Came across this place when roaming the Flagey area. Was intrigued by what cuisine it was. Opens normal dinner time which is nice. The service was alright nothing fantastic considering we waited almost 20 minutes for a check because the waiter kept forgetting when it got busy. Other than that, the food was great and the mojitos were even better! Since it's a wine and tapas place we decided to order every app on the menu as dinner. The bread they serve with the apps is so fresh and went great with their carpaccio which was fantastic. I highly recommend that. The dessert menu has Tiramisu which finished out the meal beautifully accompanied by an expresso. read more

Les Pénates - Tapas - Wine Bars Near Me - Ixelles, BRU

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I have been here for just drinks and also for lunch. My recommendation is to go for just drinks and maybe some tapas. The beer and wine selection is fine and you can't really mess up slicing some jamon or putting olives on a plate. The food I have had here was just not very good. The kitchen is right there when you walkt in so you can see how little it is. I was too bashful to give it a good inspection but they can't have much to work with. And it kind of shows. The croque monsieur was dry and the cheese not really molten. The galette with egg was undercooked. The interior is cozy, the atmosphere is good, and the service is friendly. They should decide to focus on drinks and light fare because the kitchen seems to be unequipped for serious cooking. read more

Les Pénates - Croque monsieur - Wine Bars Near Me - Ixelles, BRU

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They have a really good cheese plate here. I also heard the salad is delish. It was located near to where I was staying so I met up with a few gals for drinks. It's right in Flagey (?spelling) area. Went on Friday night and it got packed but wasn't overly crowded. They have outdoor seating but I think that area closes around 10p. It's good for small bites. read more

Bio, fresh, and mega tasty : what else? I've been already twice, and both times i really liked it - you really can taste every ingredient and the freshness first time i had the Crayfish tail salad with apples. a real bliss - so yummy second time a wrap with serrano ham with a zucchini salad. so fresh ! the place has a nice inside patio (great when sunny and warm - but at 22h they close it for the neighbour's respect , so make sure to be there at 19h to enjoy it fully) - inside is also nice a bit dark and noisy when full but not disturbing. i definitely advise this place if you like healthy food read more

Les Pénates - Middle room - Wine Bars Near Me - Ixelles, BRU

Booo. The good: A place that holds so much promise - good selection of drinks and also the ability to eat. Small but fits groups and also has a back garden which is good for smokers, as well as seating out the front. Location is great beside Flagey. The overwhelming bad: Pity the staff are so unbelievably rude and inefficient. Have seen them more than once badly mistreat clients, and I don't just mean being unhelpful - I mean downright ugly scenes. Last example involved them getting nasty at people who offered to pay a few cents extra on top of their bill in order cover the minimum for payment by card as they didn't have enough cash on them. Jeez - if clients politely acknowledge your policy and try to find a solution, either accept the extra free money, or politely lie and say your machine is broken. No sympathy for rudeness to cover their stinginess on card fees. Never understand how people can open these kind of bars, make a cool vibe, get a nice crowd, and then be so unnecessarily nasty. The crowd is a mix of expats and locals. I look forward to the day new owners take over this place and realize its full potential! read more

The following happened: I enter Les Pénates and ask: "Do you have wifi?" A water answers: "Yes". I say: "Okay - then I'd like a black coffee" He says: "Okay monsieur - you can go and sit at the back but connect to the wifi first" I try that, and it fails - meanwhile, he's making the coffee. I ask if it's possible for him to try to reset the wifi. He say: "No - some other guests out in the back are using it". I go out where they are and use my phone instead. They leave. I ask the waiter: "Please is it possible to try to reset the wifi now?" He says: "No - we already did that three times today" I point out that he just told me that he had wifi. He says: "Yes we do". I say: "But it's not working, so you don't have wifi". He says: "That's not my problem - that's the problem of the wifi" - and then he walks away. I finish my coffee and go to the bar where the boss is and ask: "Please is it possible to reset the wifi?" He replies: "NO! Okay! So it's a problem okay!" I say: "Your colleague just said you had wifi?" He shakes his head and says: "dégagé! DÉGAGE!" (which roughly translates to 'fuck off') and points at the door. I did end up not paying for the coffee which was decent. But come on.. read more

It seems very nice place to have wine and little tapas. We went there with a group of 8 people and didn't get place inside, so we sat outside. The service was slow, I think we wait more than an hour for our dinner to come out. The menu choices was just ok, little tapas options nothing really special about it. I didn't not recall the server attitude since I didn't deal with them but mostly my friends. I might come back just for little tapas and wine, but not for dinner, it's not worth the money for it. read more

Very cosy and funny place. We were there for a birthday with colleagues (12 people) and took the big table in the middle. The atmosphere was very urban-esque with a lot of noise (Friday evening). The food was very good too. The only inconvenience is that it was very hot inside. If you plan to go there during the winter (when the doors and windows are closed) just put a t-shirt on. Sometimes it gets too noisy we could barely hear ourself talk. But in general i would recomment this place right next to Place Flagey. P.S. if you're a fan of fancy places, don't go there. read more

Nice little pavement terrace two steps from Flagey and a pleasant backyard. But the service is just awful. Not rude, just fantastically vague and forgetful. You factor in an extra 30 mins for a coffee at this place every single time. read more

Though the food and drink are decent in a somewhat forced bobo (bohemian bourgeois) ambiance, the staff, or specifically three members of staff are incredibly rude, disrespectful and not in the least able to make the simplistic of conveniences for their clientele. Understanding what it takes to be a waitress or waiter in much more hectic environments such as Soho in New York, where the staff of restaurants, wine bars, or any other establishment, all seem to maintain a good attitude in the face of difficult evenings. I equally do not understand how these three members of the staff keep their jobs, abuse the system, when their compatriots in other much more high stake situation would loose their jobs the minute they insult a customer. I have frequented this establishment numerous times, to a mix of decent to horrible experiences. The first times, I arrived, waited to be seated, with these specific three members of staff ignoring me and my friends for almost 15 minutes. Finally they placed us in the front where were disrupted by the chef having to go to the walk in freezer. It was after 30 minutes of waiting that we decided to leave. The second was a bit better due to different members of staff working that evening. Most recently a friend of mine, simply asked to use the bathroom, after the staff, knowing very well that he was a frequent customer, proceed to aggressively ask for 50 euro cents. Understandably in a situation, where you are not a regular and ask to use the bathroom would be frowned upon, you would never be assaulted in such a manner, this was a very different situation. There is no excuse for bad behavior in such a manner, at least that's what I learned in kindergarten. I sincerely hope they either change their staff or change owner, this locale has plenty of potential, especially in such a vibrant part of Brussels. Like the small neighborhood bars in parts of the lower east side, New York why not establish a friendly local atmosphere rather than a forced and failed attempt at being trendy. I highly dis-recommend this place and rather recommend Delecta a bit further up on the other side of Place Flagey, Chaussee de Vleurgat. read more

I have been a client since it opened. Last two times, since changing owners, I am very disappointed. This evening my husbands 16€ dish arrived cold and microwaved. My lasagne was burnt on edges and the full top layer. Service was worse then ridiculous. We spoke to one of the owners and he told us we probably should not come back if this is how we felt, imagine saying this to a customer! I waited for a glass of wine for more then ten minutes because they were out of glasses. A wine bar and Resto out of glasses. Buy some IKEA glasses! Never to return. Sad because it has over the years been a place of comfort in the afternoon and evening. Why does the consumer have to pretend all is fine and constantly be told sorry, or not now, or given excuses, and finally told by a manager not to return. We were not rude but disappointed. Wow! this is an all time low for the poor consumer trying to have a mediocre dinner, not even having any expectations. Sad!!! read more

One of my fave wine bars in Brussels! Huge selection, friendly service (I go every month or so and they are used to seeing me, but I've heard that with others, they are not always so nice - I believe it's because they are under-staffed) and nice selection of tapas. read more