The Hilton Antwerp Old Town has occupied Adolphe Kileman’s 1885 department store on the Groenplaats since 1993. A permit granted in January 2026 lets it add four floors and 137 rooms.
Author: Max
Our food and drink expert, Max, is always on the lookout for the best places to eat and drink in Antwerp. With his extensive knowledge of the city’s culinary scene, he’ll guide you to the tastiest spots in town.
Sergio Herman’s frituur: Frites Atelier on the Korte Gasthuisstraat
Sergio Herman, once three Michelin stars at Oud Sluis, opened Frites Atelier at Korte Gasthuisstraat 32 in 2017. It is not the frituur on the Hoogstraat.
Club Vaag: ten years in a basement on the Rijnkaai
Club Vaag has run house and techno nights in the basement of Rijnkaai 4 since 2015. Ten years on, it has outlasted Zillion and Ampere.
Domestic: the Burlats’ bakery, from Zurenborg to the old centre
Julien and Sophie Burlat ran the restaurant Dôme for years. Their bakery, Domestic, now has three Antwerp addresses and a €3.90 millefeuille.
Caffènation at Pakt: Antwerp’s coffee pioneer roasts in a builders’ yard
Rob Berghmans opened Caffènation in 2003. He now runs four coffee bars and roasts at Pakt, a Berchem builders’ yard that was nearly knocked down.
Walvis, a wedge-shaped corner café by the Dageraadplaats
Walvis opened in 2016 on a wedge-shaped corner at Walvisstraat 1, by the Dageraadplaats, as the second café from the owners of Vitrin. Its windows run down both sides.
The Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel, Michael Graves’s answer to Antwerp Central
Michael Graves designed the Astrid Park Plaza opposite Antwerp Central in 1993. As the Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel it has 253 rooms, and the square outside is about to change.
The Chocolate Line: Dominique Persoone’s kitchen in Napoleon’s palace
Dominique Persoone opened The Chocolate Line in the Paleis op de Meir in 2010. The pralines are made in the palace’s 18th-century kitchen, in full view of the till.
Bar Paniek, the Kattendijkdok summer bar that comes down every autumn
Since 2015 the artists’ collective Timecircus has built Bar Paniek each spring in two sheds on the Kattendijkdok, from salvaged wood and old window frames, and taken it down each autumn.
Hotel Julien, two 16th-century houses in Antwerp with 21 rooms
Mouche Van Hool opened Hotel Julien in 2004 in two 16th-century town houses on the Korte Nieuwstraat. Peter Ivens and Bea Mombaers have now redesigned its 21 rooms.