Graanmarkt 13 — Restaurant in Antwerp

We were looking really forward to dinner at this lovely place, and the evening started well, after I asked for the possibility of a vegan menu option (which was confirmed, but not described though, so the menu itself was kind of a surprise for me). We were seated in the romantic backyard, had a nice aperitivo, very delish bread, and a great starter. Unfortunately, the main course was served 5 mins later- we didn’t even have new cutlery, or a bottle of wine, as the staff simply didn’t paid attention to asking for our drink wishes before the menu started, so instead we had to ask for it. The wine we chose wasn’t available, and the alternative arrived at room temperature. The waitress put the wine into the cooler, which seems to be their understanding of wine service, as we were left alone with pouring the wine for the rest of our stay. The vegan alternative was half an eggplant (apparently burned in the oven), a tiny bit of mashed potatoes, plus some pieces of leek, and some other inedible vegetable, which I wasn’t able to identify (I couldn’t chew it, and had to put it into my napkin). We had the cheese platter & a really yum Creme brûlée for dessert, and even managed to get a mokka (we were actually ordering espresso, which didn’t seem to matter), before we were asked twice (and not friendly) to leave, as the table was needed for the next guests. We paid 200€ for a very disappointing evening, and an unbelievably bad, boring, and just ruined main course. Honestly, it was one of the most horrible dishes I ever had, which just mustn’t happen if you set such high expectations as the Granmaarkt. Still trying to figure out why it’s a Michelin recommendation- definitely not if you’re craving some creative vegan dish.

The evening could have been really nice, if the staff would have been better organized, communicative, and simply not making the guests feel so unwelcome. All in all, nothing but a big...

We were not happy. We had a table at the back of the garden next to the wall. The wall is covered in plants/ trees. The plants were full of mice. We understand that this can happen in a city, but then don't put the tables super close to the wall.

The service wasn't good either that particular evening because there weren't many waiters. No one came to check if we wanted more drinks or more food and we had to go and look for someone to order more. If there had been more waiters the experience would have been better as they could have taken the time to inform us about the right food quantities and to check in from time to time to see if everything was 'ok'. We had to wait for 1h and 20min for our food, but this could have been avoided if the waiters told us that first the cooks would prepare the starters for everyone in the restaurant (which we didn't take) and the main dishes would end up at the end of the queue. We then could have ordered some starters as well.

The food and drinks were tasty and good !

When we shared the feedback, the restaurant did take the time to call us back the next day and to make amends.

I think this restaurant has the potential to be great on a day with...

We visit the restaurant for a dinner with our friends.

Food was great and prices were reasonable. Since they base their menu on Belgian cuisine, I was surprised their selection of beers was basically limited to Stella, I couldn’t pair my food with it.

The selection of wines by glass was also very limited, a couple of options per each wine segment, but it was well done and could be was easily paired with food they serve. They also have a nice selection if aperitifs: cocktails, mocktails and sparkling wine.

Service was ok, they were pretty quick and frindly, but at the same time couldn’t tell much about menu/drinks, never checked how we are doing after serving food and didn’t offer pepper/salt/Tabasco for tartar.

They allow dogs both inside and outside (thanks for that!). Overall impression is good and it’s worth to visit...