EBG Rating: 7.8/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️
Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️

Description:
‘The True Jacob’ refers in Dutch/Flemish to someone’s true lover, and references a satirical magazine, though the owner Guy does not claim to know the underlying original reason for the pub’s name.

Established in 1977 in an old town house dating to the 1500s. Over the following decades it has firmly implanted itself as part of the core Antwerp beer/brown pub circuit, even in a city with an abnormally high selection.

De Ware Jacob’s beer list contains about 120 beers, including at least one beer from all 11 Antwerp breweries and beer firms, and from all 12 Trappist breweries. They always offer Bernardus 12 and Avec Les Bons Voeux on draft, which is a step up from the typical bruin kroege selection. Café owner Guy Dockx serves gueuzes, tripels, dark beers, stouts and seasonal beers. He also carefully curates the pub’s playlist.

Inside however is much more typical – a rickety wood panelled pub with colourful interior that just about saves itself from leaning over to tacky. Maritime decoration is to be expected in Antwerp and this has been curated too from gifts and discoveries over the years.

The crowd evolves over the course of the day and so your experience may vary, but it’s clear the pub has a high ceiling and remains a popular choice.

(Added October 2026)