Het Souke
At the corner of Hoogstraat and Heilige Geeststraat stands Het Souke, one of Antwerp’s most authentic traditional cafés. With its warm wooden interior, historic details and unmistakable brown café atmosphere, the building preserves a piece of the city’s living heritage.
The café has been part of Antwerp’s social fabric for decades. In the 1960s, it was known as Half Time, a reference to the basketball players who gathered here after playing on Sint-Jansvliet. In 1975, it became Half Souke, named after the old French sou coins that can still be found along the bar today. The name was later shortened to Het Souke.
Today, this characterful WAVE property is brought to life by Erwin Liekens. A city guide and storyteller at heart, he fills the café with Antwerp drinks, local music and stories from the surrounding streets. From Wannes Van de Velde to the American soldiers who once played basketball nearby, Erwin knows how to connect the building’s past with the people who enter it today.
Het Souke shows what happens when a historic building finds the right Wavemaker: its character is preserved, its stories continue and a special piece of Antwerp remains alive.
