Publico

Food is excellent. Atmosphere is great.
Steak on rocket lettuce is good if you’d like a beef fix.

I think this more leans to 3.5 stars, but my general rule of thumb is — if i want to go back to a place for sure, I rate it to the higher star. It was a decent meal but I’m not in a rush to go back.
The bar seating area is a bit crowded as the dining tables are almost right behind you. This doesn’t pose a huge problem for me, but a little more space would be nice.
My meatball tapas were OK — they weren’t bad by any means, but I didn’t fall in love. I really enjoyed the calamari — the quality was small, but the quality was great. Compared to American calamari, this tasted real/​fresh. The squid was meaty and the batter was excellent.
I had a local Belgian beer, which as usual was good. I am still baffled that in Belgium water is so expensive and after paying 4.50euro for my water in a glass bottle, I couldn’t leave the restaurant with it because they have to return the bottles. Maybe not the restaurants issue but a Belgian thing. meh.
Note — they don’t accept credit cards, instead you will walk down a few streets with a server to another restaurant to make the transaction. I liked that the option was available since I didn’t notice the lack of credit card support until after I ordered, but I hope this is only a temporary thing…

Food was pretty good, specially the pastas. The experience and wine was great, will definitely go back.

The food was ok! My husband had the salmon which was cooked well, my Greek salad was ok but I did enjoy the feta cheese. Croquettes were nicely fried as well. It’s Brussels so the service is normally slow. However, the waitress advise me not to hang my out on the chair because it’s not safe. She advised me to hold it safely and keep it where I can see it. Nothing to blow the horn for.

I wish I liked this restaurant more than I did. There’s decent seating indoors and outdoors and quite a large menu. It was hard to decide what to order, so maybe I ordered the wrong thing? I had the Publico Salad, and the description seemed appetizing, but I was underwhelmed when the food actually came. It was essentially iceberg lettuce, a few slices of tomato and super thinly cut cucumber, and a few pieces of onion-​ringed calamari, cod balls, and a tiny piece of salmon. As the most expensive salad on the menu, I was expecting more than what I could basically find in the grocery store packaged salads.
If anything, I would order the cod balls just by themselves (found in the warm tapas section of the menu) because they were really good! Just not enough to make up for the entire salad.
Perhaps stick with the warm entrees like the pastas and tapas. On the bright side, they do serve complimentary bread and have free wifi– no password needed! (but they do not serve tap water whatsoever… boo.)

Very good restaurant! If you want to try belgium food for a nice price this is the place, not like the other restaurants in Belgium that are tooo expensive and no so good. The staff are very nice and friendly as well.

I stumbled upon this place, a little jet lagged on my first night in Brussels. The host /​waiter Francois was incredibly welcoming, acting as if we knew each other for years. At my request, I sat outside on a brisk Spring evening. There were a couple of other people sitting outside as well, but as soon as the sun went down, I was the only one there. The dining room was quite bustling and people were still coming in as I was leaving. They offer two red wines by the glass, which were decent. The grilled chicken breast with a sort of tomato au poivre sauce was very tender and well-​seasoned. It came with the typical thick cut fries and side salad. It was a solid experience, but not sure I would go back with so many new places to try in the city.

I guess I only write reviews for places I really like but thanks Unilocal for helping us find this place!
The food was excellent– I had the ravioli which is apparently their biggest seller and I was not disappointed. Great flavour and extremely generous portions– I was stuffed at the end of the meal. My table also had the vol au vent and a vegetarian penne and both also loved their meals.
The real highlight of the night was our server Francois. He was funny and took great care of our table. If you visit here I hope you too get to have the Francois experience.

I went there twice and I must admit I had been disappointed both times given the review on Unilocal.Staff helpful and I can tell there is efforts put in the dishes but either I didn’t find them tasty or it was cold. Maybe it was bad luck

Today Publico lost customers. Normally the food is great and especially the service is outstanding: very friendly, not shy for a conversation with the customers and expert in what’s on the menu. However, today what had to be a good ending of the year with the family turned into a disaster. The service was bad with very long waiting time, grilled cheese equivalent to supermarket quality, truffles that more looked like champignons, the hanging steak being very chewy and I would rather have my fries at a «frietkot» than at Publico. All in all, I’m not coming back.

This was a disappointment. Based on the reviews here, my expectations were pretty high, maybe that’s one of the reasons I didn’t like it at all. (I give a lot of credence to Unilocal reviews, they’re usually correct) The service was VERY slow, and we had to flail our arms violently just to get the attention of the waiters. The food that came was… OK. It certainly didn’t leave an impression.

Ok so before I’m too hard, this place had a wonderful atmosphere! It was really cutie and had character to it! Service was friendly but not very attentive, that aside, the food was only ok. I really wanted to like the food more but my steak was only ok, the sauce was too water (who wants water sauce with their steak?!) and the veggies overlooked. A friend for the salmon dish and the salmon was goo but the sauce and rice were overwhelmed by the tarragon to the point I couldn’t taste anything else. The paste was fresh and good texture, the best dish of the three, only wish it had a little more sauce on it and more meat in the sauce…

So it happens that this restaurant was almost next door to the place where I was studying Dutch for a while in the city center of Brussels. I used to finish class around 9:30 pm and who wants to start cooking at that time of the night? I went few times to Publico and tried different dishes every time and I was never disappointed. The restaurant is small but at that time there was always a spot free and the staff was nice and quite adapting.
I never understood the idea of the TV showing Fashion TV all the time…
Prices I would say they are quite good for the area. They have a full bar too.

Never been to Belgium before, don’t know 5 words of French/​Dutch/​whatever, decided to try this place because I saw some good reviews and they had some english on their menu. Let me start by saying, the man who I presume to be the owner, Francois, was one of the friendliest people I have ever met, very genuine. If he wasn’t the owner, he should be.
As for the food, I had something Francois recommended, I think it was cannelloni with chicken, mushrooms, cheese, and truffle sauce. Absolutely phenomenal. I’m only here for two weeks, but I will be back. What a pleasant dining experience

I went in here for a late lunch one rainy afternoon. Thanks Unilocal for the great recommendation! I didn’t want a lot to eat since I knew I would be having a fairly large dinner, so I ordered Croquettes de Fromage Artisanales, Salade & Persil Frit and a lovely glass of Bodega Lozano Anoranza (a tempranillo).
Let me say — if you have never had a cheese croquette do so in Belgium. It is so much better than anything I have ever had in the States! The light salad with just a little bit of fried parsley was a really nice touch and rounded out the entire plate of food. It was the perfect amount for me. I did have to try the bread they gave me (I did try to resist, but I could not). Delicious. The service was incredibly friendly.
I finished the meal off with a very lovely spot of coffee (my husband will be proud of me — I didn’t put anything in it). I certainly didn’t get tired early.
My only regret was not being able to take all my co-​workers here. That will have to wait until the next trip.

This is a difficult rewiew to write. I found the reviews and photos so tempting that I had to go and check it out. I made a resevation (good idea) and we arrived with high expectations. Francois greeted us like we family although I had never been there before.
Let’s start with the positive. They have some nice wines. The menu is diverse enough. And the presentation is very nice. The ratatouille with goat cheese is excellent.
The neutral. The first impression was of the tattered menu. Fresh printed paper even with a stain or crease would improve the image. The presentation could be improved by decreasing the amount of sauce on the plate. White space is more appetizing.
The negative. The quality of the tuna cut was below par. Spend a euro or two more and you can get a higher price gladly.
This place is great if you have the right expectaion going in. It’s friendly and better than average food. But, with a little attention to the details and a conscious effort this place could have all the ingredients necessary to take it to the next level. I’d like to be there when it happens.

A fantastic place with delicious food, a great atmosphere, and wonderful (and hilarious) staff. A friend and I were very surprised and delighted with our dinner experience. Make sure you bring cash as credit cards are not accepted.

Really delicious Mediterranean food in the heart of Brussels. It’s just outside of the main «touristy» areas, so you don’t have to fight the tourist crowds… that isn’t to say the place is empty, because it wasn’t while I was there! I was a little thrown off when I opened the door to be greeted by a thick dark black curtain. And with the way the door opens and closes, you have to step in and close it before you can open the curtain, leaving you in complete darkness for a few moments. But once you peel back the curtain, you’ll find a bright, warm, and inviting restaurant waiting!
Started with the bruschetta and had the orecchiette as my main with a Leffe blonde to wash it down. Service was attentive (which seems is rare around here) and friendly. They also have quite a few tapas, so it would be perfect for a light bite and a drink with some friends. It’s CASH ONLY so make sure you have some with you!

So wonderful and delicious! We had a wonderful visit to Publico on a rainy night in Brussels. We had incredible service and just loved the food. Good wine and beer selection, we sat for a few hours enjoying ourselves and our server even brought out some amaretto for us to enjoy before we went back into the cold. Couldn’t recommend more highly.

This was suggested by by someone know.
Walked in & it was busy. BUT the wait was worth it!!!
My wife ordered the Orecchiette, and she swears this was the best pasta she ever had in her life!
The kitchen is clearly visible for the whole restaurant’s view, and it is IMMACULATELY CLEAN! It cleaner than most brand new restaurant.
There is only 1 chef but he is brilliant and a genius!!!
I ordered the Stoemp, didn’t know what that was but loved it! If you’re really hungry I’d recommend that.
They don’t take cards so bring cash. There so much competition on the location but there good does stand out. We went to a place across the street for lunch the next day but the taste was not great.
Publico was AWESOME that we went back for seconds during our 4 day stay in Brussels.
The staff was very friendly and the service was impeccable. My only question is, why the hell does this place not have any Michelin stars???
As for the price, dinner for 2 with appetizers, entrée, bottled H20, Beer all ended up with 37 Euros. What a deal! 5 Star Quality for .001 cost!!!
Trust me, you’ll be hungry for seconds if you’re not full. Just you arrive starving just order the Stoemp.
Disclosure: Stoemp is only for the hungry. :-P

Wir waren etwas unter Zeitdruck beim Essen, weil nicht reserviert. Macht nix, Essen war klasse. Sehr gute Minestrone und ein klasse Risotto waren Highlights. Die Suche nach dem Restaurant war es Wert.

Einen Beitrag zu schreiben, wäre eine Wiederholung von den Meinungen anderer Nutzern. Hiermit will ich nur deren Beiträgen bestätigen! Es lohnt sich wirklich zum Publico zu gehen. Wir haben es jedenfalls nicht bereut und wollen beim nächsten Brüssel Besuch wieder hin, hoffentlich mit mehr Platz für ein Dessert. Hatten die Ente und davor super leckere Oliven mit Brot gehabt und waren danach Pappensatt!!!
Der ein Kellner: Paqui, war super freundlich ohne aufdringlich zu wirken und sprach sehr gut spanisch, so dass wir nicht nach unseren Brocken englisch, französisch noch niederländisch greifen mußten.

Ein kleines, aber sehr gemütliches Restaurant, etwas abseits vom Touristentrubel gelegen. Die Küche ist mediterran angehaucht, was mir persönlich sehr recht ist. Es finden sich wenig Touristen hier ein, trotzdem ist es immer gut besucht.

Coole Location umweit des Touri-​Troubels, immer sehr gut besucht. Das Essen (Ente) war super, der Service nett und Preis-​Leistung in Ordnung.

In der Tat nach den guten Empfehlungen hier auf der Werbeplatform waren wir dort essen gewesen. Obwohl nur unweit vom Touristentrubel entfernt, anscheinend hauptsächlich von locals besucht. Nette Atmosphere und gutes Pub-​Essen mit super, belgisch-​typisch höflichen Service. Allerdings hauptsächlich mediterane Küche wer also was typisch Belgisches sucht, sollte lieber woanders hingehen.
Leicht negative war allerdings, das beim Warten die Belgier bevorzugt behandelt wurden und man selbst länger auf einen schlechteren Tisch am kalten Fenster warten musste. Aber wer kanns verübeln, ich würd’s genauso machen!
Daher 4*

Hervorragenes Restaurant in einem richtig schönen Brüsseler Viertel (Nähe Bourse). Das Essen hier schmeckt richtig toll, und auf der Speisekarte findet man ein recht abwechslungsreiches und kreatives Angebot, wobei vor allem Pastagerichte dominieren. Auch der Service ist klasse, man wird wirklich sehr herzlich empfangen! Beim Apéritif gibts als kleines Extra superleckere Oliven dazu. Für die Sommertage gibst zudem eine nette Terrasse! Die Preise der Hauptspeisen liegen bei zirka die 11 – 17, Euro. Sehr empfehlenswert!

Haben viele schlechte und hoffnungslos überteuerte Restaurants in Brüssel gesehen. Nicht so im Publico! Super freundlich, tolles Essen (mit viel Liebe zubereitet) und leckerer Wein. Auch das ist in Brüssel nicht selbstverständlich…
Einziger Nachteil (waren mit Bargeld grad knapp): man kann nicht per Kreditkarte bezahlen.
Sehr, sehr gerne wieder!

Prima Local. Nette Bedienung. Ein wenig kühles Ambiente, aber das ist dem Still der Einrichtung angelehnt: o)
Das Essen war wirklich sehr gut. Fairer Preis noch dazu. Echt empfehlendswert.