Het Nieuwe Palinghuis, Antwerpen

We enjoyed very much the ambience in this restaurant - the vintage wood, the old photos on the walls, the bar, it all ties together and looks very promising as soon as you sit down hoping for a memorable dining experience. And it wont disappoint you. We ordered bisque, bouillabaisse soups, eel in green sauce and shrimp croquettes for appetizers, then grilled lobster, fish cooked in salt and fried cod for mains, finished with chocolate and tarte for dessert and coffee. Everything came at the right time and tasted absolutely magnificent. The service staff were reliable, professional, efficient, knowledgeable, polite, discrete. I would only recommend them to be warmer or more personable in their demeanor. This restaurant offers a great dining experience: it is obvious that they value and respect greatly their high standards - but they also achieve to do so while providing a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere to their customers. Well done.

The food should be great for the price, but sadly, it is not. Don’t get me wrong; the food is decent. However, it should be much better than it is—the food here is costly, considering the small portions and the high prices. Here, they are okay with serving lackluster average meals.

Before I go any further I'd like to say we couldn't fault this restaurant. We had seen it on a leisurely stroll on an afternoon and looked in just as the lady owner was letting herself into the building, she gave us a big smile so we knew it was right for us. We were going elsewhere that night but decided to book for Sunday night at 7.30 pm as they were only open for limited hours. We arrived and were seated by the lady owner, who was really helpful in our menu choices. I ordered the Ray wings but was informed that on a Sunday this was not served as it does not stay fresh for long and emits ammonia if not served while still fresh. I knew this and should have known better. Anyway, I was advised that the Cod with a morel sauce was very good, and I must say I was not disappointed. My wife had the Turbot with a mustard sauce, it was cooked on the bone and again was superb. My wife doesn't do desserts but I indulged myself and had Crepe with caramelised apples, vanilla ice cream and Flambéd in Calvados. This was probably the best dessert I have ever tasted and the waitress did not hold back on the Calvados. The restaurant was very relaxed and a pleasure to dine in. There was no music and this contributed to the atmosphere as all the place needed was the quiet chat of satisfied customers. The liqueur coffees were flying out and the alcohol input was very generous to say the least. After the meal we had the pleasure of meeting our chef for the evening, the partner of the lady owner that had initially greeted us. We complemented him and his assistant for cooking us such a lovely meal. To me this place is everything that I want in a good quality traditional fish restaurant. I recommend that you visit, you will not be disappointed.

Came here for lunch and excited to try some seafood. Husband and I weren’t overly hungry so we wanted to share an entree and appetizer. We were told by wait staff that we HAD to order two entrees. We asked what if we ordered two apps (which is cost more than 1 entree) and an entree. Still not ok. Each person has to order their own entree. This is an odd business practice or at least not clearly stated when we were seated. I could understand maybe if we were here for dinner or this was a super fancy place. Ended up leaving without ordering. Beware if you choose to come here.

It was our first time in Antwerp an we wanted to try some of the finest thing that this city has . We found this restaurant on TripAdvisor and many people suggested that this restaurant is quite pricey but definitely worth it, we were ready to pay for the fresh, high-quality ingredients and good memories, but something happened, that we were totally not ready for. We were invited inside by a very nice waitress and right away ordered a drink. They brought us a menu, which definitely on the higher end by the price tag. We looked on the menu and were not quite sure about the main courses, so when we looked at the so-called “starters”, me and mom agreed, that lobster soup sounds quite good, considering the weather outside. And then next thing happens. The blonde lady approaches us to take our order, she hears that we want JUST TWO LOBSTER SOUPS and in a very rude and discriminating way says that if want something like this we need to go in another restaurant across the street. Very important to mention, I have read the reviews before in here after this in fact happened, I have seen that this “the eatery” and you need to order main course, but situation would have been better, it the lady said it somehow politely, because I doubt that we are the last clients that will make this kind of “mistake”. This attitude immediately made this authentic place looked somehow cheap and snobby in the worst way possible. We then asked the waitress how to order in the “right” way and ordered two main courses. Nevertheless, food was delicious. Chef deserves all the praises. The fish is incredibly fresh and sauces that accompanied it were outstanding. Especially clarified butter with capers - just amazing. To end this long review, i wanted to give tip for the tourists, that consider going in this place. Think twice. Rest of my lunch was incredibly tense, because of the attitude of the lady. We stayed, though, so that is on us. But would I tolerate this kind of thing next. The answer is - NO.

Terrible customer service!!! We experienced discrimination, It was pathetic!!!. After shopping we entered a restaurant on Sunday afternoon for nice quick bite “as they say on their website”, but it turned into completely full harassment from the staff…. Blond hair lady… she came up to take our order and we said we would like to order each one of us lobster soup which as described should be amazing soup and for the main course we couldn’t find what we want and we thought we would take a soup, nice wine, coffee and perhaps some desserts. But the waitress was so rude and angry that she told to us that she is not going to serve to us the soup and if we don’t like anything else we could read menu on the door before we came in! Nevertheless she told to us that this is not a snack bar where you can find French fries!!!!! People sue for such a treatment and win!!! I travel all over the world for my business .. I`ve been thousands fine dining and Michelin star places, never ever received such bad experience! To restaurant owner: if the context of your restaurant is exceptional, please mention on your website, outside door menu and general menu that customers who would like to order 1 course ARE NOT welcome!!!!

Very classy, Belgian/Dutch setting, mainly locals, older clientele. It’s not a vibe place, but a nice spot for a relaxed lunch or dinner. Mussels were great, eel in green sauce and lobster bisque as well. Sting ray and potatoes were not great at all. My salad was a joke: 5 leaves of lettuce salad, but to be honest it wasn’t in the menu, I asked to replace Belgium fries with it

This restaurant doesn't have a 14/20 Gault & Millau score for nothing. The dishes are absolutely amazing, fresh and tasty. Highest quality for a reasonable price. If you like fish and seafood, this is the go-to place in Antwerp.