Meir – Local tips (coffee & tea)

when I go shopping at ‘Wilde Zee’, I have to get an ice cream from Bieke (summer, winter, it doesn’t matter!).

Hallelujah, you won’t believe how good this tastes. They make everything fresh, all year long. My favourite is the banana taste!

And when you don’t feel like eating ice cream, have a waffle… they’re yummy too!

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‘T Bieke | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Ice cream € 1.00
Korte Gasthuisstraat 8 | Meir | +323231659
Mon 11:00 – 19:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00

This is realy brunch & lunch heaven for me. Whenever I’m there it feels like my grandfather is preparing me my favorite food in his own special way, like only he knows how.

Delicious sandwiches are served here. Every ingredient is home made with special care… you can see that!

It’s a nice environment where you can relax on your own, experience great food with a newspaper or enjoy the company of your friends over a delicious meal.

There’s a terrace when the weather is fine.

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Beauz | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Main Meal € 15.00
Mechelsesteenweg 12 | Meir
Tue – Sat 09:00 – 21:00

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

Despite of what some people might think about Antwerp inhabitants, we do not only shop and eat… we also drink coffee! Not so long ago I thought the only way to have a home-like-coffee-drinking-experience did not exist, but it actually does.

The place resembles a big living room with comfy couches, nice decoration with a great atmosphere. This is indeed one of the few places in Antwerp where different generations and backgrounds drink together in harmony: babies with their mothers and grandparents, people in their twenties, in their thirties, Belgian, British, Dutch… this is actually a great place to network.

The specialty of the house is the ‘Antwerpse coffee’ prepared with one of the most typical Antwerpian spirits: Elixir d’Anvers.  The Coffee of the Month’ in February is a mix of almond liquor and speculaas spice.

No doubt this is one of my favorite places in the whole country not only because the coffee is great, original, and versatile, but because my man (one of the most

anti-coffee-persons) actually enjoys having a drink of coffee. I think I finally converted him.

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Monte Cristo | Coffee & tea | Coffee € 2.00
Pelgrimstraat 14 | Meir | +32032331078
Mon, Thu – Fri 14:00 – 20:00, Sat 11:00 – 20:00, Sun 11:00 – 18:00

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