I love Taste of Belgium — mostly for its great food and incredible chipotle mayo, but also for its service, ambience, and general consistency across the board. Perhaps the biggest draw is that it opens at 8am on the weekends (7am on weekdays). Being more of a “brunch” spot, crowds don’t usually flood in until about 9:30, which is after we’ve eaten and left, and still earlier than a lot of brunch places open in the city.
Hopefully we all know how delicious Taste of Belgium is. (It’s really, really ridiculous good tasting.) It’s primarily the space and service that I’m writing home about in this post.
Jean-Francois Flechet’s fifth installment of the Belgian eatery at The Banks (in the new GE building) was five months in the making before its grand opening on Friday. The interior was beautiful — naturally reminiscent of the Rookwood and Over-the-Rhine bistro locations; the latter more after its recent renovation.
The panoramic view of the Ohio River, Smale Riverfront Park, and the Roebling bridge is lovely, and large windows will open to invite the outdoors in on warmer days. With 135 seats indoors and an additional 100 on the patio, The Banks’ 4,800 square foot bistro is the largest restaurant in the Taste of Belgium family. This will presumably alleviate longer wait times in warmer months especially.
40 Taps!
Brunch Menu
Belgian Toast
Belgian Toast for him; frites and a Nati Crepe with syrup for me (as I always do)
While the menu is similar to the other locations, there are some added features, including Belgian toast for breakfast, and poutine for dinner. Also different from the others is that there are 40 beers on tap at all times — a great selection, too, which is categorized by style; plus 32-ounce crowlers are available to go should you feel inclined.
Service was great, the beer selection was impressive, the food was delicious as always, and the space was probably the best yet. In addition to its great breakfast, this Taste of Belgium especially will serve as a great lunch and dinner spot being at The Banks and near the stadiums for game days.
Another welcome addition to the Central Business District.
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