Camino

Super petit endroit branché anversois. Saveurs vietnamiennes au menu. Des plats simples mais réussi. Un bon accueil. Des cocktails à la mode avec ou sans alcool. Bref l’endroit de rêve pour luncher pendant une journée de shopping intense :)

My man Tim K. gave us his recommendation list of 1 place on the Vrijdag Markt and boy did he come through.
First of all, I went a little aggro on a waitress, she was moving a table we were waiting on but it turned out she was moving it for US. So I had to apologize like 5 times… all good though.
— Great setting, right on a small square that feels like an outdoor living room.
— Chicken, pork banh mi’s were top notch. Freshly baked bread that tasted like it had the hint of rice flour an authentic roll should have.
— The rice bowl of the day — fish cake and stuff — was great.
— Tongerlo on draft. ZOMG. It was like a tripel with a hint of Rodenbach sourness.

I’ve been wanting to visit Camino after I received a tip from another Unilocaler about their bánh mì’s.
First of all — expensive! 9 euros for a bánh mì, not including my drink? In America you could have 2 sandwiches for that price.
But it’s okay, Camino was trendy and cozy, and I was there with my sister-​in-​law, so I didn’t mind paying a bit more. I ordered the glazed pork belly and she went with the lemongrass chicken. We tried each other’s sandwiches and I by far made the better choice. So if you go — definitely order the glazed pork belly! The meat was the best part of my sandwich. I didn’t like the bread — it was really soft. By the time I was finishing my second half, the bread was soggy.
Like mentioned in other reviews, solid effort, but for that price I expected much more.
Also — it’s 2015, it’s really irritating that they don’t accept cards!

Had a really nice Bahn Mi sando at Camino. Went for the pork belly & it was a solid effort. Haven’t found too many places in Europe that offer up Bahn Mi & this was the closest, in my opinion, to anything I’d get in SF or Oaktown. The spicy noodle salad looked real good too but that’ll be for next time. I’d recommend it.

hands down one of the best lunch places to go to in antwerp. try their glazed pork belly sandwich or a bowl of vietnamese style noodle soup

Finally, a decent bowl of phở! Now the purist might not like it, as some things were added and/​or missing. For example, it had cabbage and pickled onions and the broth was missing the hint of star anise and that difficult to explain flavor of properly prepared both. The rice noodles were also different and insufficient. But this is Asian fusion and it did work pretty well. I’m looking forward to the other dishes.

Camino?
Camino is a trendy lunch place in the centre of Antwerp.
Location?
You can find it a little hidden from the main shopping streets where it’s nice and quiet and where there ar no cars. On the Vrijdagsmarkt you can get a lot of sun — woop woop! So the location for me is perfect!
Accomodation?
If the weather is nice, they set up their big and colorful terrace. So hurry up to install yourself there during lunch or in the afternoon for a coffee/​tea.
Food?
Pretty nice and original! Big portions, a lot of variation, veggie stuff available. They have sandwiches for lunch but unlike other lunch places, they offer combinations of coriander, cajun and other less traditional spices. Apart of that they also serve suggestions (which are a little more expensive, ± € 14)
Price?
It’s ok, you pay around € 8 for a sandwich and a little more for something special.
Drinks?
Enough variation and some homemade stuff! And they have some beers from the tap which I can really appreciate as a Belgian girl :)
Service?
We were served by a good looking and very friendly guy! The girl was also pretty and very friendly. We didn’t have to wait long for our food and drinks.
I’m definitely going back here.

Zeg nooit broodjeszaak tegen dit geniaal restaurantje met fantastische creaties.
De ‘broodjes’ zijn stuk voor stuk fantastische creaties waar je steeds versteld van staat.