STREETS, EATS & BEATS ROUTE
A full day of strolling around the city including various type of cool stores, trendy restaurants and a club night out!
YOUR GUIDE
Meet Riek J: originally from 'the other side of the Schelde’, though since many years more than happy to have traded his quiet rural hometown for what he confidently calls ‘the most culturally multifaceted city of Flanders’. When he’s not on his weekly grind for a mediacompany in Brussels, you can find him regularly before ànd behind the dj booth at various bars & clubs. Always looking for new cool spots in the city to have interesting convo, nurture his creativity & nourish his senses.
Without any doubt, I would start the day with one of my essentials; breakfast and most importantly good coffee. Butcher’s coffee (1) was right around the corner when I used to live at Antwerp’s Zuid neighborhood and is fit for every kind of mood. Whether you meet up with friends, or like to take your first part of the morning solo and have a delicious mug to read through the morning papers, Zuid is a great place for culture, next to multiple galeries you also have great museums. My pick would be the FOMU (2), which hosts great exhibitions on the regular, from Issei Suda, Max Pinckers to Mous Lamrabat.
After a shot of caffeine and culture, no better way to get hyped for the night than to get fresh and well dressed. Go to Costa del Kapsalon (3) for a fresh cut by taking the Volkstraat. You’ll get past the Urban surfstore Haven Surf (4), the Colorful Standard (5) flagship store where you can find great
basics and the Belgian craftmanship brand Eat Dust (6).
If you’re still in for scoring the right outfit, you can walk through Nationalestraat to Theodoor van Rijswijckplaats, next to the famous Kammenstraat where you have VIER (7), Avenue & Lockwood (8). I am personally very fond of skate apparel and grownup streetwear, and these stores have great classy but playful sneakers, shirts, tees and sweats.
All this shopping is making me thirsty, so head over to Titulus (9) to let you pour up something out of their great selection of natural wines, sakes and such.
I must confess, i am not a real vinylhead, though i do like to scroll endlessly through records and no better one to go through than Chelsea records (10) personal and exciting selectionn of Soul, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Punk and everything inbetween. Every time they fully redress their showcase and it’s always a surprise to see which theme is currently in display.
All that music made me hungry, luckily it’s just a couple of steps to Camino (11); one of the most delish’ Resto’s Antwerp and even Belgium has to offer. Many friends from all across the country and beyond, have eagerly booked their spot here and were amazed by their surprising LA inspired Asian cuisine. Booking a table upfront is highly recommended.
One of the great things about Antwerp’s nightlife is it being a cozy, communal and innovating place for all kinds of people. No better place to experience that than on your first nightstop; Café Au Lait (12). Thé bar which has been pushing Soul, Hiphop, Funk and other genres from the start. Some of the biggest and baddest dj’s in the genre have played their first sets in Cafe au lait and still can be found behind the decks in the bar or one of their numerous events.
A couple of fine cocktails down and the right amount of buzzed, it’s dancing time. You can go to De Studio (13), a beautiful creative hotspot which used to host one of the most renowned acting schools in Belgium. A place for film, music, theater and clubbing. Depending on the nightlife calendar, you can also go to Club Capital (14) in the Antwerp ‘stadspark’. With an upstairs bar, looking over the park and a clubhall in the basement, this is a great place for some of the most progressive & fun electronic events.
Enjoy this day of complete saturation for the senses!