Antwerp - March 2026

This brief trip to Antwerp preceded a trip on a European Sleeper train to Decin in the north of the Czech Republic. This train from Brussels to Prague only runs on three days each week and Antwerp is the first stop. Arriving in Brussels on a Eurostar train from London on Tuesday 10 March 2026, we were able to connect with a SNCB train to Antwerp despite a strike on Belgian railways.

It's always a pleaure to arrive at Antwerpen Centraal. However, on this occasion an escalator from a low level platform was out of service but a lift provided the necessary elevation for us and our luggage to the original entrance. After a walk in the rain we reached Citybox, our economical contemporary accommodation for the night.

De Hovenier

An evening in Antwerp provided the opportunity to walk towards the cathedral and visit some bars. De Hovenier, Sint-Jacobsmarkt 26, wasn't busy at 18.45.

For the first beer in Antwerp, it was a simple choice to order draught De Koninck Bolleke, brewed nearby (€2.90 / 25cl). There are three other draught beers and 15 bottled beers, including Seef Bier and Tripel Westmalle (€4.30) on the laminated drinks menu.

The marble topped tables, traditional tiled floor, wood panelling and furniture make this a good example of a traditional bar. The landlord was jolly and a large drawing of his smiling face is pinned on a wall near the internal steel chimney pipe for the log burner. After settling for our drinks in cash it was nice to be invited to return another day. De Hovenier can be recommended as a place to call in for a beer for anyone not bothered by the choice of schmaltzy music that may be playing. 

Cafe de Kat

We arrived at Cafe de Kat, Wolstraat 22, at 19.45 and found a free window table. The laminated beer menu lists 3 draught beers including De Koninck(€3.60) and 18 bottles including Seef (€5.20) and Westmalle Tripel (€4.60).

Tim's choice was Westmalle Dubbel (€3.70). Despite the stylish Drinkt De Koninck neon sign behind the bar, this is a classic beer cafe with marble topped tables, traditional tiled floor, mirrors, wood panelling and furniture.

Mirror on far wall reflects neon sign above the bar

It is one of 16 Antwerp bars featured in Belgian Cafe Culture by Regula Ysewijn.

Jazz Cafe de Muze

Arriving at De Muze, Melkmarkt 15, by 8.45pm, before the 9pm jazz start, allowed us to find a table near the stage and order drinks before the 50 cent surcharge on drinks. Tim enjoyed a glass of Lupulus NEIPA with music from De Muze 5, the regular Tuesday night band. The handwritten beer menu card lists 10 draught beers including De Koninck Bolleke (€4.1) and 19 bottled beers including Seefbier (€5.4) and Westmalle Tripel (€5.3).

The dimly lit large space has a high ceiling, heavy light fittings, exposed beams and brickwork with two staircases to an upper level.

De Muze is near the Cathedral of our Lady which is illuminated at night.

Kassa 4

It's about a 15 minute walk from De Muze to Kassa 4, Ossenmarkt 21, near Citybox and the university. There were customers outside and we were able to find a table inside at 10.15pm. It was nice to discover plenty of traditional original features inside including floor tiles, marble table tops, wooden panelling and furniture.

A variety of enamel brewery signs are displayed on upper levels of the walls. A large blackboard above the bar lists the available beers, six on draught including De Koninck (€4) and 22 bottles priced at €4, €4.50 or €5 (maximum). Tim's last beer of the evening was a bottle of Troubadour Magma (€5). 

De Koninck Bar

The first beer of the afternoon on Wednesday was a Bolleke (€3.50) at the De Koninck Shop which has a bar and seating area.

The main De Koninck Bar is separated from the shop area by an internal opening.

Main bar with high seating and copper vessel in far room

This access was closed with a curtain due to a later opening time but there was an opportunity to get a photo. After many visits to Antwerp this was Tim's first visit to De Koninck brewery and with curiosity satisfied, probably the last. 

Speciale Belge Taproom

In contrast, a first visit to Speciale Belge Taproom is unlikely to be Tim's last.

Cobbled entrance to Taproom with blackboard listing beers

About a 12 minute walk towards Zurenborg from De Koninck Brewery, it is situated in the PAKT courtyard area that includes other enterprises including Caffenation PAKT for coffee. 

View towards bar with tank beers above and Untappd beer menu on screens

It's a friendly place with a slightly alternative feel to it. The brewery motto 'Goed Bier  Goed Volk' is displayed on an overhead banner.

Brewery vessels to the right of the bar can be observed through a glass screen.

From the 'home brewed' beers, Tim chose Al Blondy (€4.50) served in a stemmed glass with the brewery logo and tasting pleasantly fruity.

Ipadawan, a hazy DDH Session IPA (€5.5) proved equally enjoyable. Leaving at 5.15pm we had time to walk back to Citybox, collect our luggage, eat a quick meal at Thai Wok Express and buy cold beers at Proxy Delhaize, Astridplein, ready for the overnight train journey, departing at 20.02 hrs from a low level platform.

The chilled Leffe Blond and Tripel Karmeliet from the supermarket were enjoyed travelling through Belgium and the Netherlands before sleep across Germany until approaching Berlin.

Thursday 7.15am in Berlin - view from European Sleeper train

Antwerp - The Usual Suspects 2022

 After missing visits to Belgium in 2020 and 2021, the Usual Suspects returned to Antwerp on 30 June 2022, a day before the start of Bierpassie Weekend.

Simon, Andrew, Dave, Tim, Keith & Richard - De Vagant

The author of this post (Tim) was glad to meet up again with Simon, Andrew, Keith and Richard. This would be Tim's first meeting with one of the instigators of the annual pilgrimage to this Belgian beer festival - Dave. 

John Reynor - RIP

Sadly, John Reynor, another early adopter, passed away in 2021. We would pay a tribute to John at De Vagant on the Friday with jenever and beer and Dave generously footed the bar bill.

Previous posts about visits to Antwerp have followed a daily diary format but this year there will be three geographically differentiated posts as shown in the rough map:

S - Het Steen area featuring Cafe Pardaf and Paters Vaetje

H - Hoogstraat area featuring 'T Half Souke, De Ware Jacob and De Vagant

G - Groenplaats area featuring Bierpassie Weekend and De Kat.

This post will feature a few bars and other places of interest falling outside these areas which are all in the Grote Markt / Cathedral of Our Lady area, near the river Scheldt.

It was convenient and economical for me to stay at the Hotel Rubenshof again. Unlike Tryp Hotel, where most of the others were staying, it does not have air conditioned rooms or a lift but thankfully temperatures were slightly lower than in 2019. Unhappily for the others, the Tryp Hotel air conditioning had broken down on this occasion.

The Hotel Rubenshof reception and breakfast rooms retain delightful art nouveau features including stained glass windows, carved wooden cabinets and decorative paintings. Breakfast cost 9 euros and  included juice, yoghurt, bread rolls, croissants, ham and cheese. There was sometimes a wait for the coffee pot to be refilled.

After checking in, my first attempt to secure a beer at nearby Biercafe de Jordaan was unsuccessful due to a holiday closure. This was a wasted detour not improved by the rain which had not let up since my arrival. Things would improve after tram rides to reach Groenplaats and then on foot to 'T Half Souke on Hoogstraat. See separate Hoogstraat post (WIP).

'T Half Souke is one of the heritage cafes, featured in Belgian Cafe Culture by Regula Ysewijn, that I had earmarked for a visit after finding it closed in 2019. 

Preparations for this trip included updating a Google map to show Antwerp cafes featured in Regula Ysewijn's book.

L'Entrepot du Congo is a brasserie near Hotel Rubenshof and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts that I had earmarked to visit for a beer or a meal. There were roadworks in this area and on this visit I would only photograph the exterior. It was interesting to find 'Brouwery Brys Bornhem' engraved on a stone panel of the frontage.

I had also hoped to revisit Cafe ZeeZicht with the 'usual suspects', previously visited in 2018 (photo above). Near Tryp Hotel, this is one of the beer cafes in Dageraadplaats (known by our group as 'Argument Square' after many previous late night drinking sessions!). This was another missed opportunity for me on this trip though. 

Apart from Belgian beer cafes and the festival, this trip included three interesting visits unrelated to beer! On the Friday morning, while the others were resting after staying up until 4am in 'Argument Square', I enjoyed a free solo visit to Plantentuin (Den Botaniek), a landscaped botanical garden created in 1825.

Later, I would meet up with Simon for a walk around the Begijnhof / Beguinage which dates from 1545. With its cobbled streets, church and central garden this was well worth a visit although it was not as extensive or impressive as the one in Leuven which we had visited in 2018.

Looking North towards Antwerp from the ferry at Linkeroever

The third visit was to cross the river Scheldt on the free ferry from Het Steen to Linkeroever with Andrew, Dave and Simon on the Saturday afternoon while Keith and Richard revisited Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie in the docks area to the north. Simon would return to Antwerp using the pedestrian tunnel while Andrew, Dave and I returned on a later ferry. The four of us met up at De Ware Jacob. See separate Hoogstraat post (WIP).

We had intended to visit Brouwerij De Koninck, the brewery of Triple D'Anvers and Bolleke De Koninck APA (Antwerp Pale Ale). Another opportunity for 2023!

Addendum

In a theme related to the Wetherspoon's Carpets book by Kit Caless, some photos of Antwerp Cafe floor tiles are grouped above.

Antwerp - 3 - Beer Passion Weekend 2016

BierPassie Weekend programme

The 17th BierPassie Weekend was held in Groenplaats, Antwerp on 24/25 & 26 June 2016.

Richard, Andrew, Simon, Keith & Mark - BierPassie Weekend XVII

This was my first visit to the beer festival but most of the others in our group of seven had been visiting Antwerp for the last fifteen years or so.

Friday 24 June, 2016

Simonsstraat, Antwerp - near Plantin Premetro station

Arriving on the day of a general strike meant that we walked from the Tryp hotel to Groenplaats as very few trams were running.

Sint-Jorispoort - between Nationale Bank and Mechelseplein tram stops

We didn't follow the most direct route but did get to see the triangular Stadspark between Simonstraat and Sint-Jorispoort.

We also passed the Maagdenhuis Museum which is housed on the ground floor of a former orphanage for girls. The collection includes paintings from the 15th to 17th centuries.

section of KBC Tower (Boerentoren)

Now we could see the KBC Tower (Boerentoren), once the tallest skyscraper in Europe, standing just east of Groenplaats and knew we would soon reach the beer festival.

Layout of bars etc

Before we could buy a beer we went to the Beer Passion shop in the marquee and collected a programme and bought a Belgian Beer Sommelier tasting glass (5 euros) and a stock of jetons / tokens (2 euros each) to use at the bars.

A glass of Cornet, from the closest bar to the shop (1 - Brouwerij De Hoorn) would be my first beer of the festival and one to recommend to the others.

Now we could find a table to sit at with a view of the Cathedral of Our Lady.

Our table was near the Belgian Beer Sommelier bar (18) and the programme mentions that a 75cl bottle of beer could be purchased for 4 jetons so we split a bottle of Buffalo Bitter (Brouwerij Van Den Bossche).

Dixieland Street Band

At 7pm, the Dixieland Street Band passed by our table playing traditional New Orleans jazz music.

We would taste a few more beers including Ben's Belgian White (brewed to the specification of Ben Vinken - Beer Sommelier and organiser of BierPassie Weekend).

The sun was setting by the time we left the festival to find a table inside at Cafe Kulminator.
Later we would sit outside Cafe ZeeZicht in Dageraadplaats after midnight for a final beer before a short walk back to our hotel.

Saturday 25 June, 2016

Johan Van Dyck - Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie

A lunchtime visit to Brasserie Aura and an introduction to Seef bier and Bootjes bier from  Anterwerpse Brouw Compagnie is described in my previous Antwerp - 2 - Seef bier blog post.

One of my first beers of the afternoon was Barbar Blonde from the Brouwerij Lefebvre bar (13).

It would soon be time to take shelter in the Beer Sommelier Bar after grey skies threatened a sudden downpour.

From this sheltered table I could enjoy my 20 cl glass of Kriek Max (6 - Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste) with a fruity cherry flavour. Once the rain had stopped we headed towards the river Scheldt and turned left for Best Beer Cafe (BBC) where Tripel Karmeliet (Brouwerij Bosteels) is available on draught and the Euro 2016 football match between Wales and Northern Ireland was showing on TV. Later we would visit De Groote Witte Arend (the Great White Eagle) beer restaurant.

Sunday 26 June, 2016

Hotel Tryp - reception area

Before leaving the hotel on Sunday morning, I asked Keith Moore from our group some questions about the hobbybrauer / homebrewing prize he won at the first CraftBeerMesse in Mainz. Keith lives in Langen, near Frankfurt airport and brewed a Black IPA for the craft beer festival. His winning beer was based on a recipe he found on the internet for a Cascadian dark ale. In September 2016, he will supervise the brewing of about 950 litres of a version of this beer at Rheinhessen Brau, Mainz-Ebersheim. He will receive 50 litres as his prize and the remainder will be on sale at the second CraftBeerMesse in Mainz (25/26 November 2016).

Cafe Pelikaan

Our group took the #11 tram to Melkmarkt, passing Cafe Pelikaan on the short walk from Groenplaats. We initially settled at a table without an umbrella but as grey clouds approached and the rain started we moved to another table with an umbrella over it.

For my first beer on Sunday I chose a Mongozo Mango (3.6% ABV) fruit beer, brewed in the Netherlands.

Marco de Rango at the B.O.M. Brewery bar

Keith Moore and I visited the B.O.M. Brewery bar (8 - Belgian Original Malt Bakery and Brewery) with beers brewed by Bert Van Hecke using malts he has baked or roasted. We talked to Marco de Rango (Hopsessed) about the beers. Marco said 'our beer's not OK - it's perfect!'. I ordered a draught Triporteur from Heaven (6.2% ABV) and Keith chose a Full Moon 12 'a hell of a 12 with Belgian Oak roasted at full moon' served from a bottle. The oak flavours are obtained by adding oak chips roasted at the bakery. Keith selected Full Moon 12 as his favourite dark beer of the BeerPassie Weekend.

My next beer was Wild Jo (5.8% ABV) brewed in Antwerp by De Koninck and served from a bottle. The 'Wild' refers to the wild yeasts used to ferment it and the 'Jo' refers to Joseph van den Bogaert 'whose own lust for adventure ensured the survival of the brewery after WWI'. This was one of my favourite beers from the festival. See also my earlier blog post Antwerp - 1 - De Koninck about the traditional De Koninck beer served in a Bolleke glass.

L>R: John, Andrew, Keith, Mark and Richard

Returning to our table, I found the table had been moved closer to the umbrella pole to provide maximum cover from the heavy rain.

I was keen to have a word with Ben Vinken on the last day of the festival so visited the Bier Sommelier bar and ordered a glass of Ben's Belgian Saison. As there was not enough for a further serving from the bottle afterwards, Ben generously let me keep the remaining contents of the bottle for my group to sample.

Beer Sommelier Ben Vinken (left)

2 jetons (4 euros) is the usual charge for a portion of cheese at the Beer Sommelier bar but Ben kindly gave me a small portion of Vieux Chimay, the darker cheese to accompany my glass of Ben's Belgian Saison. The other cheeses were Westmalle and Belle Dalle. Ben Vinken and Michel van Tricht have published a book Bier & Kaas (Beer & Cheese) in several languages which suggests 50 top Belgian beers paired with appropriate cheeses. Ben explained that his bottled beers, like Ben's Special Belge, are brewed to his specifications by Brouwerij Anders.

When I returned to our table and asked for suggestions for a beer to try, there was much support for the draught Corsendonk Dubbel Kriek so I took their advice! This was a beer to savour and later selected by Keith, Mark and Richard as their favourite lambic or kriek at the beer festival.
By now we had worked up a good appetite and it was time for a visit to Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis for some lunch to go with beer brewed on the premises. After lunch we returned to the hotel to collect our luggage before catching the train to Brussels for a night before returning to London by Eurostar on Monday evening after visits to some of our favourite beer bars.
I look forward to returning to Antwerp in 2017 for BeerPassie Weekend XVIII. Cheers!