Situated in the oldest alley of Antwerp -- the beautiful Vlaeykensgang near the Cathedral -- this…read morecharming little bistro feels like you've stepped straight into another century. It's hidden down a quiet courtyard, right in the middle of the city but completely away from the noise and bustle. Totally one of those "if you know, you know" kind of places. The atmosphere here is just magical -- rustic, romantic, and old-fashioned in the best way. Even though we were seated outside in chilly weather, it still felt cozy and inviting. You could tell this was one of those restaurants that lives and breathes its history. Now, the food -- We ordered the duck breast with red porto jus and gratin dauphinois, and the beef stew. The gratin was so good -- creamy, cheesy, and perfectly comforting. The duck, though, was a bit of a letdown -- quite tough and hard to chew, which was disappointing because the sauce was lovely. The beef stew, on the other hand, came out piping hot (just how I like it!) and was hearty and flavorful, though a tad on the sweet side for my taste. Still, it was delicious overall. Service was great -- friendly, attentive, and never hovering. Everything felt relaxed and unpretentious. Our bill came to just under $100 USD, which I thought was very reasonable for the quality, setting, and experience. If you're wandering around Antwerp and want to escape the crowds while enjoying a cozy, candlelit meal in a spot full of old-world charm, this is the place to go.

Adorable location with alley, garden patio and indoor spaces. The salmon was nice but the…read morestroganoff had an amazing sauce that we dipped frites into. The service was nice. If you are looking for a spot in a historical location with ambience and well done traditional Belgian food, this is a great choice.

A place with a bit of a quirky edge. The name means Grandmother in Flemish and there are dozens and…read moredozens of photos of Grandmother photos on the wall. Apparently they are supplied by patrons. There seemed to be a good mix of locals and tourists. The menu is straightforward enough. I ordered mussels in a white wine sauce and it was quite the feast. I had the dark beer which is my favorite but they have a really good list. Ed tried the house 'red' beer that turned out to be very fruity, but with a hearty alcohol content. He ordered one thing, veal, but what came out seemed ab entirely different dish, chicken and pork. He enjoyed it so it was OK. He ordered potato croquettes with it and they were good. I thought I might get the ubiquitous fries (frites) but that didn't happen. They did give me a container of mayonnaise which one would assume is for fries, but when I inquired the waiter said it was for the mussels (?!) I guess I had to take his word for it. The portions were good and we left satisfied even with the glitches.

I wanted an authentic beef stew for dinner and thought a place that named themselves after Grandma…read morewould be decent. Service was standard, food came out pretty quickly. I ordered: - Shrimp croquette - there's small shrimps in this. Not small pieces of shrimp, but small shrimps. A bit of a surprise for me. Was OK tasting. - Fries - used to dip in my stew. I will admit maybe this is a ME thing, but the fries I've had here in general have not been stellar. Too potato-y and not crispy enough. - Beef stew - supposed to be the highlight. Flavors were OK, but the meat was just kind of dry and not very tender. After a while the sauce was a bit salty. The portion was good though. Overall OK, just the beef stew wasn't that great for me. It seems I should have ordered the mussels though, as so many other tables ordered it. Next time I will try that instead!

Fabulous choice for dinner. Very cozy dining room on a quiet side street…read more The service is super friendly, menu not in English but our very nice waiter explained what was needed. The food was exceptional, reservations a must.

Indeed rowdys comments are just perfect…read more The Chef of the reddende Engel is giving outstanding JOY- to all of his guests!!! My personal favorite Rosemary Sorbet We call it Gaumensex in Germany

I stopped by De Arme Duivel for dinner recently and tried their Stoofvlees (Flemish Stew). Similar…read moreto other places, the stew had nice chunks of beef and was flavourful and thick/hearty. What stood out the most was the Chicory salad as it was refreshing and made it less greasy (as it was slightly bitter) throughout the meal. Overall, I'd give it 8.5/10

The beef stew is AWESOME. The shrimp croquette is deliciously soft on the inside and crispy on the…read moreoutside. And the healthy portion of French fries tops everything off nicely. I also had a draft beer, which was tasty as well. The staff is friendly and attentive. And if you're lucky enough, you can choose between sitting indoor or outdoors- either way this restaurant has a great ambiance to match the food!

Fresh, so fresh!…read more That is the best way I can describe the food you get on your plate. Besides the fact that it has an open kitchen so you can see how they are preparing your dish, you can taste the freshness of their ingredients that are visible in the counter. The pasta itself is cooked as it should. If you bite it, it feels tender in the mouth, yet with a little bite to it. Just how it supposed to be. (Instead of that mushy pasta most places serve.) Every week there are new pasta suggestions. And the pizza's? they stick to the basics, that way you'll also taste the toppings AND the pizza itself. You can surely taste the difference with other pizza places. Deffinitely a must go! The price range of pizzas & pastas is between €13 - €18 (give or take..)

Possibly my favourite place to eat in Antwerp. I love Italian food and this place is authentic to a…read morefault. I've had terrific linguine vongole, seafood pasta, Osso Bucco - all of them have been hits! The ingredients are wonderfully fresh and the pasta perfectly al dente and bursting with flavour. The service is prompt and friendly and this place is so popular on weekends and Fridays you HAVE to call to get a place for dinner. I can't recommend Cucina 48 highly enough!

Billie's is a cozy beer bar with outstanding beer selection. I stopped by on my visit to Antwerp…read moreand enjoyed looking at all of the brewery stickers. I'd love to return and try some of the food next time.

Billie... Billie. I showed up and y'all showed out. This quaint bar in the cut of Antwerp…read moredefinitely houses traditional authentic Belgian dishes and beer. I'm not beer drinker but I did stop by to try their beef stew also known as Vlaams Stoofvlees. Wheeeeeew baby. Their gravy sauce for the stew is rich and thick. You literally can pick out the herbs when you eat. There's nothing fake about this place. That meal honestly can be shared amongst two people. It was an interesting twist for me to eat a chicory salad. Never have I ever. Yet, it was earthy and tasty. Great health benefits too. One thing you'll notice in Belgium is there Mayo and ketchup is real not processed. You can literally taste the difference. If you're ever in Antwerp for even a couple of hours, make it your business to stop by and treat yourself to good food and beer.

Just around the corner from the Grote Market, we went to Fish a'gogo for late lunch. We wanted to…read moreeat inside and to do so had to order Each person had to order 1 drink and 1 food item. Once agreed, we were escorted past the busy kitchen up to the 2nd floor. Stairs were somewhat steep and narrow so take care. It was very cosy upstairs and fans helped circulate air so it seemed cooler than the outdoor seating. Small bathrooms were also located here behind a blue wall. We liked that they had a good variety of seafood options on the printed menu but also the specials that day. Pricing was quite reasonable compared to other places we checked out earlier. I walked downstairs to place my order and ordered the mussels, octopus, fried shrimp cake and a drink. However, after returning to our table someone came up to ask me to pay again as it seemed like the first terminal had some issue. Turned out that they ended up canceling the octopus order but that wasn't clearly explained, we inferred that's what happened with the lower tab bill. I guess it worked out since we filled up quickly on the generous bowl of mussels (nice and meaty) and used up all the bread to soak up the delicious broth. The fried shrimp cake was crisp on the outside and tasty. As others pointed out, there was at least one gruff guy (the one who took my initial order) but the servers handling the service on the 2nd floor were very nice and neatly setup everything on our tiny table. Would return for more on a future Antwerp trip.

The best mussels!! They are better than the fancy restaurants we visited. The mussels are slightly…read moresmaller but the smokiness is to die for! The guy out in front wasn't the friendliest but the server that brought our food and cleaned our table was super friendly and nice. Their fried seafood were amazing too. The tables are small, and not sure why they gave us the table by the restroom upstairs that was completely in the way of the server when other tables were open too. Clean table and clean bathroom was a plus!

Nice and cosy pub/tapas bar with great paella, a darts board, summer terrace and big screen to…read morewatch football. Loes and Willy create a really special and authentic atmosphere.

The food was incredible. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and the service…read more We definitely recommend this restaurant. My husband had the Trey that included all the meats. I just had the rack of lamb in both were equally delicious.

Oh boy, by far the best food I had while in Antwerp. Funny how sometimes you can still find some…read moregems using the good ol' word of mouth. In this case, I went to a cocktail bar nearby and, after learning that they don't serve food, the waiter there told me about this place. This is a really cozy gastropub close to the cathedraal. Service was pretty good here. I had a vispannetje, which was translated to me as "fish stew". I was a bit unimpressed after I found that that the fish in it was salmon (which is not my favorite), but man, it also had some shrimps and mussels all thrown in a delicious sauce which i'm guessing uses cream and white wine and some vegetables that I couldn't make it. The side order of fries were good, but I'm still dreaming about that stew.

We had a nite off from our riverboat cruise so thought we'd try Le Steak 17. Small, cozy place. We…read morehad the option of eating out front under the umbrellas, but chose inside as it was an incredibly hot day. Not much cooler inside. Our server offered our group of 7 two tables pushed together near the front, explaining that the back was hotter since that's where they cook the steaks on the Big Green Egg (her English was very good). The server lugged out a very heavy rack of beers and even heavier rack of wine bottles for our perusal. Drinks chosen, we were presented with a vocal list of appetizers...meatballs, Camembert cheese, bone marrow and steak tartar. We chose the tartar. It was abundant and excellent. The dinner "menu" consisted of a large board with the 6 or 7 cuts of steak available. (They did offer a veggie burger for our lone vegetarian) Most steaks are offered at a 300g portion, but the tomahawk and porterhouse were huuuge. Steaks and temperatures were selected. They came out promptly, properly cooked and delicious. They were accompanied by group salads, fries, baked beans, roasted squash and a peppercorn sauce for the steaks. Desserts were offered but everyone was stuffed. Overall, well worth experiencing, but maybe go on a cool day...

Hidden gem! This place was recommended to me by a friend who works in the neighborhood and I loved…read moreit! The concept is simple: they sell steak... but in the best way possible. There is no printed menu, they just bring out the different cuts of the day and you pick the one you prefer. After they grill it on the green-egg and they serve it with beautiful cooked fries, salad, veggies and two sauces. Needless to say that they cook the meat to perfection... a fantastic medium rare! Le Steak 17 is really a no-nonsense place and focusses on the meat, the interior and the service is very minimal. Highly recommended for lovers of a decent steak!