 | London Belgo Reviews | 1 - 10 of 27 |  |
Have you got a hankering for some great Belgian cuisine and some of that tasty Belgian beer? Well then, Belgo is the place for you. I've eaten there a few times now and always enjoyed the experience.
Hidden just off the main drag in Covent Garden, Belgo serves up traditional Belgian cuisine below street level. You can dine in the relaxed 'beer hall' section on the communal tables, or the more intimate restaurant.
It can get a bit noisy in the 'beer hall', so chose the restaurant section if you want a romantic meal. Either way you will be served by the friendly staff dressed in traditional monks habbits.
The house speciality is the moules & frites (mussels & chips), best served in a large pot, accompanied by a lip-smacking Belgian beer. The beer menu is extensive, and you can sample everything from a white beer to a pilsner, or for the more adventurous, how about one of their fruit or chocolate beers!
Belgo always has some great value lunch specials where you can choose from a few menu items, such as moules & frites or Roast Chicken, and a beer/wine/soft drink for under £6. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherPrice: US$11-20 » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: 50 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LJPhone: 020 7813 2233Directions: Nearest Tube: Covent Garden There are a few other branches in London - refer to web site for detailsWebsite: http://www.belgo-restaurants.com/ Other Contact: info@belgo-restaurants.co.uk
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Last visit January 2008
I've eaten at Belgo several times, on my most recent visit it wasn't very crowded at lunch on a Monday. The restaurant is located in a rather funky basement, seating is at long communal tables and the noise level is loud when it's busy. If it hadn't been listed in virtually every guidebook I might have thought twice but I'm glad we stayed. The wait staff is all dressed in outfits to make them look like trappist monks, a little kitschy but I guess there are worse things you could have to wear to work.
There are several meal deals-lunch specials for L6.50 between 12 and 5:30 and Beat the Clock specials where you pay the price on the clock in the early evening hours. On my 1st visit it was dinner time and unfortunately we had to pay dinner prices and the meal ended up costing around L30 for two with one drink and dinner.
Service is always quick and friendly so I didn't mind the 12.5% gratuity that is automatically added to the bill here
Belgo features Belgian food and one of my favorites is Moules Frites. On my 1st visit I had a huge bowl of mussels Classique (cream sauce) and fries-delicious! On my 2nd visit I tried the mussels naturelle (cooked in white wine with onion and celery), I wasn't as thrilled with this selection but they didn't offer the Classique on the lunch special menu. The frites that came with both mayo and ketchup were delicious though.
There's an extensive list of Belgian beers, some of them fruit flavored, some brewed by trappist monks, ales, pilsners. You can see the whole list on the attached website. Leave a Comment
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Not exactly a shadow of its former self, but not as good as it used to be as prices have gone up and the special offers aren't as good as they used to be...
However, if you have never been here before or like me can put history to one side, you will find a fantastic eating and drinking experience awaiting you in the bowels of an old converted warehouse:
The first striking part on entering the building is its industrial feel - from walking across the catwalk above the chefs beavering in the kitchen below, to taking the spartan style elevator reminiscent of a goods lift to the floor in the basement.
Once in the restaurant proper you are greeted by your waiter, dressed in a black trappist monk's habit who directs you to a beer hall style dining room replete with long refectory tables and benches seating up to a dozen at a time.
The food on offer is classic Belgian beer hall fare including their famous Moules Marinieres and Frites - all washed down with a veritable truckload of dozens and dozens of different types of biere on offer!
Try out the fabulous white beers like Hoegaarden, or fruit beers exploding with flavour like Kriek (Cherry!), or the vast number of ales on offer from Leffe to Bush, which at 12% abv has a real kick - better still try a Trappist beer such as the famous Chimay, as Belgium is the only country in the world where beers from Trappist Monasteries are sold on a commercial scale...
Part of the fun of coming here is trying out the comprehensive beer list to, umm, see what goes best with your food... ;-)
Like I said, not like what it used to be - but still an awesome experience nonetheless!
There are still a couple of special offers that make Belgo's a very reasonable choice for West End dining, but these have gradually beer eroded over the years...
This Boxing Day, the remaining offers are:
Lunchtime Special between 12 & 5pm any day for £5.95.
Beat the Clock between 5pm and 6:30pm where the time you order is what you pay, hence 5:31pm is £5.31p...
With the lunchtime special you get a complimentary drink and a choice of a limited menu including my favourite Pork Sausages and Stoemp (Mash and vegetables together) in a lovely sauce - unfortunately this menu is so limited now there are only about three choices on it apart from several with a laughable £2 supplement (well that makes it £7.95!).
Still, my favourite meal is still the cheapest here, so I can't complain too much! :-) Leave a Comment Theme: Eclectic/InternationalPrice: US$11-20 » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: 50 Earlham Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2 9HPPhone: +44 (0)20 7813 2233Directions: Between the Seven Dials and Neal St north of Covent Garden and just around the corner from Neal's YardWebsite: http://www.belgo-restaurants.com/
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While visiting the Camden Markets we came across Belgo's other London location. Since it was a warm Saturday afternoon and not crowded, they had the doors open and we ate in the upstairs area.
There was a lunch deal on the Mussels Classique, the same dish I tried at Belgo Centraal, mussels in a white cream sauce with leeks and celery with a side of frites. They were good here too. Leave a Comment Theme: OtherPrice: US$11-20 » Currency ConverterComparison: about averageAddress: Chalk Farm Road
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I'm pretty easy to please food wise, I am not a particularly choosy eater and will try most foods. With that said, I will say that Belgo really disappointed me...the meal was just okay!!
I was walking around Covent Garden and had read a bit about this place and since I love, love my LEFFE BLONDE, I wanted to stop in, have a bite to eat and indulge in my favorite beer.
The restaurant is huge and was quite crowded around 2:00 pm for lunch. As you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by a hostess and she calls another hostess who takes you down to the dinning area. As you enter the dinning area you have plain view of the kitchen which was full of chefs buzzing around preparing meals. I was seated in a small table and my waiter promptly came to give me a menu. The waiters are dressed as monks which was quite funny, since most of them where young.
I looked at the menu and decided to order a "special" Steak & Frites with a bottle of Leffe Blonde. I ordered my steak medium.
The Steak Frites was just okay..The steak was prepared with a peppercorn sauce which happened to be quite good, but the steak was tough and too chewy. The fries were good and of course so was the beer.
There is a large selection of dishes to choose from. I did notice that the majority of the diners where having mussels which would probably have been a better choice. Leave a Comment
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It's a Belgian theme restaurant with wait-staff dressed in monk's uniform.
They have lunch specials, which come with a drink, and early evening "beat the clock" special, which you pay the price of the time you order. For example, if you order at 6:25pm, you'll pay GBP6,25.
My favorite is a pot of mussel in traditional soup with dark Chimey beer, but they also serve fish & chips, sausage & mash, etc.
Also, try Belgian beer samplers! Leave a Comment Theme: DinerPrice: US$11-20 » Currency ConverterComparison: about averageAddress: 50 Earlham Street / 29b Shelton StreetPhone: 020-7813-2233Directions: From Covernt Garden Underground station, walk down Neal street, turn left onto Earlham Street.Website: http://www.belgo-restaurants.com/
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Belgo's atmosphere, complete with waiters in monk's habits and seating at long plank tables, makes for an enjoyable evening. The food is mouth-watering, even if the prices will make your wallet cringe.
The mussels are huge and delicious. So are the desserts! And do try any of their Belgian beers, of course. Leave a Comment
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This is a chain of Belgian restaurants with several locations in London, the original and best known being in Covent Garden, Belgo Centraal. This is in a basement; a noisy place, full of bustle, with wait staff dressed in monks’ habits (a nod to the monastic origins of many Belgian beers) and lots of large parties in the main hall which has a beer cellar vibe. The restaurant is a little more peaceful, and better-suited to smaller groups, but don’t believe the website which describes it as “intimate” – this is not the place to bring a date! The food though is excellent, with moules being the favourite, though by no means the only, choice. These come in a variety of flavours, including the very un-Belgian but delicious Thai. Wash your meal down with one (or more likely several!) of the many beers on offer (I counted 70 on the menu). For non-beer drinkers there is wine available by the glass or bottle, but this really is a beer-lover’s destination.
The other branch that I’ve visited is the Bierodrome Kingsway, an altogether more relaxed and quieter venue, with a welcoming bar in the front part of the building and a small restaurant area behind. There are slightly fewer beers on offer, but still more than enough to see you through an evening’s drinking, and the menu is the same as at Belgo Centraal.
On a recent visit to Belgo Centraal I shared a platter of charcuterie and tasty rye bread with a friend, and followed this with the pan-fried fillet of cod with spinach mash and raspberry beer, port and shallot sauce. The fish was beautifully cooked and the sauce delicious, but the potato let down by being not quite hot enough. I also had a side of red cabbage braised with raspberry beer, which was really good! With a couple of different beers, coffee after the meal and service, I paid about £30 – not bad for central London. Theme: OtherPrice: US$41 and up » Currency ConverterComparison: about averageAddress: Belgo Centraal, 50 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LPhone: 020 7813 2233Directions: Nearest tube for Belgo Centraal is Covent Garden (Piccadilly line), and for the Bierodrome Kingsway, Holborn (Piccadilly and Central lines)Website: http://www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk/
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This place is a neighborhood pub reknown for it's sausages. It can seat maybe 20 people (on a soccer night) and it is written up in travel books. Fortunately, it was right down the block from our hotel, so we fell in there the first night when we were screaming for sleep and a horizontal place to rest.. We all ordered a different sausage; boar, guiness, one hotter than hell, and another. Of course, we shared ...that is the advantage of travelling with friends. The pub is tiny ... maybe three little tables and a bunch of bar stools, except on the weekend when there are 50 people standing outside the bar with a glass of beer wishing they could be inside. This is the first place which said something after we ordered guiness. It took a bit, but we finally got it...one can order cold guiness these days! How life changes in small and marvelous ways.
Any sausage! It is known as the "sausage emporium" of London pubs. Leave a Comment Theme: Pub/BreweryPrice: US$11-20 » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: 15 Tottenham StDirections: only a half a block down from the bus stop and around the corner from the Goodge underground stop. No excuse not to try it.
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Belgo, a small chain offering Belgian beers and Belgian/French food has been very successful in London since opening a few years ago.
At Belgo Centraal in Covent Garden there is just a reception area at street level. After telling the receptionist how many in your party, take the stairs to the basement level and walk past the kitchen to get to the eating area. It is normally quite busy and if you are on your own or there are just 2 of you it may be necessary to share a table with strangers. Unfortunately, there is not a non-smoking section in the restaurant.
There is a large selection of Belgian beers but not such a big selection of food. The mussels seem very popular. Between 5:30pm and 7pm there is a 'Beat the Clock' menu. This is quite limited - about 4 choices of dishes that come with fresh bread and a choice of a glass of beer, house wine or mineral water. The price you pay is the same as when you order - so anything from £5.30 to £7, which is quite good value. Leave a Comment
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