Belgo Belgian Beer Bar and Restaurant

One of the most interesting experiences I have had this year has to have been eating and drinking in Belgo’s - the infamous Belgian bar and restaurant tucked away in Covent Garden just off of the seven dials roundabout. Inside, Belgos is an industrial looking metal chamber. We are sent to wait in a pen of a bar next to the hostess’ desk, a tin chamber in which around 20 people could stand to get served a measly collection of spirits and some obscure bottled beers. If I had based my review on this bar alone it would have been horrendous but we are quickly snatched up for our reserved table but the hostess and popped in a very large slow moving service lift. Between the cracks in the metal we see the over-sized kitchen steaming with culinary delights and chefs popping in an out. From the lift we are led past the kitchens to a dining room where waiters dressed as monks serve us. The drinks on offer are a wide selection of over-priced exotic beers made from fruits and over-proofed for the consumption by more refined pallets than my own (my divine pink elephant beer recommended by the waiter doesn’t go down too well. I notice on the walls the unmistakable schnapps shots racks that I have previously ordered in Belgo’s Bierodrome bars around London.

The food is amazing, it has to be said, I was very surprised and the mussels in particular were very well cooked (and I am not normally a fan) so I recommend trying them at least as a starter. The toilets were another construction puzzle with tin used in a way that made the toilets seem like something you would find at a music festival. Overall Belgo’s gets very busy but its worth the visit, the food is up to scratch but the prices are a little too high to be appealing for everyone - 7/10