The 7 Best Coffee Shops In Antwerp

You might know Antwerp as being to home of the world’s diamond trade, but the port of Antwerp has been a major hub for coffee for several centuries: from all over the world, ships bring huge cargos of green coffee beans here.

At one time, every neighbourhood had its own coffee roasting house and you can still get your own custom blend roasted at Jespers at Oever 16. Or, even better, you can sit back and get one of the city’s best baristas to brew up a cup or two for you.

There’s no better city in Belgium for coffee – here’s the seven best spots in town…

The 7 Best Coffee Shops In Antwerp, How do these rankings work?

1. Kolonel Coffee Roastery 

Founded in 2011, they have full quality control over the entire process of their store, from bean to cup. They also make a large selection of quality teas and lemonades using their own homemade syrups – something for everybody here.

Ever since starting its own independent roastery in 2016, Kolonel Coffee has been importing quality beans from all over the world, manually roasting the beans with a Probat coffee roaster.

2. Caffènation 

With two locations in Antwerp, the superb coffee here comes freshly roasted not far from Caffènation’s location, in their very own roastery. This is a real staple of Antwerp’s coffee scene and has been going strong for 15 years, constantly one step ahead with their artisan coffee philosophy. “One drug. One Nation. One Caffènation.”

3. Normo 

With a beautiful La Marzocco in pride of place on the counter, you instantly know that you will get a great cup of coffee at this hip micro roastery. They roast their coffee in their own roaster in Borgerhout, on a state of the art Loring Smartroaster. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, so it’s a great place to chill.

4. Viggo’s Coffee Bar 

Viggo’s is a funky Berlin-style coffee bar on a busy square in Antwerpen-Noord that’s a lovely place to spend an afternoon. The coffee comes from artisan roasters from across the world, such as The Barn, Koppi Fine Roasters and 4 Square Mile. If you’ve already hit your daily caffeine limit, pop in for fresh baked cookies and milk.

5. Black & Yellow Coffee Bar 

Joke, formerly a barista at Caffénation, opened this absolutely banging coffee shop on sun-drenched Eilandje, which has major hip hop vibes (Joke is also a DJ) and specialty coffee. There’s MOK roaster coffee beans, tasty soft-serve ices for summer and the must-try black lemonade.

6. Cuperus

Just a short walk from many of the city’s main sights on Sint-Katelijnevest, you will find Cuperus, the oldest coffee and tea bar in Antwerp. Cuperus has been brewing up artisan coffee to Antwerpers for over 190 years.

New owners took over the historic company in 2013 and have breathed new life into it, making sure it’s still a must-visit cafe for any coffee addict. Keep an eye out for the coffee soft serve on hot days.

7. Butchers

Founded by two former baristas of Caffènation, this slick espresso bar is a great up-and-comer in the city. They use Caffènation’s roasting services, and also serve its blends in-house. Not only that, twice a month they receive a surprise package via BeanPortal and CoffeeVine, filled with delicious filter coffee from all over Europe.

Their pretty (and delicious) breakfast menu is also outstanding. A stylish cafe that will soon be a staple.