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You are out shopping in Antwerp and want a friendly no frills restaurant then Hungry Henrietta might be the choice.

Tucked away on Lombardenvest, and within easy reach of the Groenplaats, the Hilton Hotel, the department stores on the Meir, the funky clothes shops on Kammenstraat and the several fashionista 'musts’ on Nationalestraat, Hungry Henrietta is a good place to sit down and work out how much damage you’ve done to your credit cards while shopping. But remember it’s closed on Saturdays and Sundays

Seating outside in good weather and an open kitchen inside. A seasonal menu with usual chicken and fish dishes as well as an array of salad dishes.

Think about 30 Euros for lunch.

Run by a British couple The Britselei 37 offers 15 mini-apartments in a converted 19th century merchant’s town house. It’s located next to the old Paleis de Justice

Friends who stayed there recently said their apartment was well furnished and had everything they needed to make them comfortable while attending a local conference.

The Britselei 37 is a short walking distance from the centre of the town, and although it is on a main avenue, it is well buffered from the sound of passing traffic -- and thankfully the heavy work that has been going on along Antwerp’s main avenues is now complete, so no more diversions!

There’s a tram stop 100 metres from the door, with tram links to most places around the city. And the property is only a 15-minute taxi ride away from Antwerp Airport (Deurne) -- or less than an hour by train from Brussels Airport. Antwerp Central Station is an easy 10 minute walk away.

Each apartment includes a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, flat screen Cable TV, DVD/CD, Internet connection and telephone charged at normal phone rates.

What more could you want for a short stay?

And with rates that start at 125 Euros a night,it could make a lot more sense than staying at a local hotel.

Tip: try a meal at value-for-money Brasseurs (53 Britselei)once a popular hangout for lawyers until they moved the Law Courts; and if you enjoy jazz and good food, you will not want to miss the nearby Haddock on Amerikalei -- a short jive from The Britselei 37.

Great place for brunch on Sundays, while visiting the antique and bric-a-brac shops along the Kloosterstraat.

Very friendly service and prices that are easy on the pocket. Popular with arts and media crowd

Gets rather full on Sunday mornings, but hey, that shows how popular Chez Fred is!

Do you enjoy fish? You don’t mind being told by a chef what you are going to eat on the night? Then I suggest Gin-Fish, one of the best fish restaurants you are likely to come across anywhere in your travels.

You are in the capable hands of owner-chef Didier Garnich, who gave up a Michelin star when he closed his popular seafood restaurant De Matelote and launched Gin-Fish. Same address, same focus on quality, same devotion to fish… only this time, like the Frank Sinatra song, he's doing it his way, and not having to abide by the classic formulas favoured by the fat tire man.

Gin-Fish is located on Haarstraat, a stone’s throw from Antwerp’s Grote Markt, open for dinner (except Sunday and Monday) and offers a no-options four-course set menu: two starters, a main and a dessert for 65 Euros.

Wines are extra: not the biggest list in the world, but you’ll find something that is sure to accompany the fish and match your style of wine.

When making a booking you have the choice of sitting at a long American diner-style table and watch the maestro in action in the open stainless-steel kitchen, or opt for a separate table – for that ‘special’ night out with your girl-friend, wife, the neighbour’s sister-in-law, or whoever.

Choose a table and a friendly waitress will tell you what fish you will be eating that night, and how Didier intends to prepare it. Even then, everybody’s fish soup may be different on the night as the man calling the shots decides to switch herbs. The main will have one thing in common – it’s bound to be the best that was on offer in the market that morning: Didier’s a man who looks a fish squarely in the eye when he is at the early morning market.

When I dined there recently with a friend, our dinner included lobster, grilled oysters with lemon and coriander and tender turbot.

Gin-Fish is the haunt of several BV’s which stands for ‘bekende Vlaamings’: Flemish celebrities, most of whom are virtually unknown elsewhere – but they add to the ambience.

What happened to De Matelote? It is now a chic 9-room boutique hotel across the street from Gin-Fish wonderfully located for an Antwerp weekend away, as long as you book well in advance: room rates run from 120 to 240 Euros a night, plus 10 Euros pp for breakfast. (Check it out at www.matelote.be.)

Neuze Neuze is located in the centre of the old town close to the Grote Markt and just a few steps from the picturesque Hendrik Conscience Square with its imposing old church

A split-level restaurant with many nooks and crannies set out on different levels of a 16th century building, with whitewashed walls, shiny tiles and dark-brown beams, Neuze Neuze has been one of Antwerp’s leading restaurants for many years.

The cuisine is classic Belgian/French. Expensive? It can be. Depending on the wines you choose from a 40-page wine list. If you’re trying not to go too heavy on your credit card, Neuze Neuze offers several set menus – including a Discovery Lunch (two courses and coffee for 28 Euros). To that you can add an aperitif and a suggested wine for an extra 19 Euros. Dessert is another extra.

In the evening there is a set menu that begins with an amuse bouche and goose liver with apricots, continues with codfish with a brandade of smoked mackerel and a champagne sauce, then after a sorbet, goes on to a crispy fillet of lamb with creamed cauliflower. The dessert is sheer decadence: a crème brulée with strawberries covered by dark chocolate. And before the you receive bill at 110 Euros per person including accompanying wines, you’ll be offered mocha coffee served with Neuze Neuze’s trademark sweets – made with berries and gum Arabic.

If you go a la carte, look out for the grilled scallops with Belgian endive and bacon in a wheat-beer sauce, or the mould of duck liver with mango and gingerbread toast, to kick off the evening. And for the main, I particularly like the fillet of beef with a tangy Japanese seaweed salad , pomme fondante and Diable sauce.

After dinner smokers can creep off to a private room to enjoy a cigar (or cigarette) and a fine cognac

Dress code? Well, with foie gras, Russian-style Ocietra” caviar on ice lobster and champagne-dressed scallops on the menu (and that’s just for starters) diners tend to dress to impress, especially at dinner.

Neuze Neuze also has a space for seminars of up to 14 people and offers banqueting facilities for up to 90 people.

Vegetarians look away, because as the name suggests, Den Abattoir is not for you. Possibly serving the best meat to be found in Antwerp, it’s worth the detour out of the centre of town to Lange Lobroekstraat where Den Abattoir is located right in front of the Antwerp slaughter house.

It’s not far from the Sportspaleis and can be reached by bus or tram if you choose not to drive or grab a cab.

Den Abattoir gets very busy at lunchtime, mostly with Antwerp entrepreneurs discussing deals over large steaks and a decent bottle of red wine, company directors and sales and marketing people who still have a budget to ‘entertain’ in these days of economic woes.

In the evening it’s popular with people who are going on to a show or some event at the Sportspaleis.

For starters you might want to go for oysters or giant scampis, and then from surf to turf with a sirloin or six rib steak. I particularly like the thinly sliced calf’s liver with onions (almost Italian), and as long as I am not with friends from Australia I might have a ‘paardefilet’

I mention friends from Australia because once I took a guest from Melbourne to Den Abattoir who said he’d have whatever I was having. So it was two paardefilets. After we had eaten he said it was one of the best steaks he had eaten, and it was only then I told him it was horse meat. He went white in the face. Well, he’d lost so much money betting on horses in the past, I told him, that it was only right he should have his revenge,

Den Abattoir is pragmatic, they know not everybody is a meat-lover so there are a couple of fish dishes available. But this is first and foremost a meat eater’s restaurant -- with a great ambiance.

Prices are reasonably moderate for what you get, you’ll come out spending around 40 Euros a head: a filet pur will set you back just over 24 Euros, an entrecote is on the menu for 22 Euros, while a six-rib steak sits on your plate for 21 Euros.

A fairly good wine list, maybe a little pricey for some wines, with a couple excellent French reds at democratic prices.

It’s advisable to book in advance for a table, though I have just walked in from time to time.

Closed on Mondays and at lunchtime over the weekend

Breakfast until mid-day (continental, eggs and bacon, or omelettes) and a good lunch menu --always a dish of the day.

The home-made house burger with french fries is a fave, and the soups which change daily and served with large chunks of bread also go down well. There’s also a wicked goat’s cheese salad that I enjoy.

Young, mainly student (or student look-alike) staff, and a regular lunch time crowd from nearby offices, uni, and shops (Berlin sits on the end of Kammenstraat, capital of funkwear)

Music can be loud and eclectic -- swear I heard some cool Oscar Petersen and Max Bygraves singing Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer within an hour one lunchtime.

You don’t have to eat at the Berlin. It’s OK to chill out with a coffee, tea, cola, beer or a glass of house wine.

Students meet up here late afternoon, and then the dinner crowd take over. It’s managed to remain trendy for a long time -- and no sign of that changing.

Located right in the middle of the historic part of Antwerp, opposite the cathedral and a few steps from the Grote Markt.

A very popular place which means the pizzas are always fresh(students get a 20% discount on the total bill if they have a student card).

Don’t be put off by the waiters spruiking for customers on the pavement -- it’s all part of the atmosphere.

A total of 20 different pizzas (even with pineapple for those who insist on thinking Italy’s in Hawaii)as well as a range of pastas (big portions).

Wine by the carafe: cheap and cheerful, nothing special, and big bottles of Italian sparkling mineral water. Finish off with an espresso and a grappa (why not?).

Very friendly staff, all very vocal, with Italian accents even if their mamma-mias were not from the old country.

Not expensive, you’ll come away with plenty of cash to have a beer or three at one of the cafes on the Grote Markt (try a 'bolleke’ a favourite Antwerp beer at Den Engel)