Sunday, 10 March 2024

Food Review in Antwerp: Het Pakhuis Antwerpen in Vlaamse Kaai

Restaurant Het Pakhuis Antwerpen in Vlaamsekaai, South Antwerp

Home Brewery – Restaurant Het Pakhuis Antwerpen

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen restaurant located at the street of Vlaamse Kaai is one of the two breweries that remains in Antwerp. The other one in Antwerp is De Koninck. In 1946, there were 27 of them in Antwerp. Subsequently, many of them closed down their operation over the years due to volatile market situations. It was said that at the beginning of 1900, Antwerp had only 25 breweries back then.

Brasserie Het Pakhuis Antwerpen Dining Hall

't Pakhuis Antwerpen Brasserie

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen Restaurant

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen Brewery

As you would have guessed, premium home-brewed beers are Het Pakhuis Antwerpen flagship products ever since the brewery established in 1996. With an increasing standard of food demand, the consumers look for high-quality natural resources without filtering and pasteurisation. ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen maintains its brewing process in an authentic way, using only pure natural materials with stringent quality control.

Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis Antwerpen Brewery

Huisbrouwerij Het Pakhuis Brewery

Antwerp Brewery Tour

People who are interested in the making of beer can go for an Antwerp Brewery Tour at Huisbrouwerij ‘t Pakhuis. It offers a 1-hour guided session of the brewery process in either English, Dutch or German. You have to state your preference clearly before reservation.

The Antwerp Brewery Tour includes home-brewed beer tasting as well. The cost is €125 for a group of maximum 10 people. The cost is €125 for a group of maximum 10 people. An additional person will pay €8 per pax consequently.

Brouwerij Pakhuis Antwerpen - Brewery Guided Tour

Antwerp Brewery Tour

5 Types of Beers

Brasserie ‘t Pakhuis offers five types of beer on their menu. These beers yield different flavour and different percentage of alcohol level. You can also get a few cans back at their sales counter.

1) Antwerps Blond  @ €2.70

Ongefilterd, zacht en fruitig. Schitterend Dorstlesser.

  • Alcohol: 4.9%
  • Unfiltered, soft and fruity. Brilliant quencher.

2) Antwerps Bruin @ €3.00

Zacht bruine kleur, lichte karameltoets. In afdronk zoete aanzet met een droog einde.

  • Alcohol: 5.6%
  • Soft brown colour, light caramel taste. Sweet start with a dry aftertaste.

3) Den Bangelijke @ €4.00

Donker blond, aangename geur, zeer fruitige smaak. In afdronk lange fijne bitterheid.

  • Alcohol: 8.5%
  • Dark blond, pleasant smell, very fruity taste. Long, subtle bitterness aftertaste.

4) Den Zwarte Sinjoor @ €4.20

Zwart, de kleur van Stout! Chocolade met koffie, ook aarbeien en drop. Volmondige zoete start. In afdronk, gebrande bitterheid.

  • Alcohol: 6.7%
  • Black, the colour of Stout! Chocolate with coffee, also strawberries and liquorice. Perpetual sweet start. Burned bitterness aftertaste.

5) Het Stalen Ros @ €4.20

Oranje-amber, ros! Fruitig, sinaasappel, licht kruidig met wijntoetsen. Volle complexe smaak en afdronk, een feestbier waardig.

  • Alcohol: 6.8%
  • Orange-amber, stallion! Fruity, orange, lightly spicy with wine taste. Full complex flavour and aftertaste, a deserving party beer.

Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis Antwerpen Beer

‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen Restaurant Food Review

Vol-au-Vent @ €19.00 or €17.50

The French word, “Vol-au-Vent” means “Flight in the Wind”. It originates from France in the early 18th century. It is a pastry puff that has savoury fillings such as chicken and fish. In France, Vol-au-Vent is a snack or appetiser. However, in Belgium, it is the main course and commonly seen on the menu in Belgian restaurants.

In ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen, there are two types of Vol-au-Vent with different filling offered in the food menu. The first choice is prawns, plaice (a type of flatfish) and salad. The second option was chicken, meatballs, mushroom and salad. I was told that the second one was the typical Vol-au-Vent. I decided to choose the chicken combination since it was the original version.

The Vol-au-Vent sauce in Brasserie ‘t Pakhuis was rather tasteless and disappointing. As it was my first attempt, I had to seek more opinions from the rest of the Belgians in the group whether that was the original taste. My boyfriend and his brother tasted it.

They had the same opinion as me and agreed that the sauce was not flavoursome enough as they had tried better Vol-au-Vent. The portion of the food was generous and comes with a few pieces of croquettes. As it was not tasty enough, I could not finish the whole dish.

't Pakhuis Antwerpen Vol-au-Vent

Brasserie 't Pakhuis Antwerpen Croquettes

Rundstoofvlees | Flemish Beef Stew @ €17.50

The Rundstoofvlees | Flemish Beef Stew is one of my favourite cuisines ever since I moved to Belgium for cohabitation with my boyfriend. The thickened sauce with dark beer cooked in many hours of low heat has turned the beef stew into an aromatic rich flavouring.

Het Pakhuis restaurant stews their Rundstoofvlees in their brewed beer, Antwerps Bruin. The gravy had a strong bitter taste but yet tasted very sweet at the same time. The verdict from the three of us on the table was that it should not be overly sweet for this dish.

Brasserie Pakhuis Antwerpen Rundstoofvlees | Flemish Beef Stew

Fish Waterzooi @ €18.50

Waterzooi, as the name derives is a Flemish stew dish which first started in Ghent, prepared with fish from the freshwater or sea. The Waterzooi of Brasserie Pakhuis Antwerpen contains fresh green herbs, potatoes and their home-brewed beer, Antwerps Blond in the bouillon. I had tried this Waterzooi with salmon.

The soup was so delicious that I regretted not ordering it in the first place. I swore that I had been thinking about it even on the next day and was thinking of going back to try! In the end, I bought a supermarket-grade Waterzooi just to satisfy that craving! Highly recommended to order this course from Het Pakhuis Antwerpen if you love fish soup!

How Flemish Waterzooi looks like
Photo: David.Monniaux / Wikimedia Commons

Steak Tartare @ €22.50

Steak Tartare is a cold raw dish with chopped small pieces of meat presented in a round mould. Seasoning in Steak Tartare should not be overwhelming as tasting the freshness of the meat is still the precedence. Here, Het Pakhuis Antwerpen has the condiment perfectly mixed into the raw beef. Almost perfect!

Het Pakhuis Antwerpen Steak Tartare

Steak @ €22.50

The brother of my boyfriend ordered the steak. He had been praising the freshness of it for a few times and said it was good. He is an extreme steak fanatic. The steak comes with Belgian fries, of course. Hence, the steak from ‘t Pakhuis Antwerpen is a dish that one can go ahead to try from someone who is so in love with eating steak.

Steak @ 't Pakhuis Vlaamse Kaai Antwerpen

Crème Brûlée @ €7.25

The Crème Brûlée was definitely up to expectation!

Crème Brûlée @ Restaurant Pakhuis Antwerpen

Overall Review

The staffs at Brasserie Het Pakhuis Antwerpen lacked smiles and a welcoming body language that I was expecting. Thus, there is still room for improvement in this restaurant with a cosy ambience for gathering.

Salad Bar @ Pakhuis Restaurant Antwerpen

Pakhuis Antwerpen


Address of the Restaurant

BREWERY – BRASSERIE HET PAKHUIS ANTWERPEN

Vlaamsekaai 76
2000 Antwerpen
Tel: +32 3 238 12 40

Daily Operating Hours

Lunch
12 pm to 2 pm

Dinner
6 pm to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday until 11 pm

*Closed on Monday*

www.pakhuis.info




About Live in Belgium

Hello, my name is MissSJ. I am a Singaporean. I am living with my Belgian partner since July 2016 in a cosmopolitan city, Antwerp. However, I had been travelling to and fro Belgium since 2011 as a tourist. The creation of this blog is to document my new journey in Belgium which I would like to call 'home'. Join me in discovering fascinating Belgium from the eyes of an expat.