I'm giving this restaurant a 1/5 star only because 0 is not an option.
My friends and I were all set for a nice dinner out in Ghent. We stumbled upon Brasserie de Jacob and decided to sit there since there were many full tables and it seemed popular. Since there were 6 of us however, there wasn't enough room for us to sit on the patio, so we sat indoors.
I wanted to inquire about whether or not it would be possible to sit on the patio should a table become free, so I said to the waiter, "Excuse me, may I ask you a question?". He immediately replied, "No, you may not," and walked away from me. I thought it was just his sense of humour, so I let it go.
When one of the others at the table ordered a beer, the waiter rudely informed her that he would take all orders together. We waited for him to come back. When he did, I ordered the chicken dish and a beer. The waiter inquired whether or not I wanted the lunch menu, but this confused me, as it was dinner time and I assumed the lunch menu was only in the afternoon. So I said, "Oh, I can order the lunch menu now?" and he replied, "No, an hour from now." The comment was a bit snide, but thinking he was just a sarcastic guy, I laughed and said, "Sorry, you'll have to have some patience with us." Then, he abruptly turned away and said he'd come back later since we weren't ready to order.
At this point, 2 of our party of 6 had had enough and walked out. When the waiter returned, he said that our friends should understand that this isn't America. When I told him that in fact, none of us were American and one of the girls who walked away was actually born in Belgium, he said "Well, her attitude wasn't Belgian".
The four of us should have heeded these warning signs, but we were hungry and stayed. Three of us ordered main meals (two meat, one vegetarian), while one ordered only a drink.
We asked a waitress for extra cutlery so we could share. The waitress was beyond helpful and brought an extra place setting.
However, when our 'charming' waiter returned with the food, he first rudely told our vegetarian friend that her pasta was full of meat and fish (we could only assume he was joking) and then when he noticed the extra cutlery, he grabbed it violently and said "Sharing is not allowed by the owner."
We sat there stunned at this display of anger, and wondered if this was some weird joke.
The service was the worst I have ever experienced. I am SHOCKED that a country with a reputation such as Belgium's would have such rude behaviour as the norm in their hospitality industry (though this was definitely our worst dining experience, the rest of Ghent wasn't too far behind).
I would NOT recommend this restaurant - perhaps locals get better service. read more