Oui! One of the best steak and frites in DC! We went for a weekday lunch. My Angus steak was cooked a perfect medium well. It was flavorful, tender and juicy. The fries that came with the steak were crisp and thin cut. I think they fry the fries in duck fat which gave them a nice burst of flavor. A small house green salad came with the meal. It was OK. Street parking is a mess due to all the construction going on there. read more

Here's the deal. We went to Belga Cafe for lunch and it ended up being a brunch place. "What does that mean?" you might ask. What it means is $14 waffles that are small and served on hipstery plates. This wasn't for us, but that doesn't mean it's not for you. Which is to say, if you're okay dropping $25 for lunch and leaving a little hungry, Belga will do it in style. It's nicer than a diner for sure. If you just want lunch, though, this is not your place. We came here as a group of six and, despite having a reservation, had to wait outside for about 20 minutes. Lucky for us it was a nice day out! Inside, the tables were too large for the space, meaning every thirty seconds as a server walked behind my chair, s/he bumped my chair. It was annoying, honestly. No one apologized, no solutions were offered, and it interrupted my experience. Food-wise, I ordered the salmon burger and was surprised to find out that it wasn't fresh salmon after seeing the word "grilled" in the menu. It also said "patty," so this was my mistake I guess. But I was also then bummed that it didn't then taste all that exciting. I've made this kind of salmon burger before at home and think I've done a better job than Belga. Contributing to the lackluster burger was an overly large and dry bun, as well as missing toppings that I had to ask repeatedly for and then got a tiny portion of. My fiancé and I also shared a side of fries, but were disappointed to see that the menu had been misleading. The meals, for $6 extra, came with a small fries and side salad. Instead of getting that, we ordered the side of fries to share. It was more expensive $7.50, but it turned out to be the identical portion as the small fries. So we spent $1.50 more and didn't get salad, basically. So why 2 stars and not 1, even? I generally only give 1-star reviews to places that seem dirty, corrupt, etc. Belga wasn't that... it was just overpriced with lackluster food. I wouldn't go back, I wouldn't recommend it to friends... but it's not harming people, you know? read more

One word: mussels. Oh and another word: framboise (the Belgian girly beer that isn't easy to find around here). I had the pumpkin/mussel soup, the name for which takes approximately 30 minutes to pronounce and defies everything I learned in Hooked on Phonics. Just give up and point. I just knocked off one star for pricey-ness. read more

I will never, never, never patronize Belga Cafe again after my terrible experience with "Chef" Bart today. Since Belga has been open I go every year for my birthday brunch as I live in the neighborhood. Today my father, step mother, and I arrived to celebrate my birthday at Belga. We enjoyed our meal. As the sun was beating down on my shoulders - my father moved the sun umbrella over about 6 inches so I would not burn in the intense summer sun. Chef Bart came out and began screaming obscenities at my father for moving the sun umbrella. Bart was telling my father to F Off and go F himself. Bart (I have drooped the "Chef" title As he no longer deserves that title in my eyes after treating us so terribly) then retreated inside - leaving us stunned and packing up. The staff was rather apologetic. We made sure to tip the poor waiter but I refused to allow my father to pay the bill as Bart obviously owed us an apology. I will never step into Belga again. Bart was rude to me and my family -- in an easy to fix situation. He was rude to his staff and rude to his guests. I have encouraged all my friends and business associates to boycott Belga Cafe. This man is a tyrant who has battered his staff for so long he is now going after guests. I am waiting for my apology - I don't expect one from a man with such a small ethical manner of treating people. He did ruin my birthday. I will never come back - and neither is anyone in my condo building, my neighbors, my office, or anyone with in ear shot of me this afternoon. Shame on you Bart - I hope you are able to see yourself as the bully you are and learn that you can not tell guests to F off without consequences. Go to Cava - directly across the street for better food. Also try Molly Malones or Lolas for a good beer/wine selection. Do not patronize an business which supports bullying. read more

An amazing meal. My partner and I loved this place. From the mussels to the venison, you can not go wrong here. Loved the beer selection. I had a wonderful raspberry beer. Also loved the martinis and the service was fabulous. My only beef was in some places, the tables are a tad tight. I guess it adds to the coziness:-)! read more

This was the single most terrible restaurant experience I have ever had in DC, and we didn't even get to eat! My friend and I arrived at a packed Belga Cafe at noon on a Sunday. Only one other couple was ahead of us for a table. The hostesses were nice, but as we soon discovered, completely incompetent. First, they forgot to put our names in the system. They hostesses could not figure out how to insert it when they noticed a few minutes later, but assured that we were "on the list in their heads." Right... Soon the line was out the door, and the couple ahead of us was seated. Hostess number one kept telling people to step inside because it's cold out. How are we supposed to crowd over a dozen people into the tiny space that can hardly be called a foyer? Despite the chaos, we were assured again by the hostesses that we were next. Then a table for two opened up. Hostess number one said it was for us. We were ready to be seated. Then, suddenly, hostess number two grabs another couple and seats them ahead of us! Confused, I asked her what the deal was, and she said that they had reservations. Okay, fine. Hostess number one apologized and said we really were next. At this point, we had already waited 30 minutes. Soon the crowd became too much for them. Suddenly the chef emerged from the kitchen, angry at the mess of people, barking at the hostesses to hurry up. They didn't move fast enough for him, so he literally started grabbing groups of people AT RANDOM and seating them himself. A group of four here, a group of three there... all of whom were BEHIND us in queue, but given the group size, we let it slide. Then he grabs a RANDOM couple and seats them ahead of us. Trying to gain his attention was useless, it was as if he didn't even see us, though we were standing right in front of him. I asked the hostesses what was going on, why did he seat the other couple ahead of us, and all they could say was "I don't know, he's the chef." By this point absurdity had reached its zenith, and we left without even being seated. I cannot fathom the absolute lack of professionalism and organization witnessed at Belga Cafe this morning. I was quite literally dumbfounded. The food that I saw served at least looked good, but I will never know for sure, because we didn't get to eat, and I refuse to set foot in Belga Cafe again. read more

I've had several happy dining experiences at Belga. They have a nice beer list and their food is tasty and well presented. That is why I am greatly saddened to have witnessed them recycle the bread basket. My friends and I happened to sit at the bar near where they slice the bread and plate it. To my utter astonishment, I witnessed different individuals do so throughout the evening. This isn't one rogue, lazy individual--it must be the owner's policy!! How DISGUSTING!!!! Either plate less bread or throw it away. Many individuals have questionable hygiene as we all know! I cannot eat at a restaurant where I am served food that has been sneezed on, touched, or tossed back by germy hands back into a communal bread basket. I can no longer recommend what was a fine establishment for me. Very, very sad!!! By the way, the chef could smile once in a while. Why so dour? read more

The only downside to this 8th St. eatery is its size - they could double their floorspace and still be crazy busy. Exceptionally good food, genuinely warm/fun service, and a nice crowd make for a great evening. read more

I been going to Belga for a while now and I always get a bad service. The host Nadia was very rude and very unwelcoming. She didn't bother to walk us to a table only pointed out to to an area. My BF n I decided to sit at a table of our choice. We were asked to move to a smaller table in the corner furthest from the restaurant. We decided we wanted the more comfortable table to dine in. Nadia then removes the water cups from the smaller table only to slam them at the dinner table that we chose n stormed away. This is a last time I would dine here and I would not recommend it to anyone.... read more

The Belgian stew is the bomb. Get it. The mussels and pommes frites are also worth an effort. Oh yeah, and the beer - Belgian beer, for those inthe know, comes in all sort of brands, varieties & flavors -- small country but lots of beer options - and Belga has a surprising supply and array. And the staff, props to them, theyre unusually kind. read more

This is one of m favorite restaraunts in DC. The food is always really good. The seafood entrees are really phenominal. This is my very favorite place to get a burger, although they are only available for lunch. I don't eat burgers often, but when I do I will only go to Belga or Sonoma. There is a salad there that is out of this world (along with the salads at Montmartre and the little Belgian cafe in Katies alley in Georgetown). They have the best selection of beers in DC as far as I've experienced. The atmosphere is very nice and cozy for double dates... and oddly enough, I love the smell of the lemon/vanilla candles in the restroom here. read more

For the food, I might give it 3.5 stars. But they automatically charge you 20% tip after the tax. I feel not okay especially when they first gave us the wrong dessert. read more

en route to dinner, date says there's been a change of plans and we shall try "an italian place by eastern market that looks good." then we pull up to belga cafe. um... i smile. i try to nicely state that this is definitely not an italian spot. what i do not state is that a) it's probably kind of expensive and b) likely that neither of us will be thrilled with the belgian menu. this is a 1st date. i am trying to be nice. i was wrong about A (relatively speaking); right about B. i think the meal came to $70ish total, including drinks and appetizers. (not sure b/c i was not paying, but i glanced when date did.) the food was clearly all good quality and beautifully presented. but, the vast majority of the menu is so far from anything i'd want to eat that it was comical trying to find a dish to order. i'm no foodie. i do not eat shellfish or pork or red meat. not a fan of game or other odd animal dishes. i loathe mushrooms. any stinky, feet-smelling cheese other than parmesan will turn me off. and delicacies? just the thought of most things like escargot, foie gras, and caviar make my stomach churn and my face scrunch up. ick. so...imagine my face reading the menu full of items like frog legs, octopus, rabbit roulade, suckling pig, pheasant, lamb with wild mushrooms, duck, venison, several kinds of steak and an entire special section of belgian mussel pots (you can get those hideous molluscs every which way to sunday). i'm sure i looked like a constipated toddler. hell, i was *thisclose* to ordering off of the kiddie menu. then, salvation! i spied the small vegetarian section. just vegetable stew, pasta, or roasted vegetables - but i could work with all that. and i did. penne pasta to the rescue. the pasta was tasty. nice sauce of garlic butter, tomatoes, herbs and parm cheese. but, i mean, it's just pasta. i didn't see stars. date struggled with the menu for a while too (even suggested it'd be okay if we finished our appetizers & drinks, then went elsewhere), but eventually settled on the west african sea bass and said that was very good. (i declined to taste it b/c it had wild mushrooms and crumbled beets on it.) the plates around and passing us looked beautiful and smelled amazing. i just can't get down with 90% of what was on them. the drinks were incredibly strong but managed to still have good flavor. our waiter was absolutely lovely (unfortunately, i can't remember his name), as was every staff member we encountered while there. the place was busy, but not loud and the space was tight but didn't feel crowded. and so on; you get the picture. i think if i liked belgian food, i'd likely give this place 4- or 5-stars. but, alas, this is not the fare for me. c'est la vie. read more

Chic european restaurant with good beer selection and good service. The mussels are good as well as the frites; however, beware of the mayonnaise. The home-made mayonnaise have been stale and bad on more than one occassion. read more

I will keep this short and "sweet" Let's start with the good things: The food & the service. No complaints here, the food was great, the servers were excellent. Now for the really bad: 1) DO NOT let them take you upstair to their rooftop area called Betsy! It seems that this is a new sub-restaurant that they are trying to push and trust me it's really really bad. (read other lengthy reviews about it) 2) What the hell is wrong with the owner? I think his name is Bart and he has absolutely no clue on how to care about his customers. While I was there with friends we witnessed an awful scene where the owner was plain out yelling to one of the employees, not even trying to be discreet about it and absolutely rude. We thought "he must be having a bad day" but a few minutes later this happened again and AGAIN. We asked our server about it and this is something that happens all the time. This gentleman has no manners and it made the whole experience a really bad one. Worst first impression ever, I feel truly bad for those who work there and we will definitely won't be coming back. I refuse to give money to someone who seems to have little or no respect for human beings that are working hard to make you money. read more

I'll never go back here. A couple years ago, I came here with a friend to celebrate being done with a stressful job interview. We had drinks, main courses, and dessert. The food was fine--not memorable, but not terrible. What ruined it for me was that within literally a minute of running my credit card, as we were finishing dessert, they told us they needed the table back and asked us to move to the bar. I was shocked--I'd never had that happen to me before. We had not been there a particularly long time at all. It was the rudest thing that had ever happened to me at a restaurant. This place is really just not good enough to get away with that kind of treatment of it's customers. Now, when I'm on Barracks row, I'll go to Cava, where both the food and the service are far superior. read more

The food is delicious but the host is the rudest man I have ever encountered in the service industry. Avoid the tall skinny man with reddish hair and glasses. read more

I decided to try this place for my birthday. Everything was good until I got food poisoning, which was a shame because mussels and fries used to be one of my favorite things to eat. People/restaurants make mistakes and I want to give credit to the service/taste of food, but the experience of puking all night, having to miss work because I was still puking the next morning, the subsequent abdominal pain and final intestinal unpleasantness was just so bad. read more

Can't say enough about this place. First and foremost, you must try the venison. If you're a vegetarian, find a cure for that affliction and then try it. It's utterly amazing. The beer selection is fantastic as is the wine list. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about both the menu and the underlying Belgian culture that dictates most of the chef's choices. I'd also recommend the crab cigars as a starter. Great way to get the meal started. read more

My family came down to DC from NJ for my birthday and we made a bunch of different reservations, since we weren't sure where we would want to go. Unfortunately all the other restaurants were running behind, and Belga was seating on time (seems like an anomaly for them!), so we cancelled everything else and went to Belga. After the dinner we had, we should have just waited elsewhere. We were seated by the kitchen, with two people basically inside the "waiters station", and unable to go out and go to the bathroom unless the cosmos aligned. This made our table very HOT, to the point where my mom almost passed out from the heat. Our waiter was quite possibly the worst, and most disrespectful, server I've ever had. Some gems from our server: "Yes, I have an accent." (to my mom while telling us the specials. She was looking at him because he was telling us the specials, and it had nothing to do with his accent.) "Wow, this guy drinks a lot of water!" (to my brother while refilling his water glass. Our water glasses were never filled more than half way, which meant that they needed to be refilled a lot.) And the kicker was - my dad's food came out cold. He told the waiter, who replied with "Cold? No! Cold?" My father was very upset, and after all the snotty comments that had been made throughout the evening reached their boiling point, yelled at the waiter, and sent the food back. All of the servers stopped what they were doing, looked at our table, laughed (one even made the comment of "well you don't see that every day"), and went back to what they were doing. Um, we're upset because of a rude comment, so you think the smart thing to do was make another one?! The waiter never returned. A busboy brought out a new platter for my dad, who at that point didn't even want the food anymore. It took the manager 20 minutes to even come to the table and in a restaurant this small, that's a bit absurd. He took over the table for our server from that point on. It really just went from bad to worse - my moms food was good she said, but it was not as the menu described. The only thing that was the same as what was on the menu was the halibut. Both mine and my brothers fries came out 10 minutes after the rest of our meal. My "garlic butter" mussels weren't very garlicky. I asked for them to be packed up, since I didn't finish, and I watched the manager chase the busboy who cleared my plate saying "give that to me before you throw it out." I think my boyfriend was the only one who had no problems with his meal. So they were 1 for 5. I watch Top Chef, so I recognized Bart, the owner and I was absolutely ASTOUNDED that he stood in a corner talking to his staff the whole time we were there. He never once went to talk to any tables, address any issues, etc. As a matter of fact, I watched him drop a cup on the ground, pick it up, and put it back with the other cups. He watched the whole thing go down with my family and not once did he come over and speak to us. I would think that this would be his number 1 priority if he wants people to continue to come to his restaurant. The manager brought us out free dessert, but at that point the night had been ruined. I was mortified to have brought my family here for my birthday - at the way they were treated, at the food, and at the way that the restaurant completely ruined my birthday. Will not be back. read more

I really want to give this place 4.25 stars all for the food. Service was good too but the hipster jam at the door knocked it down 0.74 stars. read more

The Belgian Beer selection was enuff to make me wanna stay at the bar a bit, then i ordered the food, which was very well prepared and the presentation was excellent. The Hoeve Kippettje (chicken breast with braised endives and mini potatoes was good as well was my sampling of the salmon dish the lady had. I will be making return visits for brunch... I mean if the dinner was good, brunch should be better! .... UPDATE: Brunch didn't dissappoint! and it's until 3 on weekends!!! read more

Belga does have inventive sparking drinks. The lavendar-champagne drink is delicious, as was the one with cassis. Did I mention how pretty the granite bar is? read more

Oh. My. God. The muscles here are soooooo good. So good. So very very good. If you order anything other than the muscles you are totally doing it wrong. I was also impressed with their 70-something long beer list but I didn't get to try any. The first two beers that boyfriend ordered were not available but he found a decent beer. The servers were also very attentive. Our particular server was a little brusque and at one point when I had some schmootz in my water glass, instead of getting me a new glass she just dumped it out into a nearby plant and refilled the glass. read more

Glad I stumbled upon this place, it's a quaint French brunch cafè! I had the corn bread waffle with roast beef, egg, and avocado (forgot the specific name). Your traditional brunch options will have a tweak, anything you try will be new! read more

Food was good, beer was great, price was high, service was terrible, and the restaurant felt tired and neglected.

Spare me...tables so close together it felt like being a sardine can and the noise level deafening. A cold tiny waffle with three drops of goat cheese and a few leaves of lettuce with a roasted tomato slapped on top....the experience was not good, but it does draws the crowds. Good for them...the place is making money but no more of mine. read more

Crackerjack spot in the Eastern Market neighborhood. Impressive bottle list [and the "correct" glasses, to boot] and several satiating preparations for mussels. The mussel pots are large enough to share even for two hungry diners. Most of the mussel pots can be prepared pescatarian with lobster broth instead of meat-based stocks, which is a pleasant surprise. The cocktail list is a bit uninspired; however, with the beer selection [and solid-yet-unspectacular wine list], it does not detract too much from the overall experience. The restaurant itself is often crowded during peak hours, so a reservation is recommended. read more

Outstanding mussels. Plump perfectly prepared and way too many. Excellent service and great selections of beers.

Came in for lunch because it was nearby and we were glad we did. One person at our table got the muscles and loved it. The soup was excellent and I had a grilled sandwich that was far from anything you'd find at the local sub shop. read more

Great for brunch and awesome for a Saturday morning date as you can eat here and then walk about the Farmers Market across the street. The only issue I had was space was limited so you had to get pretty cozy with other patrons. read more

Lovely food and great service. I booked a table for three and had unexpected guests show up and our now party of five were taken care of with grace. I ordered avocado soup which was out and so was replaced with a watermelon and arugula salad. The steak frites were beautifully prepared. Fantastic restaurant! read more

Love the variety of wheat beer served wtih pomme frittes and homemade mayo at the bar. Who needs dinner?

Last night we had dinner at Belga Cafe with another couple. We enjoy the food at Belga, but we can no longer justify the poor service. Despite making a reservation each time, we have yet to be seated within 5 minutes of the reservation time. Once seated, the service was very poor. Our meals were brought to us, but not once did someone check on us again during the meal. As a result, they missed the opportunity to sell a second beer or glass of wine. Desert menus were provided, however, it took almost 15 minutes before checking to see if we made selections. At that point, we decided to get the check and call it a night. The waiter provided us with the wrong check and proceeded to run our credit cards on the correct check without our ability to review prior. When Belga Cafe first opened, they were a solid restaurant, but within the last year or so the service has fallen by the wayside. Such a shame. read more

We had the good fortune of picking the perfect day to sit outside and enjoy lunch on Belga Cafe's patio. After touring Capital Hill, we were looking for a spot to rest our feet and refuel. There are so many cute restaurants in the Eastern Market area, it was hard to decide, but we all agreed that Belga was the right choice. The service was friendly and prompt, and the food was delicious. We shared the frites with trio of mayo, and they were perfectly prepared in the proper Belgian style. My frisee salad with duck confit and lardons was divine, although a very large portion. I thought the salad would be topped with a sampling of shredded confit, but it actually featured an entire duck confit leg! My husband raved about his lamb and chorizo burger, and our daughter loved her fennel and orange salad. It was a a wonderful find in an interesting neighborhood! read more

Went here on a reservation made for me during Belgian Restaurant Week. I'd done no background research whatsoever and thus had no preconceived notion of what to expect whatsoever beyond the assumption of a standard brasserie concept and offerings. I came away very pleasantly surprised. We had a 6:45 reservation and the place was packed - this was on a Monday - when we showed up. Not sure if this was due to the RW promo or just a sign of how well-liked the place is, but mercifully our table was ready right on time - big, big points in my book (I am NOT a fan of the "reservation is a rough estimate, be prepared to wait 30 more minutes" school of thought). Service was excellent - the servers were the real deal, and walked the line between formality and friendliness excellently. The preparation of the dishes was more modern than I would have assumed, though we were eating off the RW pre-fixe so I can't speak to how representative that is of their entire menu. We did add an order of the house preparation of moules frites to kick things off and they were perfectly done in in the most classical, textbook sense. The menu items we had were based on classic ideas and ingredients but taken to the next level with a bit of modernization and artistic license in the preparation and plating. I will say that the dishes here were some of the most visually impressive I have had in any DC area restaurant. It's also clear that a lot of effort went into development of the dishes as whole entities with complex flavor profiles - in every dish I tasted, every single component worked to contribute to developing the overall result. I was very impressed because I came in just expecting a textbook brasserie but was surprised to find a rather innovative menu blending classic and modern techniques and preparations. I would be eager to give them another try. read more

I have only been here for brunch, but it is my favorite brunch place, and I drag everyone here. My favorite dish is the Bruge waffles, which are difficult to find in DC. They're a sweet treat, topped with apples. They serve a nice strong cup of coffee (that they refill). The worst part is trying to decide whether to have the waffles or something savory so that you can have an excuse to have an order of frites! The atmosphere is very European and so it isn't surprising that one of its major drawbacks is also European: its size. The place is small, and so accommodating a group larger than 4 or so might be a challenge. read more

The most delicious brunch spot if you can get a reservation or your body in the door. I went there once in the dead of winter and it was moderately crowded and I went there on a cold spring Sunday and it was uber packed! It was so crowded that my friend and across the street to Cava Mezze. Back in January the brunch I had there was unbelievable! I love the Bloody Mary's with foam! The Belgian beer selection is great. I think I had the garden scrambled eggs which were good from what I remember but you must order the frites! We had to order two rounds of frites because that good (better I think than Brasserie Beck). My friend got eggs Benedict but it was so delish and I do not even like Eggs Benedict (because of the Hollandaise). We had the fabulous crepes for dessert. I'm sure it will be more more crowded as the weather is warmer and the place seems much more popular. I would not suggest going in a group or right at noon-1pm on Sunday. read more

I wanted to book a nice fancy place for my birthday brunch. Belga cafe dissapointed me soo much. First of all it was very small in side and crowed. It looked so much different on its google pics and on yelp! Second of all the rooftop dining is literally terrible it's a sketchy ass ally you have to walk up and it looks like something someone just put together! There were cheap throw away pillows on the couches and teddy bears?? The rooftop is nothing like the picture. The picture you see for the rooftop is actually a picture of how it looos directly outside. It was horrible this small lady kept badgering my guests about drinking and staring us down even though most of my friends had ID only a few didn't. Such a catfish restaraunt. I was not aware of the 3 card only on tables. They left out sooo many information it was horrible DO NOT DINE HERE. read more

I hear the brunch is great but we decided to try it out for dinner and weren't disappointed. You almost have to go with with one of mussel pots of which they have many that are so full of mussels accompanied by Belgian fries and mayo that you just can't finish the dish. Large belgian beer list gives the place an additional authentic Belgian angle and prices are average. Main tip if you go for the mussels is to dig deep into the pot as the broth and spices really work themselves into the mussels on the bottom whereas the top can taste slightly bland. read more