Antwerp & Lillo by Waterbus 20 June 2025

View of Antwerp docks and Museum aan de Stroom from DeWaterbus

After arriving in Antwerp the previous day and with a day to enjoy before the opening evening of Bierpassie / Beer Passion Weekend 2025 on the evening of Friday 20 June, our group went in two directions. While long time festival goers Andrew, Keith, Richard and Simon would meet at Antwerpen Centraal for the train to Gent / Ghent, Tim, a relative newcomer to the group, decided to take his first trip on De Waterbus from Steenplein on Antwerp's waterfront downstream to Lillo.

Hollandstraat - the shady side opposite my apartment

Tim's morning started with a walk from his holiday apartment on Hollandstraat to Lidl on van der Wervestraat. This walk involved crossing Sint-Jansplein with its busy market and discovering two interesting structures at opposing corners of the open space. 

There's a monument dedicated to Panamarenko, the Belgian inventor / artist who lived nearby and a colourful curved kiosk for community events. Lidl proved useful for breakfast foods and coffee pads that would fit the old Senseo espresso coffee machine in the apartment.

   University    -    'T Kleintje    -     Het Steen

After breakfast, keeping to the shade where possible, a walk down Paardenmarkt, Klapdorp, Zirkstraat and Zakstraat gave glimpses of the university and passed some interesting bars and shops and the inevitable roadworks.

A sign at the entrance to the Steenplein landing stage on the river Scheldt, near Het Steen, gives details of routes, times, rules and fares. These details are also available from the DeWaterbus website. 

Tickets can be purchased online or on board the ferry when staff check tickets and destinations. The Zone 3 (North) fares for Lillo are €4 / €6 return with reduced rates for 65+ years (€3.50 / €5 return).

The landing stage offers virtually no protection from the sun / rain but there are railings at the edges. Bicycles are parked in the rear open section which may not leave much room left for passengers preferring to travel in this section rather than the large enclosed cabin which has full length windows.

The route passes docks and industrial sites and possibly freight ships. It takes almost an hour to reach Lillo after three stops on the other bank of the river. Passengers are expected to know when to get off. Stops are not displayed on the cabin screen and may not be announced. Ask a crew member if you have arrived at Lillo if necessary.

There is a narrow pier from the landing stage at Lillo to dry land. A panoramic view towards the landing stage includes cooling towers of the Doel nuclear power station on the opposite bank.

Limited shelter is available for passengers to the right of an information board.

There's a board with a map of Lillo a little further inland. Sections of the moat remain and there is a yacht club harbour near the river. It was time to explore the settlement and find a bar for a lunchtime beer.

The main street leads to a square by a church with a corner bar Taverne 't Pleintje.

With De Koninck listed in the menu as one of the draught beers (€3.30), a Bolleke was the obvious choice for a first beer of the day, brewed nearby in Antwerp. All the customers were sat at tables in the square and table service was efficient.

Duly refreshed, an exploratory walk around Lillo and its raised perimeter was interesting and there was some welcome shade from trees in some parts. The square brick building behind a high wall in the central photo above is the Kruitmagazijn (gunpowder magazine). It was built in 1810 by order of Napoleon to store 50 tons of gunpowder. 

Returning to the central square, an attempt to enter the premises under the sign In de 7 Saeligheden with an exterior featuring beer signs, was refused with the explanation that it is now just an ice cream store with a counter for the street.

Instead I was invited to buy a home made ice cream but another beer had more appeal so apologies were made and a promise to recommend the establishment to friends - please tell them Tim sent you when you visit Marktje 7!

Returning to Taverne 't Pleintje an opportunity was taken to order another classic beer from  Antwerp - Seef bier brewed by Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie reasonably priced at €4.20 for a 33cl bottle. Bootje's bier (brewed with ginger and coriander) and Radio Minerva Tripel are also available.

A short walk back to the pier was timed to coincide with the 3pm departure of DeWaterbus back to Antwerp. 

Don't miss an opportunity to explore the river Scheldt and Lillo c/o DeWaterbus if you find yourself in Antwerp on a fine day.

R,A,K & S at Het Waterhuis (Photo Richard R) - A,K,S & R at Trollekelder (Photo Andrew B)

I could tell from WhatsApp messages that Andrew, Keith, Richard and Simon were having a good day out in Gent / Ghent visiting canalside Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant and two of my recommendations: Artevelde and Trollekelder. 

A message from Andrew on WhatsApp advised that they would arrive back in Antwerp by train at 19.07 and head straight to Handelsbeurs for the opening session of BierPassie Weekend. With another three hours in Antwerp before the rendezvous, Tim had time for a light meal at Msemen and a couple of beers at De Ware Jacob. 

Located on the pedestrianised Hoogstraat, Msemen has a delightful calm inner courtyard with shade and the sound of running water from a water fountain. The Msemen Aladin is a freshly baked crisp Moroccan pancake filled with ricotta cheese, honey, rocket, cherry tomatoes, paprika, chickpeas and spicy olives costing €9.90 and is recommended.

A visit to nearby De Ware Jacob in nearby Vlasmarkt is an essential component of any Antwerp visit for Tim and on this afternoon its nautical theme seemed especially appropriate.

There were customers at the outside tables but the interior, beyond a closed door with a handwritten 'AIRCO' sign, was a more attractive on this hot day.

Among other notable features, the availability of Brasserie Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux on draught, is always a reason to return and Guy kindly poured and delivered a glass of this distinctive 9.5% ABV beer to my table in return for €5. His shorts, t shirt and bucket hat, as seen above, suited the heat of the day.

Late afternoon on a weekday is a good time to visit De Ware Jacob. The soundtrack included music from Lucinda Williams, Chicken Shack, The Pogues, Johnny Cash and Van Morrison but the volume still allowed conversations across the room to be heard. A visiting American told Guy that he had been in the acclaimed Cafe Kulminator earlier when two customers had been thrown out. The only explanation he could offer for this happening was that one had placed a heavy item on a tray which was supported by two crates!

The monthly guest draught beer was Chimay 175, a 6.5% ABV pale Blonde, available exclusively in casks to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Scourmont Abbey, the home of Trappist monks and the brewery. A rare treat and one to savour.

Once the sun had dropped, Guy opened the door and it would soon be time for Tim to take the 10 minute walk to Handelsbeurs. 

The Antwerp Beer Passion 2025 post has a description of Friday and Saturday evenings spent at BierPassie Weekend.

Antwerp 2022 - Hoogstraat area

Hoogstraat is a pedestrian street that runs south from the Suikerrui / Grote Markt junction to St-Jansvliet which hosts a Sunday market and has the entrance to Sint-Annatunnel, the pedestrian tunnel under the river Scheldt.

Het Souke

Het Souke (formerly 't Half Souke) is at 59 Hoogstraat on the corner with Heilige Geest. It was featured in Regula Ysewijn's book Belgian Cafe Culture with a photo of Leentje, the cafe landlady standing on the uneven tiled floor. Closed when I last visited in 2019, an online report for Algemeen Dagblad dated 4 July 2021 mentions that Leentje had to move to a care home and the cafe was bought by Nathan Gouka and is now managed by his son Jacob. 

They have improved the cafe by laying a flat floor and installing a wide sash window that opens up onto Hoogstraat. 

The mirrors on the inside wall have been retained but the decor has changed with record album covers over the bar and a rack for newspapers and music magazines.

For tradition, a Bolleke De Koninck (Antwerp Pale Ale) was my first beer in Antwerp on a wet Thursday evening (30 June). The wet weather would explain why I had the cafe to myself until Andrew, Keith and Richard joined me.

In addition to the beers listed on the board, there were some bottles displayed on the bar. After a chat with Jacob, I opted for Steenuilke, a sweet blond beer from Brouwerij De Ryck (Herzele) which suited my taste.

On arrival, the music playing included some psychedelic tracks (Monterey by the Animals - 1967, Mind Flowers by Ultimate Spinach - 1968, Gold and Silver by Quicksilver Messenger Service - 1968) that also suited my taste so I was glad when the 'usual suspects' also enjoyed the ambience and we had a further round of beers - draught De Koninck Triple D'Anvers for me.

Before leaving I left a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA's Ullage magazine with Jacob and he kindly posed with it before placing it in the rack. Thankfully it had stopped raining by the time we left Het Souke.

Het Souke is an updated traditional cafe with strong musical links and is recommended for anyone with eclectic musical tastes.

De Vagant

Traditionally, the 'usual suspects' would visit De Vagant, Reyndersstraat 25, for jenevers after lunch and beers at De Groote Witte Arend, on the other side of the street. However, De Groote Witte Arend, housed in a convent building with a courtyard, has changed to Pannenkoekenhuis Familie Suykerbuyck so we did not visit this year.

With its high ceiling, traditional floor tiles, tall windows, traditional furniture and stripped back decor, De Vagant seems airy and timeless. 

Since our last visit the range of jenevers has been cut and the range of beers has increased making the menu easy to navigate. My first beer of the day was a draught Bolleke De Koninck and there was a chair waiting for me at an inside table occupied by the usual suspects.

Simon, Andrew, Dave + Bart with Ullage + Keith & Richard

With La Chouffe on tap and sufficient matching glassware we were able to give Bart, our considerate host, a simple order sometime later.

a glass of jenever for John Reynor RIP

The others also ordered jenevers and Dave ordered a jenever for absent John Reynor. Sadly, John passed away in 2021 as a result of sepsis. It was Dave and John who attended the first Bierpassie Weekend in 2000. Others would join this group in later years (as the junior member of this group, I had not met Dave on my four previous visits - from 2016 to 2019). 

Before leaving De Vagant, Bart kindly offered to photograph our group and at this point we had ordered further beers (including my Adriaen Brouwer Tripel by Brouwerij Roman of Oudenaarde) and shared John's glass of jenever with a toast to him. It was generous of Dave to pay the final bar bill of 144 euros. Cheers!

Subsequent research identified a post by VRT, the Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organisation, mentioning that De Vagant closed on Sunday 5 December 2021 due to the age of manager Ronald Ferket. The jenever collection above the cafe went to the jenever museum in Hasselt.

Our next stop was TOTA, 24 Hoogstraat, for authentic Argentinian empanadas.

De Ware Jacob

Facing south, De Ware Jacob is at Vlasmarkt 19. The 2022 opening times are displayed in the window (Tue - Fri  / di-vr: 15:00, Sat - Sun / za-zo: 14:00).

This was the Saturday late afternoon rendezvous for Simon (after returning from Linkeroever via Sint-Annatunnel), Andrew, Dave and Tim (after returning from Linkeroever via free pedestrian ferry) and Keith and Richard (after visiting Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie).

Simon was first to arrive and picked a pavement table next to an English couple. We chose bottled beers from the menu which includes beers from 9 local breweries still operating out of the 11 listed. 

Draught beers available include Brasserie Dupont Bons Voeux (9.5% ABV) and Sint Barnardus Abt. with an overall choice from 120 beers.

Simon & Dave (I ate all the pies) + Cabardouche Blonde Stoot

The introductory page mentions that De Ware Jacob (true Jacob) has only been a cafe since 1977. This information can also be gleaned from Regula Ysewijn's book Belgian Cafe Culture. She mentions that the interior is much older and was salvaged from other cafes. The bar came from a cafe in Brussels and the wooden wall panelling comes from another cafe in Antwerp. 

The house is a listed building which dates back to the 16th century during the Spanish rule.

Regula also writes that the steep stairwell you find in the back is from this period and is one of the very few 'pagaddertrappen' in Antwerp. On this visit I remembered to photograph the stairwell after a visit to the toilets at the back.

Before leaving, there was also an opportunity to ask the landlord his name (Guy, pronounced Gie) and ask about the word on his t-shirt - goegezjost. Guy explained that it was local dialect for someone who had been tricked or cheated. 

Guy at the wheel! - a page from the beer menu

Guy accepted a copy of West Berkshire CAMRA magazine Ullage in exchange for a Dutch Bierproefgids (Beer Tasting Guide) produced by Ariel Meeusen 'BierCoach' of City Beerwalk from a pile on a shelf inside the cafe.

See also the 2019 Antwerp post which includes photos taken then when Tim and Steve visited De Ware Jacob previously. 

This is another cafe with an appeal to music lovers as the background music is blues, rock, jazz and folk. The maritime details of the cafe's interior and the beer range that includes draught Bons Voeux served by Guy are additional reasons to visit. 

Our group would now split with Tim and Keith visiting the new location of Msemen for a Moroccan meal in the 34 Hoogstraat premises that were previously Aura Brasserie. The food is prepared in an open kitchen. There is now a small fountain in the quiet courtyard at the back.

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