Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Antwerp for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Antwerp for grown-ups.
Den Engel in Antwerp is the city's best-known brown cafe, anchoring Grote Markt 3 in a building that runs back to the 14th century. Cafe trading on the spot since 1903.
Signature drink: De Koninck Bolleke on tap
Food: Bar snacks, brown-cafe nibbles
Tip: Open daily until 01:00 weekdays, 03:00 weekends. Closer to the Stadhuis side, the bar is busier than the back terrace.
Paeters Vaetje in Antwerp sits in the cathedral's shadow on Blauwmoezelstraat. The list runs deep across Belgian abbey, Trappist and lambic styles.
Signature drink: Belgian Trappist and abbey ales by the bottle
Food: Beer-pairing snacks
Tip: Order a Westvleteren 12 if it's in stock; the cellar list rotates weekly.
Bar Burbure in Antwerp on Vlaamsekaai serves cocktails and a 600-bottle wine list built by a Michelin-trained sommelier. The list rotates with the seasons.
Signature drink: Cocktails and a 600-bottle wine list
Food: Small plates and bar snacks
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The cocktail menu changes quarterly; ask for the sommelier's house pour.
Quinten Matsijs is Antwerp's oldest pub: a 1565 inn on the corner of Moriaanstraat and Hoofdkerkstraat with stained glass, beer steins on every shelf and a 250-year-old tonspel board still in play.
Signature drink: Bolleke De Koninck on draft, plus Westmalle and Chimay
Food: Flemish carbonade, eel in chervil sauce, omelets
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. The kitchen runs until 21:30, so eat early; the Flemish stew in Trappist beer sauce is the room's case.
Witzli-Poetzli in Antwerp is a long-running artists' bar in the cathedral shadow on Blauwmoezelstraat. Candle-lit, vintage, open until late.
Signature drink: Long Belgian beer list, bohemian wines
Food: Tartines and small plates
Tip: The back tables are quieter; the front bar gets loud after 23:00.
L'Entrepôt du Congo in Antwerp on Vlaamsekaai is a long-running brown cafe with a colonial-era interior and a Het Zuid waterfront terrace.
Signature drink: Belgian beer, brown-cafe staples
Food: Brasserie plates
Tip: The terrace seats fill in summer with the Vlaamsekaai weekend crowd.
De Koninck Antwerp City Brewery on Mechelsesteenweg pours its full Bolleke range from a brewery taproom that has run since 1833 in the same building.
Signature drink: De Koninck Bolleke, brewery-fresh
Food: Brasserie plates, tasting boards
Tip: Brewery tour adds a poured Bolleke at the end. Reservations recommended for weekend tours.
Den Bengel on Grote Markt 5 is the smaller neighbour to Den Engel. The Belgian beer list is shorter, the bar quieter, the terrace on the cobbles.
Signature drink: Belgian beer on tap
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: When Den Engel is at capacity, walk two doors right to Den Bengel.
Patine in Antwerp's Zuid is a wine bistro on Leopold de Waelstraat. The list runs natural and orange wines; the kitchen builds small plates around them.
Signature drink: Natural and orange wines by the glass
Food: Charcuterie, small plates
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The bar seats six; reserve a table on busier nights.