Belgo is a lot bigger than it appears from the out side, with three floors and a lot of space. However, ask for a table far from the door, as being seated on the main floor in one of the front tables basically puts you right in front of the hostesses and incoming guests.

On my first visit there I had the Belgo Cobb salad, with chicken, egg, prosciutto, horseradish cheddar and a creamy basil dressing. The horseradish cheddar was an interesting addition that added a welcome zip to the salad. Although it was quite good, I don’t really think it was worth $19.00. I felt the same way on my second visit as well where my CJ’s Beef Burger with soup of the day came to about $27.00. The soup was a lobster bisque and it was fantastic. It was rich and creamy without an overpowering fishy taste, and it had ultra thin waffle cut potatoes on the top that had been fried till crisp. I though them a rather odd addition, but they accented the flavour of the bisque quite nicely. The burger was another story. The menu described the burger as having all the normal fixings (cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions) but also a delicious sounding addition of “cabbage tatziki and chipotle sour cream”. It was a big disappointment. The burger patty was dry, flavourless and overcooked, and the bun was a bit stale. The cabbage tatziki business was mostly just grated cucumbers piled lazily on top of the patty without any of the zip or zest the description inspired. The menu prices are quite high even for downtown.

I find that most restaurants in downtown Calgary need to be able to get people in, fed and out in an hour in order to be successful. It does not seem to be the case with Belgo. They were full both times I went and reservations are pretty much required. However, unless you have a 1.5 or 2 hour lunch I would not recommend coming here as the service is brutally slow. Both times the waitresses took a long time to come over to the table and a long time to get the drinks; the food was also quite slow both times. The most annoying thing about Belgo is that the waitresses quickly ask how your doing and then are more often then not gone again before you can even answer and who knows when you will see them again. Good luck getting a refill or side of something.

Although they have quite a few enticing looking items on the menu, I don’t feel I will brave the bad service and high prices for just a chance of good food. Although maybe for some more of that bisque…