De Pelikaan, Antwerp

Location: Melkmarkt 14, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium

Year of Inscription: 2022

Venue Type: City Centre Bar / Historic Belgian Café

EBG Rating:
7.9/10
Choice/
Quality of Drinks
A classic Antwerp range, compact which is in keeping with the pub itself. Rodenbach and De Koninck are not the worst sights in the world.
Style/
Décor
Tiny venue with some opulent early 20th century designs and neons, along with more familiar characteristics – long wooden bench seating, rickety furniture, mirrors and panels. 
Atmosphere/
Character
Almost a split personality with a café/locals pub atmosphere during the day turning out into the street in the evening, overflowing with customers on the Melkmarkt. The place is so small that you feel it is a shared experience, somewhat. A city institution too, with all that entails.
Amenities/
Events
Outdoor seating, snacks
Value For Money
Not unreasonable for the area.
Description
The tiny dinky Pelikaan has a bright opulent design that is distinctive, perhaps not to everyone’s tastes but nevertheless memorable. It is twinned with characterful preserved decor from the bar to the elderly bench seating. During the day it feels pokey and almost uncomfortably intimate at times, as locals come and go, cheek by jowl. At night the action overflows into the streets, the bar itself shining like a beacon. An interesting venue and definitely one you could love.