A warm, cosy Burgundian dining room and more than sixty years of Antwerp tradition set Ciro's apart. It is where I send guests who want honest brasserie cooking, what the locals call burgerkeuken, the classic home-style cooking of the city. Albert De Herdt, a former Red Devil footballer, founded the house in 1962. Gene Haesaerts took it over in 2010, and twelve years later chef Claude Sondag and hostess Sabine Huyssen took the helm.
The Steak Ciro's is the signature dish and has been a house classic for decades. The menu is full of nostalgia: steak tartare, stoofvlees, vol-au-vent, sweetbreads, cod and eel. As a starter, I suggest the shrimp croquettes, the tomato soup with meatballs, the smoked eel on toast or the escargots. For pudding, choose between crêpes Suzette, dame blanche with homemade chocolate sauce, profiteroles and rice pudding.
Ciro's holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, is listed by Gault&Millau and was named Brasserie of the Year 2022. There is a covered terrace for fine weather. Do note that the restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesday. You can walk there from the centre. The Nationale Bank car park is 400 metres away, and there are pay-and-display meters on the nearby streets.
