Grand Central

Grand Central is one of those places where you grab brunch and instantly know it’s going to be a great day. We ordered the cappuccinos, the salmon Benedict, and the avocado Benedict—and honestly, they were some of the best I’ve ever had, maybe the best. The gravlax on the salmon Benedict was sliced thick—almost a full centimeter—and absolutely delicious. Prices are a bit on the higher side compared to other brunch spots in the area, but it’s totally worth it. The vibes here are immaculate, and I can already tell the rest of my day is going to be amazing.

Horrendous place…sells 33cl drinks on menu in 25cl glasses for 6€…the most dishonest bar I’ve ever come across and when you inform the waiter he will tell you to « go write an email to the owner » because he is « just a student »… 🤷‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ this bar supposedly closes at 1am but we got kicked out at 11:30pm. The waiter was putting the chairs on the tables around us making as much noise as he could to get us out asap…do yourself a favour a pick one of the better places 5 minutes away at Jourdan!

Went there for lunch. The vibes and atmosphere are really cool and enjoyable. Good place to have a good time. We ordered 2 special burgers and a crispy Cesar salad. The burgers were really good and packed with flavor, however the salad was very bland and dry. The chicken in the salad was amazing but I didn’t think that the poached egg was a good choice.

I was with my friends and we ordered some night food and drinks. Food was good and the quantity was quite enough for 5people. I recommend chicken curry with bread😊 the atmosphere was good for chilling out with friends after work

It’s a nice concept. Big terrace facing the square. My 2 stars are because if you have an American visa or an American Express it gets declined when you try to pay. So I ended up having to pay cash. That’s something which shouldn’t happen in an European capital with a good international tourism flowing in. After all the fries were delicious and the drinks were good

It's nicer now with more plants and pots outside, you feel better shielded from the street just next to it. Still, there is a street next to it. Service barely existant, you're forced to scan a QR code to order, and then manually enter your credit card details into their app to pay before being able to have a beer at your place, also requires your email address, why all that hustle? Extremely complicated and doesn't have easy methods like PayPal or GooglePay. Took multiple minutes to figure this out for the whole group. Then, they confuse the drinks and forget some. Quite noisy atmosphere inside, difficult to talk. However, decent food and choices of beers. Terrasse when the weather is good is nice.

That's a really nice place: always free spaces, terrace, really good food (especially the fries with truffle source) and drinks. Lots of vegetarian options. Alcohol free cocktails.

Unfortunately a fraud. 33 cl beer served in 34 cl glasses that are less than 90% full. That's 30 cl max. This is not about some barman occasionally filling a glass a bit less than advertised but systematic fraud by the owners or managers. Check the glass brands website Arcoroc to confirm the size.

We only decided to come here in the evening because it was right next to our hotel. The menu mainly consists of bar food. We had the crispy baby squid and spicy shrimp tacos. Both were quite good. Even so, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.

The ambiance is country chic, cozy yet classy. Service is excellent and the choice of pastries and foods is varied and fresh. The coffee is wonderful, rich and strong. You can sit inside or out and both spots have plus's. Support this local spot.

First time here. Fidel Castro was a dictator that killed many Cubans and kept the rest in total poverty with no human rights and no ways to make a living. You should not have his name on a drink. I am assuming is total ignorance.

Cool place. I liked the ambiance and setup better than I liked the food. The buffet is cold, vaguely Mediterranean, and reasonably priced. It felt really similar to what one could get at from the prepared foods section at Delhaize. I liked that the buffet was not self serve, so it was less unhygienic than what you could get at a self-serve place. I say "less unhygienic" instead of "more hygienic", because there were still people leaning over the sneezeguard, but that's not really the restaurant's fault. I went for the vegetarian buffet and sampled seven or eight different items on my place. The only thing I really liked was the carrots. They were perfectly roasted and extremely flavorful. I also thought the hummus was very good. Everything else was pretty standard, like pasta salads, potato salads and things like that. The lentils were the clear loser of the night. This was rather odd, because one girl in front of me said the lentils were her favorite item and demanded a triple portion. The guy behind her, not in the same group, got a plate of nothing BUT lentils for his meal. To me, they were very bland and slightly lemony. The bread was also surprisingly bad, considering that it's not hard to find really good bread in this city. Although I didn't love Le Grand Central, I would give it another try if I were in the neighborhood and looking for something light to eat, or a place to hang out and have drinks.

First time eating here. We've been by here a couple times, seems like a real happening evening hang out. So far coffee is great and food is good

WTF! 25 minutes in the line up at the bar just to make the order. Seriously, is the owner or manager that cheap he can't afford to double the shift!

Superb place for a drink, lunch, brunch or birthday party. Large terras, pioneering design and international vibe as should be expected in the capital of Belgium. Good and welcome addition to the more traditional offerings of bars in town.

Such a spacious spot for brunch and drinks! Also they serve lunch buffet with a good selection of salmon and such. Overlooking the plaza and surrounding by office building, it feels peaceful sipping your choice of beverage while enjoying the light breeze in the city. There are plenty of seats boy downstairs and upstairs. It's perfect for corporate event. Would definitely recommend to everyone!

Could be fantastic - great terrace, excellent situation ... but the fact that they don't serve at the table so you have to queue (for a LONG time) at the bar makes it a place to avoid. If you spend half your evening standing in a line it's really not worth it.

A true gem in this part of the city! It's gorgeous, grand, and surprisingly very affordable. There is an area for every need. The coffee shop on the ground floor, the brunch area, the BBQ spot, the upstairs bar and restaurant and the outdoor patio. Great service too!!!

A real gem in the European quarter! The food is surprising, and price are ok. The all you can eat buffet is of amazing quality, for example we had miso aubergines, curry sweet potatoes and cumin roasted carrots... It doesn't beat Living Room for me but it's definitely up there. The only minus for me is that you don't get to help yourself to the buffet, there's a waiter serving you. When you're a foodie like me you feel very silly when you take a lot of food :) In addition the drinks aren't included in the price but for variety and location it's one of the standout places in the Schuman area!

I love it for lunch especially if it's sunny outside. Great terrace, great design, friendly staff and generous portions. They offer a worldly but mostly Mediterranean buffet which offers a good variety of foods. Also (for me) the alcohol free options (such as ginger and mint tea) are pretty good and so it their coffee. Love it overall especially in spring and summer.

So disappointed with this place. Bagels are terrible : old bread, industrial guacamole, 1st price iceberg salad, nothing fresh, nothing tasty, nothing fancy. And the waiter was not particularly nice... Will definitely not going back. Many other places in the neighborhood offer much better bagels/burgers for the same price.

I ordered a beer and a gin tonic at the bar and they charged me 23 euros, after an hour aprox, I went to order the exact same and they charged me 14,90 euros, so I checked the first bill and I realized that they charged me a mojito of 9 euros before. I kindly told them about the 9 euros overcharged and showed them both bills, the bartender was extremely rude (almost aggressive) and said that it was hours ago and they did not remember, apart from other dismissive observations. They refused to give me back the money even if the empty glasses where still at the table. After insisting and threatening to make a formal complaint, they gave the money back. Never going back again, worst service ever.

Had a lovely brunch here - the grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and eggs was great!

I have to say, five stars based on my service yesterday. I came to meet friends sitting in the outdoor seating area and went in to quickly get a beer before rejoining them. I was not paying attention and paid with €20 instead of €5 and told the bartender to keep the change (the beer was €4.20). I went back outside and about two minutes later he came out, found me, thanked me, and told me, "I don't think this is what you meant to do." Honestly, I can't even begin to think who would do this. What an honest and wonderful person. It's worth adding a few more points: -generous opening hours (unlike most places in Brussels, open pretty much the whole day) -cool decor: industrial-ish yet comfortable (love the plants) -good selection of beer, drinks and coffee I can't wait to come back to try the brunch!

Great atmosphere and staff. Unfortunately they don't know what hollandaise sauce is but they still have it on their menu. I ordered a bagel benedict and it missed hollandaise. When I asked for my hollandaise I got something that looked and tasted like fried butter.

Lovely environment, location and set up. This is where the pleasantries end. We arrived to an empty restaurant for breakfast, and the service was awful. When asking if one could get a BLT bagel to include Egg, or an egg Benedict bagel to include bacon, we were greeted with condescending laughs, a side conversation of laughing in french, and being ignored until we settled for one or the other. Despite being an empty restaurant, our bagels took 15 minutes. When they came out, the bagel was not toasted; the bacon barely cooked; and the cheese bone dry and hard (as a result of the other ingredients not being warm at all). Can't decide which was worse, the food or the middle aged hipster with glasses behind the counter. Foodies beware

Oui mais non ! Ok, on aime l'idée : un immense espace de deux étages, transformé en mode post-industriel trendy, lumineux, avec une grande terrasse qui donne sur la Place Jean Rey et le Parc Leopold, et qui propose une offre multi-concepts : bagels, barbecue texan et salad bar aux influences middle-east. Top sur le papier donc, et assez inédit pour Bruxelles, tant l'envergure du bazar donne plutôt l'impression de se trouver à Londres, San Francisco ou New York. Mais dans la pratique, ça ne suit pas. Le plus gros problème vient de l'organisation. On commande à un des deux comptoirs (au rez ou à l'étage), et ensuite, on doit aller retirer sa commande au comptoir du bas. Je n'ai aucun souci avec le bar service, au contraire, des mois passés aux Etats-Unis ou à Londres m'ont largement habitué à ce type de service qui deviendra de plus en plus la norme, étant déjà la règle générale dans les coffee shops et les fast casual. Sauf qu'ici, ça capote. Si vous posez votre postérieur à l'étage, comme 95% des clients au vu de l'espace et de la terrasse, il faudra donc dévaler et remonter les escaliers... au moins trois fois. Parce qu'on vous dira que votre plat pourra être retiré "dans 10 minutes, au comptoir du bas uniquement", vous y allez donc à l'instant T, afin d'éviter que votre met refroidisse une fois prêt, et là on vous dira que "c'est pas encore prêt et qu'il faudra encore revenir dans 10 minutes". Et ensuite bis repetita, "revenez dans 5 minutes". Tout ça pour vous entendre dire au final et au bout de vos pérégrinations monter-descendre des-escaliers-pour-choper-ma-bouffe-qui-n'arrive-pas : "Le bagel BBQ, c'est pour vous ? Il est prêt depuis longtemps !" Voix intérieure : "Heuuuuu ? Je ne crois pas, vu qu'il était pas prêt y a 5 minutes quand votre collègue serveur m'a dit une enième fois de revenir 10 minutes plus tard". Ai-je omis de vous dire que tout cet échauffement sportif pré-lunch (histoire de s'ouvrir l'appétit) a lieu dans un chaos infernal au milieu d'un tas d'autres clients qui s'entassent comme vous au comptoir du bas pour commander ou retirer leur commande qui n'arrive pas. Tout le monde s'énerve et tire la tronche, tant les clients que le staff, qui travaille en sous-effectif flagrant, et ne peut dès lors pas suivre la cadence infernale des commandes passées par le flot de clients bobochics qui veulent voir et être vus dans cette dernière trendy place du quartier européen. En outre, j'adore l'idée d'un barcecue texan en mode slow cooking, mais il faut avoir une sacrée méthode d'extraction des odeurs et/ou un coin BBQ séparé. Ici, veillez à apporter des fringues de rechange, sauf si vous aimez sentir le vieux feu de camp toute la journée. Quant à l'assiette, sorry but nope. On a droit à des assiettes mainstream, plutôt fades, et sans grande personnalité. Ca envoit beaucoup, en essayant de suivre le rythme, et la quantité des plats sortis se fait au détriment de la qualité. Mon bagel n'avait pas de goût, la petite salade grecque qui l'accompagnait non plus. On a le sentiment d'être dans une "chaîne de production de plats quasi-industrielle". J'ai aussi essayé le burger (un autre jour, je vous rassure), mangeable certes, mais oublié dès la dernière bouchée. Le carrot cake (essayé lors d'un troisième passage, je ne suis pas un goinfre !) est quant à lui vraiment réussi. Mais bon... C'est dommage car on aime l'idée. Mais l'organisation et l'assiette ne suivent pas. Peut-on vraiment en vouloir aux patrons qui ont pris des risques ? Sans doute pas. Ce genre de grosse machine aurait besoin d'un staff impressionnant pour fonctionner adéquatement. Et au vu du coût social exorbitant dans notre plat pays, ce n'est juste pas possible de faire tourner le manège comme il le faudrait. Sauf si la clientèle s'y entassait toute la journée et commandait des centaines de cocktails aux marges élevées. Mais là encore, on est à Bruxelles, pas à Manhattan. Et on en revient à notre réflexion de départ : ce type de lieu est fait pour Londres ou New York, pas pour Bruxelles. La réalité de terrain a apparemment rattrapé les ambitions louables de départ. Dommage...

Nice place, nice food, but not very good service. Had to argue with judgmental and rude staff several times to get served properly in the "all you can eat" buffet.

Nice bar BUT what is going on BEHIND the bar! Never seen so much chaos and little attention for a customer who wants to order. Twice the barman (2 different) walked away from me whilst it was my turn to order and started chatting randomly with a colleague, totally ignoring the customers. You have to see it to believe it. Totally blatant. Service is also very very slow therefore. Nice bar, nice terrace but very very bad customer service. Pathetic...And be careful with the gin tonic, they try to sell you the most expensive one. If i was the owner i wld do a serieus check what is going on there. He is losing money with the very bad service...and clients..