Het Steen, a medieval stone fortress is an Antwerp landmark on the banks of the river Scheldt. A statue of Lange Wapper, a Flemish folklore giant, stands at the entrance to Het Steen. Free pedestrian ferries cross the river from a nearby quay to Linkeroever.
Suikerrui (Sugar street) is a broad straight street that runs inland from the riverside road towards the Grote Markt and the Cathedral of Our Lady.
Het Steen and Brasserie Stadscafe - viewed from Cafe Pardaf |
Brasserie Stadscafe is on the northern corner and Cafe Pardaf is on the southern corner of this junction.
Cafe Pardaf
Cafe Pardaf |
An earlier recommendation from John and Sue Thirlaway, led to Cafe Pardaf being chosen as the rendezvous for Friday evening (1 July). The interior features a stylish curved bar, stage lighting over large windows facing the river and contemporary furniture.
There is a pinball machine and the stairs to the upstairs toilets are accessed under the Stella Artois sign. Cafe Pardaf is one of the bars that formed the Antwerp Craft Beer Route on 28 November 2019, immediately before Billie's Craft Beer Festival.
Simon and Tim were first to arrive and chose a table on the Suikerrui pavement giving views of the river and Het Steen. The thick beer menu binder includes 11 beers on tap, and bottled beers divided into styles starting with 'IPA & hops'. The 'in the spotlight' section included Black is Beautiful, a stout from Bristol's Left Handed Giant. Tim's ZinneBir, from Brasserie de la Senne, came in a bottle with a new '20 years' label design for the 'The Brussels People's Ale' (5.8% ABV / 33cl / 3.80 euros).
The remaining 'usual suspects' would join us and our group of six needed two tables. It was comfortable sitting outside Cafe Pardaf on a warm evening watching the sun set and the moon rise.
Reader, I may have drunk one too many strong Belgian beers at Cafe Pardaf and will not be tempted by the Troubadour Magma Triple Spiked Brett (9.8% ABV) again!
Cafe Pardaf is recommended for its location, range of beers and good service. Twilight on a warm evening is an especially good time to visit.
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ReplyDeleteI noticed that ABiB has managed to get Goose Island IPA on draft at Cafe Pardaf. I wonder if it was brewed in Chicago, or another ABiB brewery in the U.S.A. [Portsmouth, NH.]?
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