February 25, 2025 • 5 mins
I want to talk to you about Wafelhuis van Hecke. It’s in Antwerp, Belgium. I had the pleasure of visiting this waffle house at the end of January 2025. Winter time in Belgium calls for warm comfort food. And the two things at the top of my list were waffles and fries.
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Jaz (00:10):
Hey there. Thanks for joining me for this episode of
My Mate In. This podcast is allabout sharing great places to
eat and talking about whythey're great. It is a good
vibes only show by people whoeat food rather than study it.
So don't expect criticalreviews.
Instead, use it like you woulduse a recommendation from a
(00:33):
friend or an acquaintance. Thisis a side quest episode, meaning
that it's all about a place thatI visited recently and that I
really enjoyed. I want to talkto you about Wafelhuis van
Hecke. It's in Antwerp, Belgium.I had the pleasure of visiting
this waffle house at theend of January 2025.
(00:55):
Winter time in Belgium calls forwarm comfort food. And the two
things at the top of my listwere waffles and fries.
Wafelhuis van Hecke is claimedto be the oldest waffle house in
Antwerp, opened in 1905. It's acozy place with a long thin
layout. It has tables in thefront section and then a row of
(01:19):
tables along a wall runningparallel to the counter and
kitchen.
I chose this place for wafflesbecause I saw online that locals
had been talking about it. Whilethere were some tourists,
including us, it felt like adiner with a relaxed atmosphere
of locals taking a break. On theday we visited, there was one
(01:39):
service person and one cook, andthey were friendly and
efficient. It was reallyenjoyable to hear the staff bant
playfully with regulars. This isthe kind of place you can come
and sit with a book and not feellike you're going to be rushed
out the door as soon as youfinish eating.
That is a particularly good findon a winter adventure walking
(02:00):
around a new city in the coldfor hours. I recommend going
with a friend so that you canget either a coffee or a hot
chocolate each and share aserving of the waffles and a
serving of the fries. When itcomes to waffles, you should
definitely have the ones withslices of banana and
strawberries. It comes with icecream and dipping chocolate.
(02:22):
This dish looks like a whole lotof pride and love went into
presentation.
The waffles were crunchy on theoutside and soft on the inside.
This was my second time inBelgium and the waffles yet
again did not disappoint. Whenit comes to the fries, remember
that the correct thing to dowith your fries is to have a
(02:43):
side of mayonnaise. Having beento The Netherlands and Belgium a
couple of times now, I'm sold onthis combination. Even if at
home I kind of opt for tomatosauce.
It's a 'when in Rome' kind of athing, I guess. Now for some
practical stuff. The officiallanguages in Belgium are Dutch,
French and German. You'll get byfine with English at Wafelhuis
(03:06):
van Hecke, although the menu ismostly in Dutch. It's easy
enough to recognize what's onoffer and the staff will help
you out.
We walked there fromAntwerpen-Centraal, the central
train station. It took aboutfifteen - twenty minutes. It's a
lovely stroll where you can takein the shops and different
(03:26):
scenes along the way. While inAntwerp, keep walking around and
visit some chocolate and biscuitshops on Korte Gasthuisstraat.
There are some nice boutiquesaround there.
Visit the Cathedral Of Our Lady,a gothic cathedral that dates
back to the mid fourteenthcentury. It's beautiful. And
(03:47):
like other cathedrals in thisregion and of this age, there
are folks buried under theflooring with headstones laid
flat on the ground to mark theburial. Another place to go is
Het Steen, meaning the stone.It's a medieval fortress on the
harbor that dates back to theearly thirteenth century.
(04:08):
It was pretty incredible toplace my hands on the stone
walls of this castle-likefortress and consider the
passage of time since it wasbuilt. Another great spot to
check out is the Grote Markt, orbig market. It has a fountain
representing Antwerp's weird andwonderful folklore involving a
(04:28):
giant who cuts the hands offhumans and tosses them into the
river. Spoiler alert. It doesn'tturn out so good for the giant
in the end.
But even Antwerpen-Centraal, thetrain station is a landmark
worth visiting. The architectureis really beautiful. Okay. So
you should go to Antwerp if youhave the chance. Finally, shout
(04:51):
out to my mate Laura, whorecommended we visit Antwerp on
our trip.
Well played. We loved it.
Hey there. Thanks for joining me for this episode of
My Mate In. This podcast is allabout sharing great places to
eat and talking about whythey're great. It is a good
vibes only show by people whoeat food rather than study it.
So don't expect criticalreviews.
Instead, use it like you woulduse a recommendation from a
(00:33):
friend or an acquaintance. Thisis a side quest episode, meaning
that it's all about a place thatI visited recently and that I
really enjoyed. I want to talkto you about Wafelhuis van
Hecke. It's in Antwerp, Belgium.I had the pleasure of visiting
this waffle house at theend of January 2025.
(00:55):
Winter time in Belgium calls forwarm comfort food. And the two
things at the top of my listwere waffles and fries.
Wafelhuis van Hecke is claimedto be the oldest waffle house in
Antwerp, opened in 1905. It's acozy place with a long thin
layout. It has tables in thefront section and then a row of
(01:19):
tables along a wall runningparallel to the counter and
kitchen.
I chose this place for wafflesbecause I saw online that locals
had been talking about it. Whilethere were some tourists,
including us, it felt like adiner with a relaxed atmosphere
of locals taking a break. On theday we visited, there was one
(01:39):
service person and one cook, andthey were friendly and
efficient. It was reallyenjoyable to hear the staff bant
playfully with regulars. This isthe kind of place you can come
and sit with a book and not feellike you're going to be rushed
out the door as soon as youfinish eating.
That is a particularly good findon a winter adventure walking
(02:00):
around a new city in the coldfor hours. I recommend going
with a friend so that you canget either a coffee or a hot
chocolate each and share aserving of the waffles and a
serving of the fries. When itcomes to waffles, you should
definitely have the ones withslices of banana and
strawberries. It comes with icecream and dipping chocolate.
(02:22):
This dish looks like a whole lotof pride and love went into
presentation.
The waffles were crunchy on theoutside and soft on the inside.
This was my second time inBelgium and the waffles yet
again did not disappoint. Whenit comes to the fries, remember
that the correct thing to dowith your fries is to have a
(02:43):
side of mayonnaise. Having beento The Netherlands and Belgium a
couple of times now, I'm sold onthis combination. Even if at
home I kind of opt for tomatosauce.
It's a 'when in Rome' kind of athing, I guess. Now for some
practical stuff. The officiallanguages in Belgium are Dutch,
French and German. You'll get byfine with English at Wafelhuis
(03:06):
van Hecke, although the menu ismostly in Dutch. It's easy
enough to recognize what's onoffer and the staff will help
you out.
We walked there fromAntwerpen-Centraal, the central
train station. It took aboutfifteen - twenty minutes. It's a
lovely stroll where you can takein the shops and different
(03:26):
scenes along the way. While inAntwerp, keep walking around and
visit some chocolate and biscuitshops on Korte Gasthuisstraat.
There are some nice boutiquesaround there.
Visit the Cathedral Of Our Lady,a gothic cathedral that dates
back to the mid fourteenthcentury. It's beautiful. And
(03:47):
like other cathedrals in thisregion and of this age, there
are folks buried under theflooring with headstones laid
flat on the ground to mark theburial. Another place to go is
Het Steen, meaning the stone.It's a medieval fortress on the
harbor that dates back to theearly thirteenth century.
(04:08):
It was pretty incredible toplace my hands on the stone
walls of this castle-likefortress and consider the
passage of time since it wasbuilt. Another great spot to
check out is the Grote Markt, orbig market. It has a fountain
representing Antwerp's weird andwonderful folklore involving a
(04:28):
giant who cuts the hands offhumans and tosses them into the
river. Spoiler alert. It doesn'tturn out so good for the giant
in the end.
But even Antwerpen-Centraal, thetrain station is a landmark
worth visiting. The architectureis really beautiful. Okay. So
you should go to Antwerp if youhave the chance. Finally, shout
(04:51):
out to my mate Laura, whorecommended we visit Antwerp on
our trip.
Well played. We loved it.
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