Trot Op! kept it nice and clean last week, and went looking for more of the best vegan restaurants in Antwerp. Six new and exciting venues were found, all of which you can now go and check out for yourselves. Enjoy!
Newsflash: for a lot of people, last year wasn’t exactly fun. More than twelve months of sitting at home can start weighing down on folks – and even more so on the scales.* Weeks and weeks of your lazy ass binging crisps on the couch does not – and many a doctor will agree with this – make for the fittest of puppies. Time for the great restoration project to commence: let’s clean up those eating patterns together. But how to do this when all of your favourite restaurants just opened shop again? Well, by going vegan for a while of course. Veggies are good for that sexy body of yours, and they won’t inflate you in the process. Ever seen a fat cow? Didn’t think so. To support you in this struggle, I did my bit for the war effort and found six great new vegan restaurants in Antwerp for you to try out. Better be ready!
*Not me though, lost 28 pounds, yeah!
The best vegan restaurants in Antwerp: part 2
Did you check out the list before reading the whole thing and your favourite is nowhere to be seen? Don’t get those woollen knickers in a twist over it, Karen. I already published a blog post on the best vegan restaurants in Antwerp last year, so maybe it’s in there. It could of course happen that even this new article isn’t 100% exhaustive. There are a lot of vegan places to visit, and one can only eat so many plates of courgetti before wanting to rip a juicy Bicky Burger straight out of a crying toddler’s grubby little hands. This said: all the restaurants in the list are great. I tried to come up with a varied offer which included something for everyone – and knowing myself, I probably succeeded yet again. Yeey me!
1. IceLab NiceCream Creations
Let’s kick off our discovery tour with the place probably least beneficial to your diet – but it’s pretty tasty though. IceLab NiceCream Creations on Theaterplein opened its doors last year while the first corona wave was raging in full force, but managed to survive. It’s been the only fully vegan ice cream parlour in Antwerp ever since. Yes indeed: instead of your standard ice cream, flavoured by adding the salty tears of clubbed baby seals, this one uses only plant-based ingredients instead. Even the splendid waffles on the opening picture are completely vegan. “But buddy, ice cream without actual cream can’t really taste the same now can it?” => It sure can, Carl, and go whine somewhere else. www.icelab.be
2. Spritz
Spritz on Oude Koornmarkt was already mentioned in my (award winning, yesyes) piece on the best Italian restaurants in Antwerp. But because it’s the only vegan Italian in town, I decided to add it once again. Spritz is led by the lovely Luna, who veganised her mother’s traditional Italian dishes. The flavours are delicious and extremely close to the original recipes. The last time I was here, I ordered a vegan spaghetti alla carbonara – without of course, any eggs or bacon. The result was exceptionally tasty and much closer to what a true carbonara is supposed to taste like than the greasy crap they sometimes dump on your plate in an “actual” Italian restaurant. Well done! www.spritz-antwerp.com
3. HART
HART is a cosy vegan breakfast- and lunch bar on Sint-Katelijnevest in the city centre. It opened two years ago and is run by Melissa and Mario: a couple with Chilean, Spanish and Chinese roots. These cultural influences can be found on the menu as well. You’ll see vegan tortillas – yes, potato omelettes without eggs – as well as various Asian dishes. They are most known for their sweets and desserts though. Long before there was a restaurant, Melissa’s pies could be found in various coffee shops around Antwerp. These days, you don’t have to walk through half the city to get to them. Just order a piece right here. Get some coffee to go with it as well: Mario is a certified barista. www.hart-antwerpen.be
4. Humm
Feeling like some more southern vegan flavours? Book a table at Humm on Dageraadplaats. This beautiful restaurant serves the best vegan dishes from the Middle East. The house specialty is of course – who would have thought? – their very own hummus, which is super tasty. It doesn’t stop there. You can order a Middle Eastern breakfast or a whole table of dishes to share as well. All of the coffee, the soft drinks and the wines are organic, and the beer is produced by a local brewer who makes it the traditional way. Looking for a healthy and ethically responsible place to dine? You know where to go. www.humm.love
5. Camion
Camion – behind the old palace of justice – wasn’t mentioned in my first article on vegan restaurants in Antwerp either, which got me quite some complaints. Obviously this was exclusively the fault of my vegan friends not giving me enough decent info (hehe), but I partly corrected this injustice by adding them to my list of take-away places during the lockdown. Today it is time for the full redemption. Camion is owned by two female friends who produce a whole bunch of tasty plant-based dishes. Throughout the day, it’s a lunch bar where you can order salads, leek pancakes or a sandwich Camion gekapt (vegan filet Americain). At night you can sit down with your friends and order five dishes to share for just €27 per person. Clean those dirty hands of yours before you touch anything though. www.camion-antwerpen.be
6. Plant B
Plant B is a cosy breakfast, coffee and lunch bar on Oude Koornmarkt. This is one of the better places in town to fully discover the richness of vegan cuisine. You can order a variety of tasty and healthy breakfasts, but also vegetarian salmon, vol-au-vent, burgers and even Moroccan tagine. The desserts are yummy as well, and there’s a freshly baked pie waiting for you every day. Got yourself a date and want to start the day with a hearty bite? Order the YOLO breakfast for two and then find yourself a nice spot to lie down for a while. www.plantb.co
There, this list should suffice to herd you all back to the path of healthiness for a while. Did you stay in shape during the lockdown? Do you purposely eat animals out of moral obligation because you go pecked by a chicken as a kid? Are you a vegan and is your favourite place still not on the list? Let me know in the comments below.
Want to go on an exciting trip close by? Read my posts on the Wadden Isles, Waterloo, Mechelen, Leuven, Gaume and Viroinval. Want to see more of my photographic work? Add me on instagram via @jonathanramael.
No Comments