Antwerp 2023 - first visits

Arriving in Antwerp on Thursday 29 June, after travelling from London to Brussels by Eurostar, the first bar we visited, with our luggage, was De Kroon van Hopland located between the impressive Antwerpen Centraal station and Hostel Pulcinella.

Arriving slightly before the 16:00 hrs opening time, we could watch Thomas perform the daily set up routine involving placement of the outdoor furniture followed by moving the chairs and stools off the marble table tops and onto the hard floor inside the corner bar.

As always, the first beer in Antwerp has to be a locally brewed Bolleke De Koninck. The complimentary nibbles were appreciated by David, Mark and Tim (photographer).

Before we left there was a chance for Tim Thomas to present Thomas T with West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine and appreciate the coincidence of our shared initials. 

The bar has lots of interesting features including a steel sculpture over the entrance and the front of a Volvo car with illuminated headlamps hanging inside. A Threads post by @timofnewbury has more photos from our visit.

On Friday 30 June 2023, after a tram ride to 'Dublin' stop and a look at one of the tram 'traction' buildings (Brabo 2) designed by Van Belle & Medina architects, our group walked to Gaarkeuken 110 at Vosseschijnstraat 21. 

As mentioned by Regula Ysewijn in 'Belgian Cafe Culture', Gaarkeuken 110 is the last of the workmen's kitchens in the Port of Antwerp'. It is not open at the weekend so this was our last chance to visit on this trip.

The entrance is on the other side from the road used for port traffic and there is a large patio area outside the entrance.

Inside there is a long narrow space for tables with a long bar on most of one side. Decor includes dock related images and there is a group of framed drawings of ships on beer mats. Regula Ysewijn writes 'Britt tells me that they are a drawn by a ship's mechanic called Dante'.

Again tradition dictates that Bolleke De Koninck should be the first beer of the day! We had to wait a while for our beers to be served as the staff were constantly busy serving their regular customers. As steak and frites were delivered to an adjacent table it was hard not to feel an appetite for a keenly priced meal. Gaarkeuken 110 deserves a second visit and one timed to include a meal!

For more photos of this unspoilt institution see Tim's Threads post https://www.threads.net/t/Cuh1Zx3sUwL

On Saturday 1 July, after Les and I walked through the Botanical Gardens and the Saturday market on Theaterplein we met up with Simon to ride the escalators up to the top of the distinctive Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) for panoramic views of the city and docks on a dull and damp day.

On David's recommendation, our first bar visit of the day was to nearby Dr Beer at Adriaan Brouwerstraat 31. Instead of a Bolleke we chose from a beer menu which includes a wide range of bottled and canned beers as well as draught beers. Regular beers are listed under the headings: Alcohol free, Spicy, Fruity, Hoppy, Caramelly, and Sour.

Dr Beer is also a beer shop where CAMRA books can be found including Beer Breaks by Tim Webb.

There is a spacious and light interior that features oak beams, a colourful bar and real plants. There are large and smaller tables and distinctive flat cushions for the chairs.

Mark, David and Graham arrived later and in time to miss a heavy downpour after which the weather improved. Tim provided our helpful part time barman Dries with Ullage magazines and persuaded him to pose for a photo. On this occasion, we didn't get to meet Jeroen Peeters, the proprietor of Dr Beer, remembered by David from his December 2019 visit.

Find more photos of Dr Beer in Tim's Threads post: https://www.threads.net/t/CuktGTwtbD- 

It was good to see the Havenhuis / Port House with the Zaha Hadid addition from a closer viewpoint than in previous years on the way from Gaarkeuken 110 to Taverne 't Kerkschip on Friday 30 June. We were also able to climb the steps around another Van Belle & Medina designed tram traction building, partly visible on the left of the photo, taken from Straatsburg / Strasbourg bridge. 

Houtdok is halfway between Havenhuis and Cadix stops on the 24 tram route. Kerkschip St Jozef constructed of concrete during WWII is now permanently moored on the north quay of the dock. The ship now houses a church, a chapel and Taverne 't Kerkschip. 

Inside the tavern is a bar that looks as though it was made from a wooden lifeboat. Draught and bottled beers including the nearby Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie range are available at the bar. After our beers, we were kindly invited to view the chapel in stern of the ship and appreciate the thickness of it's concrete hull. The ship's church is only open for the Sunday service.

For more photos see Tim's post on Threads: https://www.threads.net/t/Cuo7dlxMrer

After a visit to the estimable Cafe Kulminator on Thursday 29 June, we headed to Dansing Chocola for an evening meal of Stoofvlees, witloof slaw and frites. Dansing Chocola is situated at 159 Kloosterstraat, at one corner of Willem Lepelstraat with Heilig Huisken on the other corner. We hadn't booked but were greeted and shown to a table inside near the bar and provided with a basket of bread and butter.

There are large windows on two sides of the room and plenty of unusual decor to provide interest while we waited for beers to arrive from the bar. Thanks to David for suggesting a visit to Dansing Chocola as we enjoyed good food, beer, service and value in a relaxing atmosphere.

Only 50 metres away from Dansing Chocola as the crow flies, but about 150 metres away on foot, we met up with Paul and Jennie at Cafe de Vischmijn on a street corner at Riemstraat 20. They had arrived in Antwerp on a later train and dined at Bier Central before this rendezvous.

The interior looked interesting especially the ceiling but we sat outside in a sheltered area and enjoyed glasses of cold tank fresh Duvel 666.

The owner found time to chat with our group. Yves Van Roy introduced tank beer at Cafe de Vischmijn in 2016 and his customers tell him that he serves the best Stella Artois and Bolleke De Koninck in Antwerp.

On Friday 30 June, after a second visit to Cafe Kulminator on this trip, and a meal at Paters Vaetje, we moved on to The Northerner, which Simon rates highly but this would be Tim's first visit.

Saison Dupont was our beer of choice here. Previously, Tim had asked Yves Van Roy if Cafe de Vischmijn stocked a Saison like Dupont but he was not aware of it. After checking he explained that Antwerp is a long way from Tourpes which is only 50 km from Lille and he prefers to stock locally brewed beers.

Enjoying his first visit to The Northerner, Tim chatted to Joachim who had served our beers. As a souvenir of our visit he accepted a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA Ullage magazine. 

Traditionally, our group would be in Antwerp for the Beer Passion Weekend festival in Groenplaats. The festival date was a week earlier in 2023 so another first for this group was to see Groenplaats (above) without the usual barriers enclosing the festival site. 

On Saturday 1 July, after a meal at a small Syrian cafe on Hoogstraat, our group headed to Cafe Ernst by the river Scheldt at Ernest Van Dijckkai 18. Cafe Ernst specialises in 'Craft Beer and Natural Wine' and has a contemporary style. 

We found a large table at the rear, near a spiral staircase. The draught beer list is on a blackboard and the full beer menu is on the pub's Untappd page. After a draught Zinnebir from Brasserie de la Senne, Tim enjoyed a fruity bottle of Viven Master IPA while sitting across from Jennie and Paul.

Simon's plan was to visit nearby Cafe Pardaf but as it was closing we continued past Brabo's Monument in the Grote Markt to Den Engel.

Loud music and a lively interior made it sensible to sit outside but at the cost of inhaling cigarette smoke in the breeze. We enjoyed glasses of La Chouffe Blond as demonstrated by Graham, Simon and Les above.

Writing about Den Engel in Belgian Cafe Culture, Regula Ysewijn mentions 'Den Engel is the only cafe in Antwerp to have a traditional Geuze corkscrew (geuzestoppentrekker)'. A daytime visit might be a better time to have a close look at the bar and interior of this popular cafe. One more reason to return to Antwerp!

Petra's Cafe was included in Regular Ysewijn's book as 'an institution in the port of Antwerp ... the cafe is the living room of the dockworkers waiting for work'. However things have changed, there are new exterior signs, new furniture and music with a North African sound. The beer range is minimal but Les and Tim enjoyed a morning coffee, served with a complimentary Belgian chocolate, before heading to MAS on Saturday 1 July. A panel on the end wall shows Petra's cafe as it was when frequented by dockworkers.

On Sunday 2nd July, their last day in Antwerp, heading for De Duifkens, Tim and David chanced upon the bronze sculpture of Den Deugniet (the rascal / naughty boy) on a concrete plinth. The rascal's cheeky image also appears on the Den Deugniet beer bottle label. The 7.5% ABV Blonde is brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, near Dinant. The small sculpture is on Korte Gasthuisstraat, a pedestrian street that runs north from the eastern end of Oudaan passing Frites Atelier. The original sculpture was by Luc Verlee (1976). Apparently often stolen, the current sculpture may be more recent. 

At De Duifkens, David chose an outside table with a pleasant view of tree-lined Graanmarkt and the sound of birds from a market stall with caged birds for sale.

The first beer since breakfast at the hostel had to be a Bolleke De Koninck. 

The interior of the pub has dark wood panelled walls and a floor with tiles of several colours. The lighting and clumsy placement of posters on the walls did not enhance the character of De Duifkens. David discovered that this is the Flemish word for pigeons and a wooden pigeon perches on the pub's exterior along with the artificial geraniums. 

Tim's Threads post has more photos including a doll whose face peers down from a hole in the ceiling and a beer menu: https://www.threads.net/@timofnewbury/post/CusE40Os5UQ

Antwerp 2022 - Groenplaats area

Bierpassie Weekend at Groenplaats - looking south + looking north

Groenplaats and the streets to the north like Melkmarkt and Wolstraat include the site of the annual Bierpassie Weekend festival with access to several good beer cafes, food outlets and coffee shops.

Entrance to the Bierapassie Weekend costs 10 euros and includes a programme, tasting glass and two beer tokens (each with 3 euro value for a a 20 cl serving). 

The 'usual suspects' were there soon after the 5pm opening time on Friday. Members of our group would also visit on Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime.

As most Belgian beers are stronger than 5% ABV, it makes sense to sample smaller quantities especially as some beers are only available in 75cl bottles, eg Brasserie Dupont Bons Voeux.

Glasses are routinely rinsed or replaced before each beer is served. Breweries staff their own stands and at quiet times are happy to chat about the beers served.

Richard, Simon and Dave choosing their next beers from the programme

At busy times, free bench places at a table with a parasol are rare so it makes sense to attend at quieter times especially if it's sunny. Bring a cushion if you want any comfort!

Andrew, Simon, Keith & Richard (Saturday evening)

When no benches are available, there may be a standing place with a table.

Tim enjoyed a Martin's Pale Ale at Bierpassie Weekend on Saturday afternoon.

Some of the bars and wagons were impressive including Lindemans and Omer.

Cafe de Kat

On Saturday night, Keith and Richard headed back on the tram (11) to Dageraadplaats from the Melkmarkt stop while Andrew, Dave, Simon and Tim continued further to Cafe de Kat, Wolstraat 22, which the tram also passes as it loops back from the Melkmarkt terminus.

De Kat is one of the iconic cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book Belgian Cafe Culture. She writes that 'Until very recently no man has ever worked here' mentioning that it was around 1912 when the first landlady Aurelia gave the cafe its name. 

She also mentions that apart from the marble topped tables, all the interior dates from that period including the bar, the piano and mirrored wall panelling which were designed to match and have the same inlaid detail.

While Tim enjoyed a draught Bolleke De Koninck, the others could not resist Boon Geuze for 3.60 euros.

Other beer bars, food outlets and coffee bars in the area

Andrew and Dave left in time to catch the last tram back to Dageraadplaats for Cafe Zeezicht and Tryp Hotel while Simon was keen to visit The Northerner nearby. Walking there with Simon, we passed historic Quinten Matsijs, adorned with vines, on Hoofdkerkstraat, next to Cafe De Kat. 

Simon later reported that he enjoyed his solo visit to The Northerner, a new beer bar at Wijngaardstraat 7 specialising in Belgian and craft beers. 

Cafe Pelikaan (rear courtyard), Friday 2 July

On his way to the Groenplaats tram stop, Tim passed Cafe Pelikaan, Melkmarkt 14, not for the first time on this visit. This is another beer cafe featured in Regula Ysewijn's book. Cafe Pelikaan was also featured in a Beer Europe post after a 2019 visit.

The area has many fast food outlets including two with indoor seating that were convenient and good value.

Only Kebap, Korte Koepoortstraat 9 - for doner kebab wraps and chips etc.

Pizarro, Melkmarkt 25 - for New York style pizza slices.

Among coffee bars in the area, the Tartoer Vespa Coffee Bar at Korte Koepoortstraat 2, stands out for having an actual Vespa scooter on display above the bar, and offers seating inside and outside.

For more Antwerp background material please see Antwerp - The Usual Suspects 2022 and other linked posts from there.