YO! Here I am again, ‘cause new month means time for another #NEWKIDSINTOWN! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this item: every month I try to launch a shortlist of brand new hotspots (read: must-visits!), that my fellow locals and I haven’t had the time to blog about. Hey, ho, let’s go!
First up: Millevaches Slagersatelier ! As a reaction to the whole ‘healthy veggie’ trend, we see concepts with a heart for meat popping up. Millevaches is one of them. This novelty is a butcher atelier & shop (500 square metres!) at the vibrant Eilandje where meat from the own meadow is cut and processed in a traditional, authentic way.
Funny name, don’t you think? It refers to one’s own farm ‘Le Cluzeau Boyer’ at the ‘Plateau de Millevaches’, where pigs & oxen are bred in ùtter nature. The shop is led by the same family that owns renowned, nearby restaurants Lux & Món. So, delicious ready-meals guaranteed!
At Millevaches, you don’t just go to the butcher: you experience the whole manufacturing process live: from the carcass at the hook (in the shadow of the beautiful MAS) to the fillet in the arch. They got everything they need to make their own unique, daily (processed) meat. Highly recommended!
Millevaches
Godefriduskaai 12 :: 2000 Antwerp
ZooMoon transcends the traditional shop experience. It’s thé new one-stop-shop, all-round hub & ‘do’ tank for young men.
Present: a mix of exclusive underground brands from different price ranges and styles ( Cheap Monday, Quicksilver, WESC, Marshall, Playground, Indian Blue Jeans ). I myself am a big fan of the funny gadgets by Urbanears & the exhibited art.
Also present: a ZooMlab. Or else: the next favourite habitat for co-creative youngsters. Go there for inspiring brainstorm sessions & workshops, for creative collaborations and for nudge ‘hands on’ entrepreneurship. Why not design your own shirt (and exhibit it in the ZooMoon clothing line)? Or pimp your clothing with a laser cutter or 3D printer and learn how to beat box, code or photograph? Everything is possible at Zoomoon!
ZooMoon
Riemstraat 17 :: 2000 Antwerp
Be welcome at Barchel for breakfast, lunch and any time in between. Barchel equals a great interior (mark the beautiful marble & adorable tiles), a nice garden where you can linger during pleasant summer day & all day delicious food accompanied by excellent coffee, for a fair price. What do you need more?!
Barchel
Van Breestraat 6 :: 2018 Antwerp
Behold the Belgian Bunch is a flagshipstore by LN Knits . Every summer, founder Ellen Kegels can’t resist the siren call of the sea. Together with her knitwear, she moves to Knokke, to open another pop-up shop. Meanwhile, 6 young, upcoming designers take over her shop. This time, it’s baptized ‘BTBB’. From lingerie to sandals to exclusive textile interior to styling yoga wear to jewellery: when you’re looking for original must-haves, you can’t miss it! Oh, and if you feel like ‘apero’-ing: every 2 weeks there’s a clover gin apero on Friday.
Behold The Belgian Bunch
Leopoldstraat 22 :: 2000 Antwerp
What do you do with a decaying building, destined for a magnificent hotel in two years? Two schoolmates combine their efforts to make it a balmy culinary pop-up, with Mediterranean flair. It’s an experience room where lifestyle, excellent food, a boutique and lounge bars meet. The Lobby features an Italian restaurant and bar called Il Capriani, with a green terrace – hold it – with a surface area of 500m2!!! The Lobby also opens up for other entrepreneurs: the spare room is given to Barbershop Chaplins , young Belgian designers and city developer AG Vespa , who is informing you about the evolution of the site. Hence, everything you would find in the lobby of a real hotel, to a next level.
The Lobby
Jan van Gentstraat 6 :: 2000 Antwerp
This fish 'n chips shop is more than just fried fish, because of its workmanship and its location. Fruits de mer, oysters, shrimps, cod paring, bisque, … everything is perfectly fried by Jurgen Tanghe, passionate fisherman & master chef. It’s simple: queue, pick your dish, wait ‘till it’s fried and pay. Eat it ‘on the go’ or take place at the reedy fishing bins in front of the eatery, with an extraordinary view on the famous cathedral. Definitely my new fave take away!
Fish a gogo
Handschoenmarkt 1 :: 2000 Antwerp
Experience Milan, Manhattan & London all in one in this trendy bar in the South of Antwerp. Owner Jurgen Lijcops (also known from bistro & wine bar The Glorious ) dreams big: he wants to peer with other traditional, international bars (think: NY Greenwich Village style) where you can approachably enjoy – beside the old-time signature cocktails - great coffees, beers, wines, sherries, cognacs, gins & finger food in a great interior. A classic bar, as it should be. All cocktails are prepared with the greatest care and attention to detail. Jurgen only works with the finest products and freshest ingredients possible. Finger-licking good!
Bar-Burbure
Vlaamse Kaai 41 :: 2000 Antwerp
For years, The Beerlovers have been obsessed by beer, expressed in an extensively amount of tastings & festivals. The collective felt that the time has come to share their passion in a beer specialty store – call it a paradise! – and found a fitting building next to city library Permeke . The combination of a great atmosphere and well-balanced beer selection is key to this new bar. They offer you no less than 12 beer taps and 130 different bottled beers! Even the non-lovers are welcome to enjoy a fine selection of wines, whiskeys and coffees. By establishing the bar at De Coninckplein, the owners want to do their bit to the upcoming neighbourhood.
Beerlovers Bar
Wetstraat 81 :: 2060 Antwerp
Text by Lize Colson
Pics by Guidesse & Goesting A'pen