Bars & cafes – All our local tips

This small and cozy place is located in the shadow of the Carolus Borromeus Church, one Antwerp’s five Monumental churches.

You can drink all kinds of special coffees, milkshakes and hot chocolates. Newspapers, magazines and interesting books of Antwerp history you can read while nipping from your cup…  You can order many types of hot Choco, coffees and milkshakes with special flavours…

The owner of this friendly bar will serve you whatever you wish for with a big smile! Sometimes that’s all you need, right?

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bar Choq | Bars
Minderbroedersrui 64 | Meir | +32494657243
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 18:00

Since 2003 Antwerp has a super popular coffee bar very close to the Meir, our little shopping paradise… Caffénation is a bit hidden, but that doesn’t mean it is not noticed. It’s a small place where coffee is the sacred wonder thing. The owner is in love with coffee (they say he even attends coffee tastings). They sell a lot of original coffees with a creative touch. If you want a latte art, caffè machiato, single blend ristretto, decaf soy cappuccino or iced vanilla latte; they have it. They also have soy milk. And they don’t forget tea lovers and chocolate lovers. They sell for example a drink with Maltezers.

You can drink your coffee in a sofa or at a big table with a newspaper or a magazine. When you leave you can also buy some coffee. A talk with the owner makes you believe it is not possible to survive without coffee.

I love to come there. It has everything a what a coffee lover like me wants. But I’m not the only one that likes it there. There’s also the rest of Antwerp. It’s a great place for a quick meeting with a friend, for a little pause after shopping. I never stay long. It is one of the very hot spots in town and sometimes that’s a pity…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Caffènation | Bars, Coffee & tea | Espresso of the week € 1.80
Hopland 64 | Meir | +32486323015
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 19:30, Sat 09:00 – 20:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

This old and cozy bar you’ll find in the shadow of the former french Opera of Antwerp: Bourla schouwburg.

This very posh area doesn’t stroke with the atmosphere inside or on the terrace.  It has a no-nonsense feeling and you get your coffee with a filter.

One thing you must order whenever feeling hungry: boterham smos spek (sandwich bacon with salade). Cheap and tasty: a combination I like the most!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
De Duifkens | Bars, Snacks | Sandwich € 3.50
Graanmarkt 5 | Meir | +3232251039
From 10:00 daily

This little café is called ‘de Reus’ which means ‘The Giant’ and that’s how you feel when enter the bar. Only a few people can join you to drink a unique beer called ‘Nello’ or ‘Patrasche’.

It’s a beer called after the world famous story of ‘The Dog Of Flanders’ (writer: Marie Louise de la Ramée). It’s located at the Grote Markt near the cityhall. Fantastic view in the very center of the city…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
De Reus | Bars | Beer € 2.00
Grote Markt 22 | Meir | +3232132282
Wed – Mon 11:00 – late

A couple of years ago the neighborhood around the falconplein was a different world. It was a square with dubious shops ran by the Russian mafia and Georgian gangsters. They say it was possible to buy grenades under the table, and the smuggling in fake products and girls from the east were big business then. The falconplein was/is also at the edge of the red light district.

When the city decided to ‘clean up’ the square in 2007 this was very successful. Not so adventurous anymore but today it is a more pleasant square where crime isn’t longer the most important thing.

On the first and the third Sunday of every month there is a market for biological products. And on the square you can find the nice café Bartilia. It is called Bartilia because of the former trees that stood on the square. They were all limetrees (’Tilia’). When they redesigned the square all the lime trees had to go.

The owners of Bartilia wanted to make a statement and they named the cafe after the trees. Bartilia is a cosy cafe for young and old, but especially for the young. In weekends it can be busy but it is always nice to be there. It is allowed to smoke in there. The atmosphere is good.

On Sunday it is nice to combine the market with a coffee in Café Bartilia. But be careful, sometimes the café opens a little bit later than planned…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Falconplein – Bartilia | Bars, Coffee & tea
Falconplein 43 | Eilandje | +32484157995
Autumn/Winter 15:00 – 03:00 daily | Spring/Summer 11:00 – 03:00 daily

This Café located in the South part of the city is probably the most famous café… Opinions vary about this spot, it’s just personal flavour. But when you’re looking for a spot to enjoy some jazz this is one of the better options in Antwerp.

I ain’t much of a jazz lover but I can appreciate the soft sound while enjoying a beer. Gigs are organised twice a week on Sunday starting from 16h and on Monday evening. Occasionally there are more concerts, check their website for more details.

Besides the jazzy atmosphere of this café, its terrace is one of the best to capture the most sun during the day. The view on the Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts (see the Royal Museum of Arts article) adds even more value to the terrace.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Hopper Café | Bars
Leopold de Waelplaats 2 | Zuid
Daily

I often come in the café/restaurant K. Zeppos. The name comes from a Belgian tv-programme for kids: Kapitein Zeppos. It played in the years 1964 till 1968 and was very successful.

When you enter the café you see a very big picture of the actor that played Kapitein Zeppos (Senne Rouffaer).

K. Zeppos is a very ‘practical’ café/restaurant. It’s in the middle of the city, but not in the heat of the tourist-zone. It has an enormous terrace on a big square in summer and in winter it is very comfortable inside. Good atmosphere, nice food for an okay price. It’s not cheap, but also not very expensive. Only their tea is way too expensive. That’s why I never drink tea in the K. Zeppos.

It’s a perfect meeting-place for little groups. If I want to see a bunch of my friends we think easily of K.Zeppos. Especially if some people have to eat. You can eat classic Belgian food, but they have also meals from all over the world. It’s a good place where I like to come from time to time…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
K. Zeppos | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | Main meal from € 15.00
Vleminckveld 78 | Meir | +3232311789
From 10:00 daily

The exclusive and fantastic feeling you get whenever nipping from your royal bubbles, is just the beginning of a fancy trip into the city.

This is the place the city of Antwerp threw the biggest parties in the 20th century.

This bar is located in the golden Stadsfeestzaal inside an enormous glass of Champagne!

You can drink champagne or a coffee, a tea or fresh orangejuice.

It’s the perfect place to start or end your shoppingday…

If the champagne doesn’t make you dizzy, then for sure the view will…

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Laurent Perrier | Bars | Glass of LP Champagne € 11.00
Meir 78 | Meir | +32475775812
Mon – Thu & Sat 09:00 – 20:00, Fri 09:00 – 21:00

I have always thought geeks were antisocial, but I was rather wrong. Let me first include the Marriam-Webster dictionary definition of geek: “is a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc.”

Fortunately in Antwerp there is a place for those obsessed characters, and they all gather at the Outpost, which for me it is the coolest place to play. First of all it opens at noon and closes when the last person finishes playing, so it can be very late. Do not get me wrong, this is a store but a very special one.

The atmosphere is quiet nice. The tables are usually full with people playing ‘Magic’, or some other card game; you can also play online in one of the computers at the back. Drinks and snacks are available at decent prices and you can socialize with other players. Another advantage? the language barrier is not a problem because all the people playing here master English and most of them are really friendly.

In short: this is like the play room of a Japanese kid filled with games and people sharing snacks and drinks served by the always friendly staff.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Outpost | Art & culture, Bars, Relaxing
Beggaardenstraat 6 | Sint Andries
From 11:30 daily

A very black coffee, a magazine or newspaper, a free hot-spot to work a bit, good music and a pleasant atmosphere. One of my favorite places on the South side of the city is Revista (Spanish for magazine). It is a very good place to meet friends and be the first to arrive, way to early.

They have a various offer of magazines and newspapers, national and international. The also offer music (USA imports) for sale. It is easy to stay and let the hours pass by. It feels like my living room on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Even when it’s Thursday morning.

They sell fresh soup and sandwiches, so you could really stay there for days. But it closes at 20:00 so eventually you’ll have to leave…

I like it very much because I live nearby and I like places that make me feel at home. But after three coffees I have to drink something else, because the coffee is way to black for me… But they have a great sandwich (the serranoham I can really recommend!)

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Revista | Bars
Karel Rogierstraat 47 | Zuid
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 10:00 – 20:00, Sun 11:00 – 20:00

Spoor Noord is a brand new park in Antwerp. It’s located in the North of the city centre. Spoor Noord is a contemporary urban landscape park. It combines nature, light, space, relaxation, culture, sports and events.

The western section of the park includes a number of play areas, a bmx and skate park and in summer a summer terrace (Cargo). Next to Cargo you find playgrounds for kids, two of them are Water Playgrounds (only in spring and summer) with fountains. So you can watch your kids playing while enjoying a cocktail.

The other part of the park includes football and basketball terrains. It also has a summer bar: Usuma Express. A quiet, relaxed place where you can drink the best bio lemonades and even a bio beer. We always go to Usuma Express when we don’t have kids with us or when we are not in the mood for the crowd at Cargo.

The entire park has a lot of free space to sunbath, picknick or relax.

Viva the sun & Spoor Noord! Spring & Summer we are waiting for you!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Spoor Noord | Bars, Relaxing | Free
Viaduct Dam, Noorderlaan | Eilandje
Daily

The Witzli-Poetzli (they say the name comes from the book The Master and Margarita from Boelgakov – Huitzilopochtli is a wargod of the Aztecs) is a very small café in the center of center of the citycenter. It is next to our great cathedral. In the summer there’s an unique terras in the shadow of the cathedral. In the winter it is a cosy place where people come to drink coffee and read a newspaper.

In the narrow street of the Witzli are no cars allowed and there are practically no shops. It is a passing-through-street. A lot of people pass by and from the Witzli-Poetzli you have a perfect view! In winter there’s a lot of wind in the street, so you can see very funny situations that happen to by-passers.

The former owner – Guido – died very sudden in December 2008, a couple of weeks after a fight in his cafe. This was a enormous shock for a lot of people in Antwerp. And of course: what would happen to the Witzli?! Antwerp wouldn’t be te same without! We are very lucky that a former barman took over the café and that he keeps the Witzli like it was.

I visit the Witzli-Poetzli a lot. It is the most ideal spot to meet friends or to rest after a walk in the city. But the most important reason is their white coffee (café au lait). I never drink white coffee, but it is such a genius form of white coffee that I always want to drink it when I come there. Don’t let them tell you something else.

Don’t leave Antwerp without tasting the Witzli-coffee!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Witzli-Poetzli | Bars, Coffee & tea
Blauwmoezelstraat 8 | Meir
From 10:00 daily

This is actually not one of the spots I visit often, but every once and a while when a friend is visiting from out of town I take them here. The view from the second floor café/brasserie is just breath taking.

The food is good, service is good but the view is the thing you should come for. From behind the big windows you have an excellent view over the river and the left bank of Antwerp.

There is also a big terras outside, but most of the time it’s quite windy, I prefer the inside.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Zuiderterras | Bars, Snacks | Meal € 20
Ernest Van Dijckkaai 37 | Sint Andries
09.00 – 00.00 daily