Where and What to Eat in Antwerp
Antwerp eats like the Flemish port city it is: honest fried potatoes from a street stand, a shared pot of mussels, a distinctive local beer, and a biscuit shaped like a hand. This is a Dutch-speaking table, not a French one, so skip the “French fries” label and lean into what the city actually does well.
Frites from a frituur
Start with the national dish done properly: a paper cone of double-fried potato chips from a stand-up frituur, roughly EUR 3 to 5, with a sauce on top. This is Belgium’s UNESCO-recognised frituur culture, and a good cone is as satisfying as any sit-down meal. Order them as frieten or frites, never “French fries.”
Moules-frites and Belgian classics
The nationwide classic is a shareable pot of moules-frites (mussels and chips), roughly EUR 20 to 30, with cheaper standing fish-bar versions from about EUR 12 to 15. Look for other Flemish plates too: stoofvlees (a beef-and-beer stew) and waterzooi (a creamy stew) turn up on most traditional menus. A casual meal runs about EUR 12 to 20; a sit-down bistro dinner with a beer, roughly EUR 25 to 35.
The bolleke and Antwerp’s beer culture
Order “een bolleke” at any Antwerp cafe and you get De Koninck, the amber Spéciale Belge brewed in the city since 1833 and served in a round glass whose nickname became the beer’s official name in 2019. Expect roughly EUR 2.50 to 3.50 a glass. The De Koninck brewery runs a self-guided city-brewery tour, about an hour with two tastings, for roughly EUR 16 to 20.
Jenever, the local spirit
Antwerp has a genuine claim on jenever (juniper spirit), with a recipe documented here as far back as the 1500s. Modern proeflokaal bars still pour dozens of flavoured genevers by the small glass; a few of those is a proper Antwerp nightcap.
Antwerpse Handjes and sweets
The city’s signature sweet is the Antwerpse Handjes, a hand-shaped butter-and-almond biscuit created in 1934 and tied to the Brabo founding legend. Philip’s Biscuits is the best-known specialist maker; look for the plain, chocolate, and marzipan-with-Elixir-d’Anvers versions. For a Belgian waffle, the nationwide Brussels-versus-Liege distinction applies here as anywhere; there is no separate “Antwerp waffle.”
Where to graze
The Eilandje docklands and the artsy Het Zuid quarter are the two areas with the densest, most interesting eating and drinking. Tipping is not obligatory; rounding up or adding 5 to 10% for good sit-down service is plenty.
Read more: fit your meals around the sights with our Antwerp travel guide .