Cheap Eats in Antwerp: Frites and Bolleke
Cheap Eats in Antwerp: Frites and Bolleke
Eating well in Antwerp does not mean eating expensively. This is Flanders, so the food is Flemish and Dutch-speaking rather than French, and the cheapest options are often the most local. Here is how to eat across a full day without a big bill, sorted by price band rather than by name.
Street food first
The frituur (fry shop) is the backbone of Belgian street eating: a paper cone of proper double-fried potatoes with a sauce runs roughly €3-5, and you will find stands across the centre and near the squares. Belgians do not call these “French fries,” and the frituur tradition is taken seriously here. For something sweet, Antwerpse Handjes are the local specialty, a hand-shaped butter-and-almond biscuit created in 1934 and tied to the Brabo hand-throwing legend; Philip’s Biscuits is the best-known maker, and a box travels home cheaply as a souvenir. Waffles follow the nationwide split between the light Brussels waffle and the dense, pearl-sugar Liège waffle; there is no separate “Antwerp waffle,” so ignore anyone selling one.
Sit-down without overspending
A casual meal runs roughly €12-20, and a proper Belgian bistro dinner with a beer lands around €25-35. Moules-frites, the shareable pot of mussels and fries, costs €20-30 at a sit-down kitchen but closer to €12-15 standing at a fish bar. Het Zuid, the arts district south of the centre, is the best area for an unhurried evening meal that still feels local rather than tourist-priced, while food stalls around the Eilandje docks near the MAS are a cheap lunch stop. An upscale tasting dinner climbs to €50-80 or more if you want one big night out.
The drink to order
Ask for “een bolleke” and you will get a De Koninck, Antwerp’s own amber Spéciale Belge, brewed in the city since 1833 and served in its distinctive round glass. Expect roughly €2.50-3.50 in an ordinary cafe, the cheapest genuine Antwerp ritual there is. Antwerp also has a real jenever claim going back to the 1500s; the small juniper-spirit is still poured by the glass in old proeflokaal tasting bars.
Practical notes
Tipping is not US-style here: round up or add roughly 5-10% for good sit-down service and nothing on a frituur cone. Contactless cards are widely accepted, though it is worth carrying a little cash for market stalls and smaller cafes.
For the sights to walk off all that food, see the Antwerp budget city guide , and for a day-by-day plan that folds in cheap meals, the 3 day Antwerp itinerary sets the pace. Eat your main frituur cone at lunch, not dinner; many stands close earlier than restaurants.