Belgian Beer Café Vignettes: Pelikaan, Antwerp
Antwerp offers some of the best beer cafes in the country for beer travelers willing to venture beyond the well-worn path between Brussels and Bruges. Cosmopolitan yet compact, Antwerp is the kind of place where you don’t have to walk far to find an excuse to take a break from all that sightseeing.
Pelikaan
A fine place to do just that is Pelikaan, a corner café on the eastern edge of the Grote Markt and in the shadow of the magnificent Our Lady. You can’t miss it as you make your way from the train station: A neon sign stretched across a black cornice above patterned stained glass windows spells out the name of the café.
I remember well the first time I encountered Pelikaan. I had arrived in Antwerp in time for lunch and was in search of some frites before beginning a round of sightseeing that would culminate in a tour of Antwerp’s beer cafes. Two large, red-faced Brits on the threshold of their golden years were at one of the barrel tables outside talking very animatedly, almost coming to blows. Quite a place, I thought, and wrote Pelikaan off for the evening.
Turns out I had been wrong about Pelikaan.
Pelikaan was lively when we arrived on that summer Saturday afternoon a few years later, the buzz of conversation loud enough to drown out the soundtrack, the vibe exuding a welcoming neighbourhood feel. Young and old crowded together at tables and in front of the bar at this classic brown cafe. A steady parade of patrons popped in and out, some lingering as long as we did: folks in their mid-30s catching up over a quick drink; a weathered guitarist with a 3-day beard and a well-worn cowboy hat; an intellectual type with a flowing mane of grey hair intently reading the newspaper; the requisite dude with tattoos strewn across every inch of his arms; an older couple sharing a drink and perhaps a memory or two.
Pub-Perfect Atmosphere for a Beer
Magenta walls brighten the atmosphere of this dimly lit cafe, with ample sunshine flooding in through the feature windows and back door that opens out onto a small outdoor seating area. The tiled floor adds character (I love those old tiled floors!), as do the cream-coloured art deco lights above the bar and the worn chocolate brown tables topped by square slabs of marble. Mirrors above the studded leather benches give the illusion of more space than there is in this snug and cheerful café with seven small tables for friends and seven stools for barflies. Décor is straightforward: beer signs. What more do you need? (Maybe a beer.)
As far as the beer selection goes, it’s not particularly vast, but that’s a relative term. You won’t go thirsty. Alongside Heineken products like Affligem and Cristal you’ll find draft versions of trusty standards from the likes of La Chouffe, Rodenbach, and hometown favourite, De Koninck. Another ten or so bottlings include beers from Duvel, Orval, Boon, Rochefort, and Westmalle.
Me? It’s Antwerp. I’ll take a De Koninck.
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Related articles:
Beer Cafes and Bollekes: Beer for a Day in Antwerp
Imbibing Beer and Flemish Splendour in Ghent
In the Land of Flemish Red-Brown Ale
Where the Wild Beers Are: Brussels and Flemish Brabant
Click on any photo in the gallery below to enlarge.
Images by Franz D. Hofer
© 2023 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.
I was in de Pelikaan a couple of days ago, and it is excellent.
Don’t forget de Kat though, my new favourite bar in Antwerp – great decor and atmosphere, and Poperinges Hommelbier in bottles which is a rarity in an Antwerp bar.
De Kat’s great! And so is the Poperinge Hommelbier. Been too long since I’ve had one.
Here’s a post about Antwerp from a few years back. It has a little bit about De Kat as well.
Cheers!
https://tempestinatankard.com/2019/03/31/beer-cafes-and-bolleke-beer-for-a-day-in-antwerp/
Try the Beveren near the river. Not a brown cafe, but a working class bar with a fantastic mechanical jukebox, the only one left in the Province and made in the City. On Saturday afternoons the locals tend to dance along. Beer wise it’s Maes or Bolleke, but that doesn’t matter when the atmosphere is so good.
Thanks for the tip! Always nice to know about places a bit removed from the highlights in the center.
My Antwerp favourite is Oud Arsenaal. A beautiful Art Deco bar where the beer of choice seemed to be draught Westmalle Dubbel.
Thanks for that! Another one for my list. So many different beer cafes to visit across Belgium!