Puff-pastry case filled with creamy chicken and mushroom stew, served with frites. The Sunday-lunch staple of Belgian brown cafes.
The vol-au-vent (literally 'windblown') was popularised by Antonin Carême in early 19th-century Paris but adopted across Belgian brasseries. The Antwerp version uses chicken, mushrooms and meatballs in a sherry-spiked velouté inside a tall puff-pastry shell. Brown cafes from Elfde Gebod to Den Engel serve it on Sunday lunch; brasseries like Mampoko and Bistrot Benoit run it year-round.
3 editor picks for Vol-au-vent in Antwerp, ranked by editorial score. All Antwerp signature dishes · Vol-au-vent across every city.
Bistrot Benoit ★ 4.3
historisch-centrum · Zirkstraat 23, 2000 Antwerp
Bistrot Benoit on Zirkstraat is a modern Franco-Belgian bistro on a quiet square at the edge of the old centre. The owners cook playful, ingredient-led plates that read traditional but rarely are.
Den Engel ★ 4.3
historisch-centrum · Grote Markt 3, 2000 Antwerp
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.
Mampoko ★ 4.0
het-zuid · Amerikalei 8, 2000 Antwerp
Mampoko in Antwerp is an all-day brasserie in a restored corner building on Amerikalei. The kitchen serves bistro plates from breakfast through to late dinner.