Tada! We are here...
This is Café Capitale...
It is one of my favourite coffee bars in the city because of the trendy, hipster atmosphere...
Yeah I like the trendy customers that come an go,...
the good music,...
I am always happy when they put on some Jazz,... they use a record player,... this is really cool...
Let's take a sit in the sofas at the window...
I regularly come here because you just feel,...
this is a place to come to if you want something trendy...
and the coffee tastes very qualitative...
Café Capitale is everything about Coffee,...
their coffee roaster is located here and they roast their own coffee beans under the name Black Potion...
As you watch the menu of Café Capitale,
you see that what they offer like coffee and teas has origins from all over the world,...
Colombia,... Ethiopia,... Kenya...
There is also a shop here with the Black Potion products...
We need to order at the bar,...
Unfortunately last times when I ordered it was difficult for me to get a welcoming smile from the baristas,...
and one barista specifically can not hide that she can not stand me,...
so that's spoiling my experience for one part...
that's something I notice here,...
these barista are maybe qualitative in what they do but for me they fail in being friendly....
I have been coming here now maybe 10 times and they could not care less...
maybe I can pull out a smile from them this time... Let's order...
Table of content:
What did I tasted? / Menu / Specialities / Interior design / Price / Location / Opening hours / Seating Options / Shop / Toilet / Customer service / Friendliness / Waiting time / Public transport / Contact / Bring your laptop? / Neighbourhood atmosphere
What did I tasted?
The batch brew coffee... it's the selection of the day... I don't have to wait and it's a good quantity, so not a small coffee... I like it... It's a tastefull black, sweet, and a bit bitter, hot coffee in a glass... Sadly they never say which coffee selection you received...
The filter coffee Colombia Luis Marcelino... You order this coffee at the bar,... get a number,... and you receive it a couple of minutes later at your table... On the menu they discribe it as honey + strawberry flavoured... and indeed,... the strawberry I can really recognise... I asked, and this taste really comes from the beans... So I suggest you at least try it once... It's an experience... I am more of a strong hot bitter black coffee guy... at least,... that's the coffee I know and am used to... I will probably not take it again because it was not hot and strong enough and too sweet for me, but it's an experience,... this changes to way you see coffee...
Menu:
I still have some questions about the menu… but yeah,... I will write here what I understand of it… There are 2 menu’s:... the espresso menu and the filter coffee menu... The espresso menu refers not to a small coffee but to the way the coffee is prepared… Regular coffee and an espresso consists of coffee beans and hot water... but an espresso is made under higher pressure:... water is forced through the ground coffee within 30 seconds... and for regular coffee,... the hot water is slowly filtered through the ground coffee... So I guess all the coffee options you see in the espresso menu are made the espresso way…
First in the coffee without milk section you have a double espresso,... a long black... and a special option… a light roast allongé… they explain it as a ‘revised version of the black coffee: an aroma bomb and a punchy body feeling’,... I think they mean a revised version of the long black coffee because I can not see just a black coffee on the menu… and a café allongé means a long coffee... Then you have the milk section with known options like a cappu,... a flat white,... a latte and one I had to look up,... a cortado,... it’s an espresso with at least 30-50% hot milk and is known in Spain,... Portugal... and Cuba....
In the iced section you have a cold brew,... and iced tea,... and the rest are special options... For the iced latte it seams you also have an option to choose for the Freddo variant... I have to ask what this variant includes... Than you have a Sudachi espresso,... Sudachi is a citrus fruit of Japanese origin and a espresso tonic... I think these last two options already explain themselves... an espresso with citrus and a espresso with tonic...
Then you have a other section with some teas and chocolat... For the teas you have a chai latte,... a matcha latte,... a tea selection,... I don’t know what this selection is... and a cascara tea... which according to the menu is a coffee cheries infusion... I looked it up…Cascara comes from the Spanish word cáscara,... which means husk or peel... this tea is made from the dried skin of coffee plant berries,... also known as coffee cheries... Apparently vegan milk,... like oat and sprout milk... are free... I don’t know if you can choose these free options or if they use standard vegan options in their coffee and then not charge them...
Then you have the filter coffee menu where they say ‘The Art of Hand Brewing’... You have 5 hand brewed coffee options... Sometimes they clearify what the taste will be and that is good... But for the African bestsellers you have a small description which is Chinese to me… Then the batch brew comes under the hand brewing menu... Normally with the batch brew you get your filter coffee with a filter coffee machine,... so it is not hand brewed,... but here it looks to be under the same menu... Hand brew means the barista makes the coffee without a machine...
I often take the batch brew,... which is the selection of the day,... I take it because for me it’s a good quantity,... not a small coffee... But it’s the selection of the day and the baristas never say which selection it is... It’s like ordering the beer of the month in a pub and not knowing which beer you received... Then they clearify the filter coffees are extracted with orea brewer and sibarist filter... I think this is information that is not relevant to 95% of their customers… I should look it up to make sense out of it... Maybe they can have a separate brochure with this professional information,... and give it upon request,... but for me,... a normal customer who just knows what a cappuchino is,... this information makes the menu unnecesary difficult... You often have not much time to order and you feel maybe al little bit under pressure to order because the baristas are waiting for your order... then a menu should be as simple and clear as possible... And last but not least,... apparently you can have all this filter coffee options in an ice version,... which costs you 60 cents more... I know I am strict in my review,... but I am a little bit to often not treated kindly by a specific barista...
Specialities:
Interior design:
The design is modern... They use a lot of wood,... light colors,... maybe a little bit a Scandinavian vibe... And there are many windows for views on the streets... The interior is sober but they brightened it up with a few plants.
Price:
The prices are ok for me,... The hand brewed filter coffee menu is always a bit more expensive... It's possible these high prices are normal prices because you buy quality and you receive extra work from the barista to make a hand brewed coffee... And I also don't know the amount you reveive of hand brewed coffee,... I should ask it...
Location:
Zuidstraat 45 in Brussels,... it is close to The Bourse,... the Brussels Stock Exchange building,... and 2 minutes away of the Grand-Place...
Opening hours:
Every day from 08.30 to 19.00.
Seating options:
There are enough seating options in and outside,... there is a terras outside... I think even groups of 5-7 people can easily find a spot... You have 6 sofa seats,... something of 11 tables for 2 persons in the general seating area... You have 4 seats at a bar... and there is one extra room with a few seats... Haven't been in that extra room yet...
Shop:
Toilet:
Terrible... I was shocked... it looked like a junky toilet... graffiti tags on the walls,... only 1 toilet for men and women,... the size is good, like a toilet for disabled persons,... but It had a general sense over it of being not clean... the toilet was half broken so the ladies can not even sit !... the ladies can not... even... sit...! there was no toilet seat... yeah, this was very shamefull and sad... Another time, three older Dutch persons sat next to me and I could easily folow their conversation... they were complaining about the general poor quality toilets in Belgium,... they also said that in the Netherlands in some places it's not better but that aside,... and haha,... one of them wanted to go to the toilet in this place... hahah... I was thinking,... man,... this wil be your crown jewel of bad toilet experiences... and indeed,... when he came up he said,... 'Only one toilet and there was no toilet seat!'...
Customer service:
I don't have to wait long... so that's good.... For languages I can not be helped in Dutch and only one barista tries a little bit... They all speak French... No idea for English...
Friendliness of staff:
Not heartwarming, my general impression is that all these baristas all have long faces... One girl only smiles when I smile first and one lady is almost rude towards me... For friendliness there is a problem here in my opinion.
Waiting time:
I took the batch brew and I always received it immediately at the bar... Sometimes I see some people waiting for their order... It works like this... you order at the bar and you receive a number which you take with you at a table... then when your order is ready a barista comes looking for you... I should test it better,... I don't know if you have to wait long...
Public transport:
Train: 10 minutes walking from Brussels-Central Station,... 20 minutes walking from the Brussels South Station,... it is called Bruxelles-Midi in French... and more than 20 minutes walking from the Brussels Nord Station.
Metro:
Contact:
Bring your laptop?
Yes,... there are enough seating options... You have WiFi and sockets... I like to sit in the sofa with my laptop and watch people stroll by.
Neighbourhood atmosphere:
This is really the city center so the atmosphere is lively with people from the early morning... Also this area has a lot of shops because it is close to the Grand-Place and the Boulevard Anspach,... the Boulevard Anspach is a part of the North-South axis and the North South axis is the thicking heart of the city.
LGBTQ+ district
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