Restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium
Michelin-noted Italian at a fair price point.
Upton is Antwerp's clearest answer for Michelin-acknowledged Italian cooking at the €€€ tier. Two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions and a 4.8 Google score from 254 reviews confirm consistent quality. Booking is straightforward, making it a practical first choice before moving up to the city's starred fine-dining tier.
That Google rating, held across a meaningful sample, tells you something important before you book: Upton is delivering at a level that keeps diners coming back and sending others. Add two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) and you have an Italian restaurant in Antwerp that has been vetted both by the guide and by the room. At the €€€ price tier, it sits below the city's €€€€ fine-dining cluster, which makes it one of the more accessible Michelin-acknowledged tables in town. If you are looking for Italian cooking in Antwerp with a credentialed track record, Upton is the clearest answer in that bracket.
Upton is addressed at Napelsstraat 42 in the 2000 postcode, which places it in the central Antwerp district. For a city where the dining conversation is dominated by Belgian and French kitchens, an Italian restaurant that has held Michelin Plate recognition for two consecutive years is doing something that Antwerp's food-focused visitors should take seriously. The Michelin Plate is not a star, but it is not incidental either — the guide awards it specifically to restaurants delivering good cooking. Holding it in back-to-back years signals consistency rather than a single strong performance.
That consistency matters more than novelty in this context. Antwerp's restaurant scene has plenty of one-season openings. A restaurant at this address, at this price point, with this review profile, has built something that goes beyond the launch moment. For food and wine travellers approaching Antwerp from outside Belgium, Upton is the kind of address that rewards a deliberate booking rather than a last-minute walk-in decision.
For context on how Antwerp's Italian offering fits into the broader Belgian dining picture, it is worth noting that high-quality Italian cooking in Belgian cities is far less common than in major French or German urban centres. Restaurants like 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto demonstrate that Italian cuisine can anchor itself credibly in non-Italian cities when the cooking is serious. Upton's record suggests it is making that argument in Antwerp.
Upton works leading for food-focused visitors who want a Michelin-acknowledged Italian meal without climbing to the €€€€ tier. If you are coming to Antwerp specifically for the table and want to understand the city's Italian offer at its current ceiling, this is your booking. It also works well as a first-night anchor when you want reliable, well-regarded cooking before exploring wider options like Zilte or Hertog Jan at Botanic later in a trip.
For diners who are specifically interested in Belgian and Flemish cooking rather than Italian, Upton is not the right call. Consider 't Fornuis for European-Flemish classics, or DIM Dining if Japanese and Asian cooking is on your radar. Upton is the answer to a specific question: where is the best-credentialed Italian table in Antwerp at this price?
Based on its rating and award profile, Upton is likely to fill on weekend evenings, but the booking difficulty is rated easy , meaning you should be able to secure a table with reasonable notice rather than weeks of planning. Current hours are not confirmed in our data, so verify directly before you arrive. The Michelin Plate recognition will have added some visibility to the restaurant, particularly among travelling diners, so do not leave a weekend booking entirely to the last minute. Weekday evenings are likely your easiest window if your schedule is flexible.
For a wider view of what Antwerp offers across all dining categories, Pearl's full Antwerp restaurants guide covers the range. If you are building a full trip, the Antwerp hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are worth running alongside it.
If Upton is one stop on a longer Belgian itinerary, the comparison set broadens usefully. Vrijmoed in Gent and Boury in Roeselare offer starred experiences in nearby cities for those escalating their commitment. Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem and Willem Hiele in Oudenburg represent Belgian fine dining at its most serious for those willing to travel. Bozar Restaurant in Brussels and d'Eugénie à Emilie in Baudour extend the picture further. Within Antwerp itself, Upton occupies a specific and useful slot: Italian cooking, Michelin-acknowledged, at a price point below the city's starred tier.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Upton | €€€ | — |
| Hertog Jan at Botanic | €€€€ | — |
| Le Pristine | €€€€ | — |
| Nathan | €€€€ | — |
| Dôme | €€€€ | — |
| Bistrot du Nord | €€€ | — |
A quick look at how Upton measures up.
Specific menu details are not published in available records, so the safest approach is to ask the front-of-house for the kitchen's current focus when you arrive. At the €€€ price point with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), the expectation is Italian cooking with a clear point of view rather than a generic crowd-pleaser menu. Order what the staff steers you toward — that guidance tends to reflect what the kitchen is executing well that week.
No dietary policy is documented in Upton's published record, but a Michelin Plate Italian at the €€€ tier will almost always accommodate common restrictions if flagged at the time of booking. check the venue's official channels at Napelsstraat 42 before your visit to confirm, particularly for severe allergies or complex dietary requirements.
No formal dress code is documented for Upton. At the €€€ Michelin Plate tier in Antwerp — a city with a strong design and fashion identity — relaxed but considered dress tends to fit the room well. Think put-together rather than formal: you won't be under-dressed in clean, well-fitting clothes, but jeans and trainers may feel off at dinner service.
Yes, with the right expectations. Two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.8 Google score across 254 reviews signals consistent, above-average delivery — the kind of reliability you want when the meal matters. At €€€, it sits below the city's splurge tier, so it works well for a meaningful dinner that doesn't require a full celebration budget. If you need a private room or bespoke experience, confirm availability directly with the restaurant.
Upton is an Italian restaurant at Napelsstraat 42 in central Antwerp, recognised with Michelin Plates in both 2024 and 2025 — meaning Michelin inspectors consider it a quality address worth flagging, one step below star level. At €€€, expect a considered meal rather than a casual neighbourhood trattoria. Booking in advance is advisable, particularly for weekend evenings given the rating profile.
No group policy or private dining information is documented for Upton. For parties of six or more, check the venue's official channels at Napelsstraat 42 to check availability and any minimum spend requirements — smaller Italian restaurants at this tier often have seating constraints that make large groups harder to place without advance coordination.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
