Archives for “Restaurants” tag

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!

This is absolutely my new favorite in Antwerp! It’s not known by many people but a real treasure to cherish. Il Gallo Nero is an Italian restaurant owned by a Belgian – Italian couple. It’s Italian, but the Italian man handles the service, his wife takes care of the excellent dishes. You ‘ll find some great Italian dishes here with a touch of Belgian influences. The food is of great quality here.

What adds more to the charm is the nice man who serves you. He’s Milanese born and only speaks french & Italian (fluently). He explains everything he serves in a way only an Italian can. The food, the people: honest, nice and excellent quality.

And while you are there, take a moment to enjoy the nice scenery you’ve entered. Some nice paintings and some traditional Italian kitsch…this all served with carefully selected music by Italian crooners.

I tell you… if you only have one restaurant opportunity in Antwerp, this should be it. Cozy, romantic, …

Some more pictures

Amidst the upcoming grandeur near ‘t Eilandje is a small restaurant that reflects everything the neighbourhood should be about: small, cozy environment with a touch of quality and finesse: L’ile d’ Anvers.

One thing is for sure, the guys who run this restaurant are passionate about their business, and that will be about eight years now. Anyway, I felt comfortable and relaxed from the minute I entered.

They have friendly service with a big honest smile. And the food is great! They serve the slightly better dishes here and charge the right price for that. After dinner you can enjoy the nightlife around the docks and yacht club.

When I’m abroad, I try to avoid restaurants near the train station. Restaurants with menus outside in 5 different languages, sometimes with pictures of the dishes…seldom a successful strategy for a good meal.

But I would recommend this Indian restaurant near Antwerp’s Central Station to anyone. By now, I’ve grown fond of their little ornamental postures still wrapped in plastic foil. The owner more or less knows what I’ll order by now, which makes me feel quite welcome.

After my gin tonic, I prefer the Kashmiri Chicken, a mild dish with lychee and mango based curry. A portion of peshwari naan, filled with raisins and coconut….mmm, delicious. I’ve also tried some of their fish dishes, which are also nice. Or Ghost Malabar, a lamb dish, also nice and recommended by the chef. 

When the weather allows, I’ll sit on the outside terrace where I enjoy the relative calm of the colourful square with restaurants from all over the world located here.

You can also order take out, so it’s also perfect for when I just feel like staying home and not bother cooking.

With over 164, Antwerp is second to Amsterdam and leaves New York as a third in number of the amount of different nationalities in one city. So there is no good reason to be eating Brussels sprouts or waffles everyday. On the contrary.

In Antwerp’s diamond district you will find a lot of Jewish shops. One of my favorite restaurants/takeaways is Hoffy’s. The three Hoffman brothers and their staff cook kosher, Yiddish food. I always take out, but they have plenty of room in the restaurant.

Even though I mostly have a clear idea about what I want to order, so does the staff and they will always try to convince me of a combination that they think would work better. They have a lovely cold pasta with cabbage salad, you pay the cold and warm vegetable dishes per pound, so you can decide for yourself when enough is really enough. I’m also fond of the stuffed pepper with meat or Sefardic chicken. Unfortunately no cheesecake because of the kosher aspect. But no worries, I’ll find some on the way back home!