Meir – Local tips (bars & cafes)

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?

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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…

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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!

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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…

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De Reus | Bars | Beer € 2.00
Grote Markt 22 | Meir | +3232132282
Wed – Mon 11:00 – late

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…

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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…

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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

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!

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Witzli-Poetzli | Bars, Coffee & tea
Blauwmoezelstraat 8 | Meir
From 10:00 daily