Desire de Lille
Double Espresso
Waffle with Cherries and Chantilly
Smoutebollen
Making a daytrip to Antwerp, the drive smooth once one finally makes it out of the early morning tree-sap of Brussels traffic, it was just past 10h00 when an entrance was made at Desire de Lille Restaurant and Tea Room, the historic favorite of tourists unfortunately living up to recent rumors that it only exists as a shell of its former self with an overpriced menu and even the audacity to charge those dining in a restroom fee.
Known for its Dutch Specialties including Pancakes, Waffles and fried balls of Dough plus Ice Cream and Sundaes, those opting to dine at Desire de Lille during morning hours are likely to find the sizable space mostly empty and with nearly one-on-one service offered as the cleaning crew tended to their daily duties it was after only a few minutes that an order was decided, a double espresso with ice arriving alongside a small waffle bite with a pair of items from the kitchen only a few moments away.
Not especially friendly for a tourist spot, the young server English fluent but clearly preoccupied with chatting up kitchen staff while intermittently checking his phone, Coffee at Desire de Lille is better than average for Belgium while the €9.90 Waffle with Cherries and Chantilly was not as crisp or sizable as many, the powdered sugar-topped Smoutebollen a far better bargain for just €4.90 though not particularly interesting past the first two or three.
http://desiredelille.be/en