Looking for a good brunch spot in Lille, We Are Ara consistently came up as one of the most suggested spots. Located right near Grand Place, it is in a prime location. The eatery has a great atmosphere, with a color, vibrant interior. They offer plenty of both indoor and outdoor seating as well. Their menu offers a selection of breakfast & brunch plates that are served daily, lunch that starts at 11am, and desserts. Along with their food menu, their beverage menu has a lot to offer as well. The service was great, very attentive, extremely pleasant, and welcoming. Food came out quickly and was freshly made to order.
I have to say my expectations were higher due to all the positive reviews and they were unfortunately not met. The food was just ok and not the most impressive. I ended up ordering the Surfer Bread with gravlax salmon, spinach, egg, cream cheese, and lemon, along with Chocolate Chantilly Pancakes. The Surfer Bread was unique as the bread was toasted brioche-style milk bread. The combination of flavors was good, but it just felt like something was lacking or missing. The spinach that came atop of it was essentially just soggy, wilted spinach leaves. There definitely could have been more salmon and avocado present as well. The bread wasn't the freshest either and honestly seemed a little stale. The Chocolate Chantilly Pancakes consisted of two small pancakes drizzled with a dark chocolate sauce, served with Chantilly cream. These were just ok and I could have done without them to be honest. The pancakes reminded me of ones from the freezer section. I did appreciate the chocolate sauce though as it was very good.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the food from We Are Ara. The food seemed to be lacking flavor and just didn't seem the freshest. The portion sizes here are also not huge, but the price is very reasonable considering this. While the food wasn't the most impressive, the service and atmosphere was great. Maybe I ordered the wrong things, but this place did not meet my expectations unfortunately. read more