Geefsstraat 5 · AntwerpHet Archief · wine bar and wine shop
At Het Archief, good wine is served inside a unique cast-iron monument: a permanent selection and daily-changing wines by the glass, personal guidance and carefully chosen food. Ernst, Caroline and the entire team provide warm, attentive service.
Best wine bar in AntwerpFolio 002 · The wine
Our extensive bottle list travels from classic French appellations to distinctive discoveries from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria and far beyond. By the glass, we pour a core selection of familiar favourites, complemented every day by changing discoveries. There is always something recognisable — and something new to taste.
Discover our wines by the glass →
Folio 003 · The building
The former Provincial Archive was designed in 1851 by engineer Théodore Lebens. It is among Europe’s early archive buildings with a fully cast-iron structure and was technically progressive for its time.
Cast iron made large, open floors possible without heavy load-bearing interior walls. It also offered better protection against fire — essential for the thousands of documents once stored here.
The slender columns, beams, vaults and monumental spiral staircase remain visible today. They are not decoration, but the building’s original supporting structure.
Where Antwerp’s archive records were once arranged and protected, we now preserve bottles from around the world. The function changed; the idea of collecting, preserving and discovering remained.
Detail · cast-iron structureFolio 004 · At the table
Whether you know a great deal about wine or simply know what you enjoy, we listen, pour and explain without pretension.
Taste four carefully selected wines blind: four white, four red, or two white and two red. Write your tasting notes, compare impressions and then discover what you thought you were drinking — and what was actually in the glass.
Includes an explanation afterwards. No reservation — simply order at your table.Choose from refined cheeses and charcuterie, pata negra, salami, pâté, rillettes, olives, Ortiz preserved fish and our popular mixed board. Served with sourdough bread from Bakker ALDO.
Choose individual dishes or combine them.A guided tasting that extends summer in the glass while looking ahead to autumn. From 6.30 p.m. until approximately 9.30 p.m. · €42.50 per person.
View details and register →From our guests
“Our regular stop whenever we are in Antwerp. A warm welcome, friendly service, an original setting and, of course, exquisite wines and delicious sharing plates.”
★★★★★ · Google review · Katia Withofs · translated from Dutch
Best Newcomer
Folio 006 · Visit
We deliberately work without reservations. Walk in for one glass, an aperitif or a long evening.
