Antwerp is easy to explore on foot, and its wine addresses are in three areas: the old town around the Meir, het Zuid and the Eilandje by the docks. Het Zuid has the natural wine bars, the Eilandje the restaurants with big wine lists. Below, by neighbourhood, where to go.
The old town
On the Geefsstraat, close to the Meir, Het Archief is in the former Provincial Archive from 1851. There are always more than 25 wines open by the glass, and some of them change every day. On the Hopland, Luddites is a bookshop with a wine bar upstairs, in a townhouse from 1902. There is no wifi, and if you buy a book you get a glass of wine at half price.
On the Schermersstraat, Amber Bottle Shop sells more than 400 natural wines, partly imported by the owners, and you can also have a glass at the bar. At Belgian Wines on the Oudevaartplaats there is only Belgian wine on the list: sparkling, white, rosé and red, with local cheese and charcuterie. If you want to eat, go to Invincible on the Haarstraat, where cook and sommelier Kenny Burssens serves modern French food at a long counter with plenty of wine by the glass.
Het Zuid
Het Zuid has two wine bars for anyone who wants to taste something new. Spiridon on the Kronenburgstraat pours mainly natural wine, with small dishes such as veal tongue with salsa verde. An old butcher's fridge serves as the wine cellar. At Ta-nnin on the Volkstraat around 25 wines are open by the glass, with classic regions next to wines from Central and Eastern Europe. The small dishes have Japanese, Korean and Italian influences.
The Eilandje
On the Eilandje, the old dock area, you eat with a big wine list. Marcel is in a former seamen's church next to the MAS and has around 800 wines, more than 40 of them by the glass. In an old warehouse on the Oudeleeuwenrui, Pazzo has a restaurant with hundreds of wines, and a wine bar upstairs with more than 170, most of them by the glass. Bistrot L'îlot on the Kribbestraat is smaller: a thirty-seat bistro with a menu that follows the market and mostly French wine at friendly prices.
On the top floor of the MAS is Zilte, with three Michelin stars and views over the docks. Sommelier Aaron Moeraert pours several wines by the glass with each dish, so you can choose yourself.
Outside the centre
In the De Koninck city brewery, The Butcher's Son has a Michelin star. Red meat is the focus, with a list of around 400 wines, mostly from France, Italy and Spain. In Edegem, a fifteen-minute drive away, Stable is in the old stables of an 18th-century castle, with a good Belgian selection on the wine list.
Tip
Combine the wine bars of het Zuid in one evening: Spiridon and Ta-nnin are a few minutes' walk apart. All addresses are also in the Antwerp guide.
