Restaurant: Barbanera

Barbanera is an Italian restaurant tucked away in the European Quarters of Brussels. The interior is somewhat posh, and somehow you get a feeling of being brought back to the 1980s (or something). If going for the all white tablecloth theme, there has to be something more to it. The things eating up the atmosphere are the use of too much light in part of the dining hall and the radio being used as the source of music. You are especially unlucky if seated under the loud speakers... The food was rather bland, and nothing worth mentioning. The main positive is that the service was friendly.

Perhaps this place could have more atmosphere if and when the restaurant would be full of people. But on the other hand, a half-empty restaurant also speaks for itself...

Grades given by Good Food in Belgium:
Food: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Friendliness of staff: 3+
Would I go there again: no
Would I recommend the place: no. Perhaps if you wanted a really quiet place to talk business or you wanted to take out your old auntie...
Value for money: no. Food too bland with regards to the prices.

For more reviews, take a look at TripAdvisor. They seem to give a slightly better review, although some opinions are similar to ours. Maybe we were just unlucky? But it only takes that one lame experience to not want to go back, especially since there are so many options...