Image by Niko Caignie

In a small alley next to the St Vincentius Hospital you can find this quiet and cosy day time lunch-bar. It’s quite new but that doesn’t change its charm.

The interior feels warm and cosy. The food is homemade with care and you just take it out of the counter and pay at the counter.

A very down to earth place and ideal for a relaxed lunch or just to read your newspaper during lunch.

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22b | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Lunch) | Meal € 10.00
Sint-Vincentiusstraat 22B | Zurenborg | +32475674930
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Niko Caignie

Just a little bit outside of Antwerp, 10 minutes by metro, you can find this little park.

This park is very well maintained and has lots of activities inside. There is a free swimming lake, a volleyball field, a tennis field, … and most of all it’s just nice to walk there and escape from the busy city for a while.

There is also a small natural historic museum inside. (€ 1.00 entrance fee)

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Boekenbergpark | Relaxing | Free
Gouverneur holvoetlaan | Zurenborg
08:00 – 22:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Marie by Niko Caignie

If you’re looking for a quick dinner or a casual location to dine, Marie is the place to be!

Marie is a small restaurant near “De Zurenborg”. Very cosy and well decorated interior. And the food is exactly what you expect from a place like this.

It looks plain and simple but it tastes just great. Very down to earth and honest, just as the people who work there. I like places and people like this. Check it out, that’s all I have to say!

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Marie | Restaurants (Mediteranian/French) | Main Meal € 25
Boomgaardstraat 42 | Zurenborg | +32475804022
Wed – Sun from 18:00 – …

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Niko Caignie

Ask any Antwerp local to name some typical things from the city of Antwerp and there will always be “De Koninck” in the answer. Brewery The Koninck was founded in 1827 and has been making great beer ever since. You know we Belgians know how to make beer… well our Antwerp beer is a great one! If you enter any pub and ask for “A Bolleke” you will get a “De Koninck”.

So if you like the beer then you should visit the brewery as well. They’ll guide you through its rich history and brewery secrets. It’s worth a visit!

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Brewery De Koninck | Art & culture
Mechelsesteenweg 291 | Zurenborg | +3232184048
Check Website

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Niko Caignie

When you are wandering through Antwerp you’ll notice that there is wide variety of architecture and styles. You can find old and authentic houses next to the most modern structure imaginable. But… there is one neighbourhood and especially one street where almost all old houses are in their original form or restored in the original form.

On a beautiful day it is interesting to walk from the train station in Berchem (outer city) towards the Draakplaats, a square with several restaurants and cafés. The development of this neighbourhood coincided with the peak of Art Nouveau popularity and has some other influences as Gothic Revival, Neo-Renaissance, Greek Revival, Neoclassical, and the “cottage style” that coincided with British Tudorbethan architecture…

Anyway… despite all this culturally loaded architectural info… it’s just a nice walk with great bombastic houses from another era. Wander around in the nearby streets as well… and take your time to absorb the details of these magnificent buildings. Even I still find new things every time I pass there. And you can end with a nice breakfast or lunch at café Wattman.

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Cogels Osylei | Art & culture
Cogels Osylei | Zurenborg
24 hours daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Niko Caignie

It’s a park… no it’s a museum… no it’s a park… anyway, who cares! This park is a museum as well. Throughout the park you will find many statues of famous and less famous artists. So while you are walking through the park you can enjoy a wide variety of statues.

Statues aren’t really my cup of tea so whenever I’m there I just look at the trees and enjoy the nice environment.

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Middelheim Museum | Art & culture, Relaxing
Middelheimlaan | Zurenborg | +3238271534
Winter 10:00 – 17:00 daily, Summer 10:00 – 20:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Caroline D'hont

You can find this cosy restaurant right above ‘Het Zeezicht’. They even work closely together. You can’t really make reservations, you just walk in. If there’s no place, you get a teddy bear and can go have a drink in the bar beneath. Whenever your table’s ready, the personnel will come and call your teddy bear ☺.

This restaurant serves good, seasonal, fresh food in large portions. The kitchen is Belgian with an international flair to it. They also treat vegetarians really well with a wide range of choices. The steak with herb butter is to die for! Every weekday, there’s a new special and also a ‘surprise menu’ for the dare devils among you!

This is an ideal place for an informal dinner with friends. The interior has a bit of a messy living room feel to it, but it’s oh so cosy. In the summer, you can go have a seat on the balcony (it seats two people!) or on the terrace of Het Zeezicht (check the Het Zeezicht article) and take your pick from a smaller menu (but no worries, the amazing steak is on it!)

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Den Overvloed | Restaurants (International) | Main meal € 12
Dageraadplaats 7 | Zurenborg | +3232355241
Tue – Fri 12:00 – 14:00 & 18:00 – 22:00, Sat – Mon 18:00 -22:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Caroline D'hont

When this bar/restaurant opened about 3 years ago, it was exactly what the neighbourhood needed: a cosy, relaxed, non-smoking place where you can grab a bite, read the newspaper and chat up with friends.

Everyday there’s a new menu with about 5 dishes: a couple of classics, pasta, a vegetarian dish and something oriental. Tasty, honest, not too pricy, almost like how your mother would make it, but with a surprising twist to it! As a late-night snack, you can always grab spaghetti or a fresh bowl of soup.

As for drinks, you’ll have a hard time making your choice: a couple of local beers on tap, as well as a monthly special, great wine and cava. A must-try is ‘roomer’: a flowery liquor that will enlighten your senses. For great karma, drink an organic tea or fruit juice.

The owner always carefully picks the music, a great way to discover new things. He’s even started a graphic novel collection.

This place can be very relaxing as well as really crowded. Either way, I always feel right at home here!

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Café Stanny | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Home-made) | Main € 10
Stanleystraat 1 | Zurenborg | +3232895467
Mon – Sat from 12:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Caroline D'hont

You could call ‘Vertigo’ a real ‘all-round’ bar: Here you can grab breakfast, read the newspaper, meet with friends, drink cocktails at the bar, eat a great burger with fries for only € 6,5 and best of all: enjoy a free jazzy concert at night.

The bar has a dark, chique yet cosy interior. You almost feel like you’re in New York in the fifties. Take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs and enjoy the live music. I believe I once saw the reincarnation of Jacques Brel here.

Check their website for music events, but I don’t know if you’ll ever see Jacques again… That’s the magic of Vertigo!

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Vertigo | Bars, Music, Restaurants (Belgian) | Main meal € 15
Draakplaats 3 | Zurenborg | +3232724500
Daily from 10:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp

Image by Caroline D'hont

In the heart of the Zurenborg area, there’s an amazing square called ‘Dageraadplaats’. It’s a meeting point for everyone who lives in the area and far beyond. It’s always buzzing with activity, and at night a starry sky is lit (you’ll have to see it to believe it!)

The square is completely surrounded by bars and restaurants which all have great qualities – a mediocre bar wouldn’t survive in this critical area- however the ‘king’ of them all would be ‘Het Zeezicht’.

It’s what we Belgians call a classic ‘brown bar’, which means it’s furnished with mirrors, sansevierias and dark wooden tables and paneling. However, the deeper meaning of it is that everybody’s welcome here: from the big group of young hipsters to the older men sitting lonely at a table, deep into thought. This bar is so popular it even has their own cigarette lighters and a bicycle-team!

They serve a wide range of local beers, and also some very tasty snacks (try their Feta Croque Monsieur!). In the summer this bar has a gigantic terrace, which usually spreads out through the night, conquering most of the ‘Dageraadplaats’.

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Het Zeezicht | Bars, Snacks | Beer € 1.80
Dageraadplaats 7 | Zurenborg | +3232351065
Daily from 12:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Antwerp