Best restaurants in Antwerp: where a local chef eats and drinks

Looking for Antwerp restaurants? Antwerp, Belgium’s cosmopolitan port-side city, known as a diamond brokering hub, is also one of Europe’s leading art and design centres, and has a thriving food scene.

Local chef Viki Geunes runs the three Michelin starred Zilte in Antwerp. He says: "Antwerp has always had a magnetic effect on me: when Gitte, my daughter, was born, my wife Viviane and I would spend so many Monday afternoons together, the three of us, in the city. Time to talk, to discover new restaurants, to enjoy great food and each other's company. When the opportunity came to move Zilte to the MAS Museum, it was impossible to think twice. It's a place I keep enjoying and discovering day after day, and the position we are in, on top of such an incredible building, with the view and the landscape that continue to inspire us." Here he shares his picks of the best places to eat and drink in the city.

For more local city guides, check out our picks of the best restaurants in Nice, San Sebastián and Amsterdam.

Best places to eat and drink in Antwerp

Escape the bustle at Salon de Thé Claude

Tucked away in a romantic alley in the city centre, this charming spot is perfect for escaping the bustle. In the morning, Claude's signature breakfast comprises croissants, a boiled egg, ham, cheese, salmon and fresh fruit. For that extra touch there's also a champagne option. In the afternoon, enjoy a quiet tea with beautifully crafted pastries, including freshly baked scones. salondetheclaude.be

Get a coffee at Et Claire

The interior is so chic that you'll want to stay for a second coffee: a proper boutique of viennoiserie. Don't skip the croissants (there are quite a few varieties to choose from), they are too good to miss. et-claire.com

The best breakfast at Botanic Sanctuary

The most elaborate and detailed breakfast experience in Antwerp can be found at this five-star hotel – an oasis of calm right in the heart of the city and Antwerp's first member of Leading Hotels of the World. The carefully curated historic setting meets, as the name itself suggests, a harmonious space of comfort and luxury. The Catalpa is the dedicated room for the Botanic Breakfast Experience: natural sunlight greets you at the start of a truly proper morning foodie experience. botanicantwerp.be/gastronomy/breakfast-experience/

Head to Bistrot L'Îlot for lunch

This Parisian-inspired bistro – with influences from neighbouring Italy and Austria too – is located in the 't Eilandje neighbourhood, just like Zilte. Enjoy a casual lunch in this cosy restaurant, without sacrificing on a good glass of wine. Tip: if you’re in a hurry there is also L'îlot to Go, a takeaway concept with excellent sandwiches. bistrotlilot.be

Relax for lunch at Cobra House

This is the newest location of the Cobra family, situated inside a historic pastor’s house in Markgrave district and complete with a big garden. The beautiful interior décor gives an instant Paris vibe to set the mood. Enjoy easy-going dishes made with top-quality ingredients: the à la carte opens with pizzettes, moves through a selection of pasta dishes and on to meat and seafood mains, all served by the ever-friendly crew. cobra-antwerp.com/cobra-house/

Sip cocktails at Bar Burbure

This is the best cocktail bar in Antwerp to enjoy signature drinks – such as the Apple Martini, Hemingway Daiquiri and Not So Old Cuban – in a sophisticated setting. The menu features monthly specials alongside Bar Burbure's Legacy cocktails. Tijn, Sander and their team bring impeccable service, with great care and attention to detail. barburbure.be

Have a glass of wine at Goddaard

Located on the most beautiful square in Antwerp (in the historic heart of the city, in a building dating back to 1505), the wine list here is truly one of a kind. It has one of the largest wine cellars in Antwerp. Only open on Fridays and Saturdays but absolutely worth planning around. wijnbistrogoddaard.be

Try Soixante for Polish cuisine

Polish chef Jakub Blogowski honours his roots with a creative take on Polish cuisine, offering something unique and refreshing in Antwerp's casual dining scene. Seasonal and ingredient-focused. soixanteantwerp.be

Pick up pastries at Domestic Bakery

With one of its locations within walking distance of my home it's a personal tradition to pick up croissants and bread to start off the weekend. Founders Julien and Sophie Burlat care deeply about using ancient grains and it shows: the products are genuine, fragrant and delicious. domestic-bakkerij.be

Book a special meal at The Jane

It recently moved to a new location with a fresh aesthetic – a brutalist style that somehow never feels cold. Lunch or dinner in an intimate setting, with all tables facing the open kitchen at the centre. The perfect spot for a special occasion. thejaneantwerp.com

Spend time exploring Antwerp's Chinatown

Antwerp's Chinatown is located near Central Station, where you'll find a mix of restaurants and grocery stores. Don't expect polished, styled interiors, but that's not why you're here. This is the place for authentic Asian cuisine, and Fong Mei and Ni Shifu are two of my personal favourites.

Make sure you try traditional Belgian cuisine

Without any question, Au Vieux Port and Marcel are among my favourite restaurants. Both are located within walking distance of Zilte – convenient, I know. With their classic French restaurant settings they offer the finest representation of traditional Belgian-French cuisine, paired with excellent wine lists.

More places to eat and drink in Antwerp from the olive team

De Muze

De Muze has been going since the 1960s and has a distinguished reputation amongst Antwerp’s jazz lovers and beer drinkers. Sprawled over three floors, spiral staircases twist up through the brick-lined, barn-like space where you can find little balconies to perch on and catch a glimpse of the stage below.

De Muze has a very approachable, laid-back crowd, with not an ounce of the snobbery that some jazz bars have. Musicians rest their Belgian beers on the speakers, piano and bar and take sips between jams, while locals and tourists alike tap their toes to the grooves. jazzcafedemuze.be

Normo Coffee

This pretty, tiled coffee shop, on the corner of a cobbled square, is popular among local coffee aficionados. Why? Because it’s jam-packed with geeky coffee equipment, from a large black Marzocco Strada espresso machine to a slick table-top grinder. Five V60 filters are lined up along one side of the coffee counter, balanced on copper pipes, ready to brew smooth filter coffees. If you’ve had too much caffeine that day, try a refreshing ginger lemonade for something punchy and uplifting.

The shabby-chic vibe (uncovered brick walls, mismatched repurposed tiles, large sharing tables) lends itself to kicking back for a couple of hours with an espresso, filter coffee or flat white. normocoffee.be

Café de Kat

We loved the laid-back calm in this old-style, mustard-tiled Belgian café bar. Founded in 1912, it has been passed down through three generations of women. Don’t expect anything too fancy: visiting here is all about stepping back in time, enjoying Belgian beers on tap (De Koninck and a dark ale brewed by monks) and listening to jazz crackling through the tin speakers.

Sit back against panelled, mirrored walls on a battered leather banquette along the back with a vista of buzzy daily life outside and a slice of old times inside. @cafedekat

Frites Atelier

Considering the country’s reputation for frites, it seems a bit odd that one of the most talked about ‘frituur’ in Antwerp actually comes from Amsterdam. However, when the frites are this golden and crisp (like perfect roast potatoes) it doesn’t matter that they may not be traditionally Flemish.

Watch the chefs pour bowls of freshly fried golden chips and assemble gourmet toppings. These include traditional Flemish beef stew slow-cooked in brown beer and sprinkled with pickled mustard seeds, or sweet and nutty mimolette cheese with truffle mayo. Choose from five varieties of mayo, from classic to curry to Béarnaise.

This frituur is also much more upmarket than some of the city’s more traditional chip shops, with huge marble counters, a giant mosaic logo embedded into the wooden floorboards, and marble sauce decanters fitted with gold taps. Stand round a high table outside or, if you’re lucky, bag one of the banquettes to sit round one of the handful of tables inside. fritesatelieramsterdam.com

The Chocolate Line

The grand palace that this chocolatier is housed in gives Belgium’s most famous product the reverence it deserves. Tucked away off Antwerp’s main shopping street, the Meir, The Chocolate Line is a chocolate shop and working chocolate factory.

Pick from cabinets of jewel-like treats, from traditional pralines to more unusual chocolates (try the sake-infused chocolate). Don’t leave without paying a visit to the chocolate lab at the back, where liquid chocolate is poured into moulds and crafted to form elaborate statues. thechocolateline.be

De Koninck Brewery

If you want a taste of Belgian beer during your stay in Antwerp, De Koninck Brewery is a must. Their interactive tour is fun and informative.

Sip on samples of De Koninck’s brews (including its signature Bolleke Koninck beer) as you learn about the blends through sight, smell and sound. Make sure you factor in time to enjoy the smart tasting tray of beers in the bar at the end, and visit Van Tricht, the on-site cheesemonger, to try the creamiest Belgian cheeses. dekoninck.be

Tinsel

This tiny spot near the museum district is a lesson in how to do ‘homemade’ well. The counter at the back heaves with freshly made biscuits, conserves and little bottles of iced ginger tea, with brown paper bags of homemade cinnamon-y granola to take away.

If you’d prefer to stay put, bag a spot at the wooden sharing table, hop onto a stool in the window or sink into a wicker chair in the pretty plant-filled alcove to enjoy a lazy brunch. Try scrambled eggs with roast red peppers, pumpkin seeds, feta and smoked paprika with homemade bread, or overnight chia oats with orange marmalade, cardamom and pistachios with a booster ginger spice shot.

Tinsel allows vegan dishes to shine, from pickled carrots on toast with spicy red pepper hummus, to roast pumpkin and parsnip salad with kale and parsnip dressing, and even vegan French toast with grilled pears, roasted hazelnuts and maple. tinsel.be

Dellafille

Dellafaille has been baking for 80 years and counting. Pop in to this corner patisserie and bakery to pick up perfect little cakes and pastries – mini javanais sponge cakes with layers of almond sponge and coffee buttercream with thick chocolate ganache topping, intricate lemon meinrgue pie towers, or crisp pastries (chocoladebroodje pain au chocolats, apple turnovers and donut-like boule de berlin) to accompany your coffee. Do like the trendy Zuid locals and enjoy them sitting up at the marble counter.

There are blocks of Belgium’s famous cinnamon-y speculaas biscuits, and cellophane ribbon-tied versions, to take home as edible souvenirs. They even have eight types of Belgian pistolets in different shapes and sizes (tiger pistolet, black forest dark rye studded with seedsm elongated Parisienne, and poppyseed to name a few). dellafaille.net

Fiskebar

This neighbourhood spot, on Marnixplaats roundabout in Het Zuid, is very popular among locals, selling itself as a light and bright corner room that’s part-living room part-restaurant. The building’s former life as a fishmongers manifests itself in the white tiles, a chalkboard running along the top of the walls, and a poster educating diners on the various species of fish.

Calamari to ceviche of sea bream, shellfish to sole, there are plenty of platters to choose from, along with appetisers of periwinkles and North Sea shrimp, and smart plates of fresh fish adorned with flowers and piped potato purée. Locals head here for the bouillabaisse, a huge portion of tomato-based broth filled with generous chunks of sea bream, sea bass and cod along with razor clams and mussels.

Pop in to chic Osterbar (oyster bar) next door for a round of oysters if you can’t stop for long. fiskebar.be

Buchbar

Pigs and farmyard scenes on the tiles skirting the top of the walls are a subtle nod to this small bookshop/café’s former life as a butchers in the 1940s. The owners had to leave during the war, and the shop is now a gallery where the owners curate books, stationery and postcards. Shelves are lined with bright and colourful memorabilia – a blow-up parrot, table tennis bats, plants.

Try a De Drie Wilgen organic juice, made in a town 20km outside Antwerp from freshly pressed apples and beetroot. Delve further into the back of the shop to the bright yellow café alcove and enjoy coffee and homemade cakes (wild berry crumble tart, gluten-free pear, almond and polenta cake). buchbar.be

Where to stay in Antwerp – Hotel Pilar

Looking for a great-value Antwerp hotel? This neighbourhood restaurant, bar and boutique hotel, on one of Zuid’s most lively squares, is a lesson in contemporary design. The rooms all boast unique features – from the ‘classic’ room’s concrete ceiling and black freestanding bath, to the ‘gold’ room’s namesake gold wall behind the bed (plus it has a green-tiled bath fit for a mermaid), and the ‘eco’ room’s many textures, including earthy walls, wooden floorboards on the ceiling, and a wooden bathtub. Terrace suites have private balconies where you can watch the sunset.

Homely touches are evident in each room, from the hotel’s bespoke wool blankets in intense greens and blues, to Le Labo Santal 33 bath products, and coffee machines for early morning wake ups.

Hotel Pilar’s food bar spans the whole of the ground floor, and is dominated by a huge counter where cocktails, coffees and breakfasts are prepared. Elsewhere, little seating areas are dotted around, including a squishy sofa area tucked behind banana plants, and a cushioned bench and tables clinging to a wall lined with mirrors in funky frames.

Breakfast at Hotel Pilar is a choice of three smart breakfast plates – we tried ‘le fish’ with smoked salmon, fresh bread, whipped ricotta and soft boiled egg, but there’s also the more traditional continental ‘pilar’ with croissants, cheese and meats, and a healthy granola breakfast. All come with a fresh juice and your choice of hot drink, served in earthy ceramic mugs.

hotelpilar.be

How to get to Antwerp

Hop on the Eurostar at London St Pancras and pull in three hours later, via a quick change in Brussels, to Antwerp’s stunning art nouveau railway station, Central. Return fares start from £70 (eurostar.com).

Photographs and words by Alex Crossley

Photographs: Lennert Deprettere, Piet de Kersgieter, Frederik Vereruysse, Christian Kober/Getty images

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