Belgo was a chain of London restaurants specializing in simple Belgian cooking and Belgian beer. There were five Belgo restaurants: Belgo Centraal (Covent Garden), Belgo Holborn, Belgo Kings Cross, Belgo Nottingham and Belgo Bromley;[1] following closures announced in July 2020.
The chain was noted for its 1990s design and architecture, including kitchens viewable by customers entering the Centraal restaurant, and waiters and waitresses who dressed as monks.
History
Belgo was founded in 1992 by French-Canadian Denis Blais and Anglo-Belgian Andre Plisnier.[2] For a time, the brand was expanded to a chain of bar-diners known as Bierodrome in Clapham, Kingsway, and Islington, and at Belgo Zuid in Ladbroke Grove – all now closed) but it later reverted to the Belgo format.
Belgo was bought in 1998 by ex-stock market trader, newspaper columnist and ex-Chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson—known for his financial stewardship, with colleague Hugh Osmond