Press Club Brussels Europe #WeLoveBrussels | Page 12

#WeLoveBrussels The «London», a special place just in front of the European Parliament by Frank Schwalba-Hoth Frank Schwalba-Hoth, German, founding member of the German Greens and former MEP. Since he left the European Parliament in 1987, he has been a consultant and networker in Brussels. He was director of the Greenpeace liaison office for several years. Since 1989 Frank Schwalba-Hoth is organising monthly networking events called Soirée Internationale with 40 to 60 participants from different professional, cultural, national and social backgrounds. Why? Why do I love the «London»? Why do I love this restaurant on Place Luxembourg in front of the European Parliament (EP) - why not one of the other seven restaurants on that square? Like always with love - there are rational and irrational reasons. The irrational ones we should put besides in this context - they are emotional: owners and personal treat you extremely friendly and respectful; guests who only speak Italian or Chinese, groups of a dozen who arrive to eat without reservation or the lonely journalist sitting for three hours with only one cup of tea quietly in the corner (I have seen this all) - they are all treated with understanding, efficiently and with a smile. But let’s concentrate on the rational reasons, why the London is a «must» in the EU quarter. After 32 years in Brussels (I arrived here in 1984 as the first Green Member of the EP), I have chosen the London as my preferred drinking, eating and networking place in the EU quarter. There are four reasons to explain this. Reason one: three quality places in one. Inside the building they have 27 tables with 60 chairs (I counted them for this article) with a cuisine which is top in pasta, wok and salad (as I am vegetarian, my 12 judgement on the meat is an indirect one: I see the staff of the neighbouring restaurants consuming regularly their steak in the London - certainly a sign for quality ...).For the smokers they have a covered terrace as space number two with drinks and food, which is not only crowded during football competitions (two big TV screens). Space number three is an outside open air terrace with sun and sometimes (we are in Belgium!) rain.