I visited both La Casa Del Habano's in Brussels this week as well as Le Roi du Cigare Shop. I have…read moreshopped at various LCDH around the world for the past 25 years and have gone to more than 25-30 of them and typically make a very large purchase. The service is usually outstanding and I have found some of the most friendly people in these cigar shops. I have had some of my best cigar shopping and smoking experiences at LCDHs.
This was not one of them.
I visited the LCDH Brussels Louise location on Rue Faider 1C. 1060 Saint-Gilles today 1/25/24. Save your time, money and aggravation. While, they had a good selection, the service was terrible. The employee was rude, no smile, basically said nothing unless I asked and got a short answer. I asked to go in the humidor and I was told to wait and I watched him finished the paperwork he was working on. Seemed like I was bothering him. I asked if they had any regional editions and I was show two that were and several that were not what I was asking for. I asked him for 4 Partagas Maduro #3s. He pulled four out of the box and laid them on the table. One of the cigars wrapper was split and splayed open up to the first inch of the cigar. I said I'm not buying that one, it's split open and you should know better than try to sell me that one. He looked at me like I had 4 heads and hesitated to swap it out for a good one. After my purchase of 4 of the 16 Euro cigars, (they limit you to 4 of any cigar unless you buy a box) and a 180 Euro bottle of Rum, he did not even thank me, so I said something. I told him I have shopped at LCDH all over the world and he was the second least friendly employee of them all except for George in either Bern or Basil Switzerland-I don't remember which. I said I usually spend 4x this amount and would have done so today had he not been so uninviting. He tried to make excuses. I walked out and he actually walked out the store behind me yelling "Don't come back here, your business is not welcome." At no point did I ever feel welcome here. In the end I felt threatened. There are plenty of people in this world that would love to have his job if he hates it so much. I am sure that the LCDH Owners would have been appalled as this is NOT the experience they want for their customers. This was much different from the review below from 5 years ago.
Go to the LCDH in the European sector or to Le Roi du Cigare (King of Cigars) in Brussels, they will appreciate your business and take care of you.
Contrast this experience with the other LCDH experience I had across town below.
Earlier this week, I visited the LCDH in Brussels in the European District. BD Charlemagne 32, 1000 Bruxelles. While the selection was not huge they still had a good selection of smokes and liquor. Most important, the employees were so nice and willing to help. Seemed to want to go the extra mile for you to help you get what you want. I would recommend this store in a heartbeat
At Le Roi du Cigare, the service was even better! The owner was very friendly and we had a nice conversation about cigars, Cuba etc. They have one of the best and biggest non Cuban cigar selections that I have seen in Europe and they had a small selection of Cuban cigars too I happily made my purchase, they gave me directions to the nearest Chocolate Shop and I was off.
In the end, there are other cigars shops in Brussels besides the LCDH in the Saint-Gilles area that are willing to help, extremely friendly and actually seem to want your business.
