For my birthday this year, we decided we were well overdue a long weekend away somewhere in Europe. After looking at our options for a Winter trip, we plumped for a long weekend in Antwerp, Belgium’s second city, for 3 days of Christmas markets, beer and BBQ food. Here’s a rundown of our food and drink experience in this cool port city.
Fries and football
Our flight from Manchester having been delayed by 2 hours due to just 5cm of snow, our bellies are rumbling on arrival at Antwerp’s jaw-dropping Centraal Station. So after snapping a few pics, we rush off to check into our hotel and find ourselves somewhere to eat.
And we have one food on our mind – chips! Belgium is of course famous for its crispy yet fluffy fries, though the place we seek out was launched by a Dutchman. Frites Atelier is a venture of Michelin-starred chef Sergio Herman and has a few branches across Belgium and the Netherlands. Its concept is simple – high-end fries, topped with various gourmet sauces. Kate and I opt for two cardboard scoops laden with fries. One, the ‘parmesan and basil’ is adorned with an artfully placed circular splodge of creamy basil mayo, atop chips seasoned with a tomato powder and a heftier snowfall of cheese than that seen at home that morning. Our second choice is smothered in a Flemish beef stew, the meat marinated in beer and topped with cress and pickled mustard seeds. Washed down with a crisp cold Tripel Karmeliet, we are suitably warmed ahead of the evening’s entertainment – England’s World Cup quarter final against France.
Owing to a tip-off from a fellow Frites customer in full 90s England shellsuit, we head for An Sibhin, an Irish bar around the corner. On arrival, we find the pub to be absolutely packed out with fans, but the bar’s owner sneaks us into a small bit of floor space with a tiny stool each. It’s an international affair in here, but almost everyone in the bar appears to be supporting England. To our left are a Belgian couple and to our right, two young women from Portugal and California respectively, all of whom are vocal in their dislike of the French team. One guy in an England shirt is confusingly half-Peruvian, half-Belgian and he tells me his club is Manchester United. Despite the result, our mood is buoyed by the a special atmosphere here, the cosy but buzzing ambience a world away from the rowdy stereotype the ‘Irish bar’ conjures up. Whilst Guinness is of course a popular option, for us it’s great to sip on some tasty Belgian brews during the game.
By the end, we certainly have the taste for the beer and make our way into the Old Town for one more. Wandering through the side streets, we unwittingly find ourselves drawn into what claims to be the oldest pub in the city, Quinten Matsijs. Settling down with a Cherry Chouffe, we drink in the Christmassy atmosphere. Dangling from the beamed ceiling, the chandeliers are adorned with Christmas trees and the heating is up high in contrast to the snowflakes falling outside. The bar is abuzz with people playing games and chatting the night away.
Feeling tired, but peckish from our high-ABV sipping, there’s just time for us to end the night in another of the city’s ‘frituurs’ (that is, fried goods shops). The one we stumble into at this point is the much more humble Frituur ‘t Stad, where we pick upon some extremely moreish bitterballen, the beefy croquette snack that’s a favourite in this part of Northwestern Europe.
Beers and BBQ
The next morning we decide to venture up to the port area of the city given the promise of the MAS museum, which celebrates the history of Antwerp and its role in shaping the modern world. There are also some very cool looking coffee shops for a morning brew. The one we settle on is DOK 36, right opposite the imposing museum building. There we share a tasty chemex filter coffee and pain au chocolat.
After taking a trip up to the top of the MAS for a view across the city and subsequently checking out the exhibitions on its other 9 floors, we’ve worked up a little thirst, so we head over to the Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie taproom. The company is best known for its Seef beer, not just a brand but the name for a style of pale ale brewed with buckwheat that originated in Antwerp in the Middle Ages. Seef pretty much disappeared from production twice in its history, once due to the occupation by the Spanish in the 16th Century and again when German forces arrived during WWI. ABC’s founder rediscovered the recipe in 2012 and made it his brewery’s flagship brew. It is possibly my favourite beery discovery of the weekend. The taproom is a big open industrial space, which has been made cosy and Christmassy at this time of year by the addition of a big tree adorned with red baubles.
Later that afternoon, we take a tram across town to the city’s Berchem district to visit the De Koninck City Brewery. Here we take part in the self-guided interactive experience on offer, where you can learn all about the production of De Koninck’s Bolleke beer, found in nigh-on every bar in the city, as well as the history of the brewery and its parent company Duvel-Moortgat. The experience is akin to that of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, with an impressive range of interactive screens and props. I particularly enjoy the video about the different glassware Belgians like to serve their beers in and how they’re said to affect the flavour and olfactory experience for the drinker. This is exhibited within a room which is itself shaped like a Bolleke glass.
From here, we take the short walk over to the onsite restaurant Black Smoke, acclaimed for its Belgian take on American BBQ. On entry to the imposing industrial space, we head up to the restaurant floor (there’s also a bar and a roof terrace for drinks), where we must first make our way through a neon-lit room covered in white butcher’s tiles, and push through a plastic curtain to enter the main dining room. Here we are greeted, not only by the host, but a heady mix of intoxicatingly smoky aromas. The smell alone sets expectations sky-high as we sit down to eat. We order the BBQ sharing platter for two as it seems foolish to limit our choice, but before this comes we are greeted with complementary bread served with smoked beef fat as a deliciously indulgent spread. Eating so much of this is instantly regretted as the main event arrives on a huge tray. The meats we’re presented with are all dreamily succulent, from the rack of pork ribs to the butter-textured brisket. For me though, the highlights are the pulled beef with its note of maple sweetness and the chicken wings where the flesh falls off the bone, demanding to be dipped into one of the house-made table sauces. The sides are worth a mention here too, both the smoked baby potatoes served with a smoked aioli (yep, there’s a theme here) and the wide array of pickles and slaw.
Achingly full, we head off for a short walk to PAKT, a collective of businesses, restaurants and cafés housed in a single development, complete with its own rooftop farm. Sadly, at this time of evening on a cold December Sunday, it is pretty quiet. But Kate and I enjoy a peaceful beer at the Spéciale Belge Taproom, the onsite brewery and bar which alongside its own brews, largely serves beers from independent Belgian breweries. On heading back into the town centre, we stop off for one more at craft beer bar Billie’s, where we pick out two Belgian numbers in among the remnants of a tap takeover by London’s The Kernel (now’s not the time!).
Croissants, Cake and Christmas
On our last day in the city, we sleepily head to ToiToiToi in the city’s old town for a much-needed coffee and spot of food. Not only do the flat whites massively hit the spot, but it offers up one of the best light breakfasts we’ve ever had, our simple choices very lovingly prepared. We share a cheese croissant, packed with oozy gruyere and topped with a sprinkling of fresh oregano. For the dessert portion of breakfast, we split a piece of carrot cake, which is presented with thin slices of fresh apple, blueberries, a scattering of caramelised nuts and a drizzle of syrup, sprucing up what is already a seriously good slice.
Our afternoon is spent largely exploring the Christmas markets across the Grote Market in the Old Town and by the riverside, taking in the Antwerp Story exhibition along the way. The foody highlight is a gloriously unctuous hot chocolate made from 70% cocoa chocolate stirred into hot milk. We also make a stop-off at the super-kitsch Elfde Gebod bar opposite the cathedral, where religious statues and trinkets cover almost every inch of space along its walls. Sat on our throne-like seats, saints and angels look on as we sip on our drinks.
Ready for one last quick meal before our train back to Brussels, we decide that the best way to end our food experience is exactly as it began, at Frites Atelier for a stew-topped pile of fries.
Our lasting impression of Antwerp is of a city that feels much more ‘lived in’ than Bruges, our only other Belgian experience. It’s an international city, where we spoke to people from across the world, all drawn to the place by its mix of architecture, tasty offerings and vibrant social scene. If you’re looking for a short break from the UK spent eating, drinking and soaking in the local culture, it comes highly recommended!
SOUNDS TASTY 