Wine bar Het Archief, Antwerp

Restaurant

About this hidden gem

At Het Archief, housed in a former archive dating from 1851, you can sample wine amongst cast-iron columns and a grand spiral staircase.

Why do you really want to visit this place

Behind the austere façade of the former Provincial Archives of Antwerp lies a hidden heritage site. Engineer Théodore Lebens designed the building in 1851 as one of the first entirely cast-iron structures in Europe, with the original columns and spiral staircase still intact. For a century and a half, the archive remained closed to the public. Since 2022, you can explore this remarkable building with a glass of wine in hand: over 25 wines by the glass, an extensive selection by the bottle, and wines from Ad Bibendum to take home. Taste four wines blind during the Wineflight Quatrevins, with no booking required. On the ground floor, Bakker Aldo – already a familiar face at Honeyguide – sells his delights of the good life.

This is how they (and you) make a difference

is breathing new life into a listed nineteenth-century heritage building, after it had been closed for a century and a half
shares the premises with local entrepreneur Aldo Bakker
awarded the public’s choice prize ‘Het Erfgoedjuweel 2025’ by the City of Antwerp