Bia Mara — Restaurant in Antwerp

One of the best fish and chips I have eaten. Fish is top fresh quality. Well battered, crunchy, flavourful but not oily. Delicious with creamy tatare sauce and a squeeze of lemon. Close to Grote Markt.

🔸️ The Classic (With Pollock) 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 This was surprisingly excellent. Pollock was tender, juicy and so good with Classic batter.

🔸️ Fries that accompanied the fish 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 It's like between eating a pack of your favorite potato chips and potato wedges.

🔸️ Minty Mushy Peas 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 With every spoonful, the hint of mint lifts the mushy savoury warm birds eye peas. Such a generous bowl of peas too. It's a meal on its own.

🔸️ Lemonade 🤩🤩🤩 Tangy, sweet lemonade. Perfect non-alcoholic replacement to the meal. Cold with ice cubes. Satisfaction.

🔸️ Lemon Basil Tempura (With Sea Bass) 🤩🤩🤩 Sweet, meaty sea bass. Nice but cannot top the Classic.

Quick, no nonsense service. Interesting decor, fusion of modern and old-fashioned.

😔 Downside to the restaurant: Harrowing walk up and down the antique narrow stairs to the toilet. Fought hard to turn on the tap to balance the hot cold water but only got the scalding...

If you love fresh, creative, and flavorful seafood, Bia Mara is the perfect spot! This place takes the classic fish and chips to a whole new level with unique twists and high-quality ingredients. The menu offers a variety of fish options, each paired with deliciously seasoned batter styles from around the world. I tried the panko-crusted fish with seaweed salted fries, and it was absolutely delicious—crispy on the outside, tender and flaky on the inside. My companion had the spicy Cajun fish, which had a great kick without overpowering the delicate fish flavor.

The fries were perfectly crispy, and the homemade dipping sauces added an extra layer of flavor. The portions were generous, and the food felt light and fresh rather than greasy. The atmosphere is casual and modern, making it a great place for a quick yet high-quality meal. The staff was friendly and efficient, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable...

I myself found this place via google maps and wanted to try out. As we arrived early evening, we were a bit suspicious because there were no guests. We tried nevertheless - and it was totally worth it! The waiter (maybe also the owner) seemed to be a true English or Irish man. Menus in English. He advised us in which beer to take and also in the foods. Food came fast and fresh. Good portion size. We had the fried shrimps (attention: spicy, for lovers), the fried anchovies and the tempura fish and chip. This was the freshest fish we ever tasted, very tender. He then told us this was seabream (dorade), so no wonder it was better then common cod or coalfisch variants. Also veeery good sauces. As we sat there and other people saw us, some decided to also sit down and it got fuller. My accompanies almost didn’t want to try out other places in Antwerp and wanted to go eat at this...