Spud’s – the restaurant at the new Sofitel

Spud’s is the weird choice of name for the bar and restaurant at the new EU-targeted Sofitel at Place Jourdan.

I recently went there with a friend who had received a special offer via American Express that gives you a discount of the price of one of the main courses, which is equivalent to a reduction of around EUR 20-25 off the total bill (which with the discount and wine came up to about EUR 70 for two). (Apparently, many other restaurants in Belgium participate in this promotion and the restaurants change regularly).

The ambiance is nothing special – generic, modern hotel, discreet but a bit dark. The clientele: mostly business people (still wearing their suits after all-day meetings) and a few couple with an average age of around 40-45.

The food was good, solid continental cuisine, Belgian/French, dominated by fish and seafood, both of which were very well cooked: very tender (scallops are recommended – see first picture below) and not too heavy on the sauce. The good thing is that even if you only order a main course, you are likely to be satisfied with the meal, as they give you two complimentary appetizers (amuse-gueule) of a decent size (both were fish based: salmon sashimi style and a(n also raw) tuna with cucumber concoction.

The dessert menu has the usual chocolate, apple and caramel “musts”. The only thing that stands out is an original potato-based dessert, which is called the “Aztec” (see picture above) and raises expectations for the novelty factor, but in fact just tastes like a fairly sweet vanilla mousse.

Although the food was good, I am not sure I would dine there often. It is a good choice for an occasional dinner, if you want to try something new and go somewhere where you might find some extra privacy and good service (yes, they were attentive and polite throughout – something relatively rare in Brussels restaurants). However, the food and the venue did not leave a very strong impression and was not special enough: With all the great restaurants there are in Brussels, this is a “good-to-try”, but probably a place you would be happy going to just every year or two.