Het Pomphuis — Restaurant in Antwerp

As we arrived our first impression was impressive. It is a beautifully renovated building hosting water pumps that were used in the past to bring water to ships and other vessels. Wearing just jeans and a t-shirt we instantly felt under-dressed (thank god for some other tables with other people wearing t-shirts).

The welcome was just like in any other restaurant, gave our reservation name and were seated at a table near the back of the restaurant. However the hostess couldn't bring up a smile.

What followed was an amazing service and an amazing feast for the pallet. The staff knows what they're doing and it all feels like a well-oiled (pump) machine.

The atmosphere is quite relaxed, mostly because of the beautiful, clean, building. (even the toilets are worth a special visit!) We came here on a Sunday evening during the holidays (august) and it wasn't all that busy (although a massive amount of people could fit in the restaurant).

The prices are quite high but so is the quality of the food and the service is sublime. You feel like you're in a star-restaurant. For a special occasion it is certainly worth the price but I wouldn't come here every month either.

One 'negative' point: just like the hostess, not one of the staff members had a smile on their face unless you try to be funny as customer...a bit...

The best steak tartare, damn that was amazing. Other dishes we sampled? Starter; crispy duck with fois gras. It was seriously tasty but the duck rolled in thin pancake was a bit dry and chewy. Main: Black Angus beef. Truly tasty. Was grilled to perfection which is truly a challenge when you ask for medium/rare. Steak tartare as a main, ..(sigh)... seriously delicious. If you’re a meat eater this is one to order. Desserts: we really shouldn’t have ordered dessert but...it was Friday night and the weather was fine. Chocolate mousse. Wow. That should be called Death by chocolate. Too much, too rich, too decadent, too delicious. A true dessert for the chocolate lover. Creme brûlée. The first brûlée ever I could t finish. Creamy, rich and prepared perfect. Tasty and spot on. We finished off with some coffee which also comes with delicious cookies. One negative. They serve Nespresso coffee. Nespresso is not something you can serve in a restaurant, just not done. Overall I can highly recommend Het Pomphuis. BUT, word of warning(!) make a...

If you are not familiar with the area, or you are out of town, you will start wondering why you did not stick with lively downtown Antwerp, which by the way has numerous nice restaurants. Then you reach the bridge to the Port Authority with the Zaha Hadidplein structure on top. Across of it, by the water is located Het Pomphuis. The Pump House. The seating is either around the 2 stories void, overlooking the water pumps, our choice, or under the glass house. The ambient is simply beautiful. We had scallops and vitello tonnato as appetizers. Our main course was cod, served over lemon risotto with mussels and grey shrimps and seabass with lobster and sea lavender. I don’t have to mention that all plates were exceptional, in taste and presentation. Small minus the baby artichokes, which were dried. My only regret is that I did not leave enough space for desert. (I have to go back for it). Don’t miss the opportunity to visit also during daytime, as we did. The deck seating area overlooking the water is also a very nice setting, especially on...