This bar came to the rescue when I arrived to check into my hotel to discover it's closed up and the square was being dug up and resurfaced... Like any other panicked traveller, I sought comfort in the nearest pub... and I'm glad it was this one.
At the bar, the barman recognising I wasn't from a round here and quickly jumped into English mode and helped me out has I was trying to choose from the crazy long list of Belgium beers available.
With the drink on order, I asked him if he knew what was going on around the corner and told him my hotel woes... He was really friendly, helped me get set up on wifi to try line up another place to stay and even went so far, by checking out a few local options on booking.com from his own mobile - seriously, this made what would have been a bad situation actually ok!
I settled for another drink before hitting the road, I got another placed lined up which was one of his recommendations, all within my budget. Really, this type of hospitality was over and beyond... Went back on my last night in Antwerp but must have missed his shift, I wanted to thank him again for being such a gentleman... Absolutely gem!
The bar itself, really good vibe... My first visit, I had set myself up outside on the terraced seating which was great, it's the perfect afternoon sun trap... On my second visit, was later in the evening so I sat instead... There was a great friendly vibe going on here; a number of accents and languages chit-chatting away and some friendly banter, people saying hello and even, offering to buy me another drink, etc. I think, if I lived nearby it would definitely be a place I'd come by regularly... It has a cheers vibe to it, 'where everybody knows your name'
Cheers Art Deco... It was a pleasure! read more