Den Abattoir

Vegetarians look away, because as the name suggests, Den Abattoir is not for you. Possibly serving the best meat to be found in Antwerp, it’s worth the detour out of the centre of town to Lange Lobroekstraat where Den Abattoir is located right in front of the Antwerp slaughter house.
It’s not far from the Sportspaleis and can be reached by bus or tram if you choose not to drive or grab a cab.
Den Abattoir gets very busy at lunchtime, mostly with Antwerp entrepreneurs discussing deals over large steaks and a decent bottle of red wine, company directors and sales and marketing people who still have a budget to ‘entertain’ in these days of economic woes.
In the evening it’s popular with people who are going on to a show or some event at the Sportspaleis.
For starters you might want to go for oysters or giant scampis, and then from surf to turf with a sirloin or six rib steak. I particularly like the thinly sliced calf’s liver with onions (almost Italian), and as long as I am not with friends from Australia I might have a ‘paardefilet’
I mention friends from Australia because once I took a guest from Melbourne to Den Abattoir who said he’d have whatever I was having. So it was two paardefilets. After we had eaten he said it was one of the best steaks he had eaten, and it was only then I told him it was horse meat. He went white in the face. Well, he’d lost so much money betting on horses in the past, I told him, that it was only right he should have his revenge,
Den Abattoir is pragmatic, they know not everybody is a meat-​lover so there are a couple of fish dishes available. But this is first and foremost a meat eater’s restaurant — with a great ambiance.
Prices are reasonably moderate for what you get, you’ll come out spending around 40 Euros a head: a filet pur will set you back just over 24 Euros, an entrecôte is on the menu for 22 Euros, while a six-​rib steak sits on your plate for 21 Euros.
A fairly good wine list, maybe a little pricey for some wines, with a couple excellent French reds at democratic prices.
It’s advisable to book in advance for a table, though I have just walked in from time to time.
Closed on Mondays and at lunchtime over the weekend