Otomat is a pizza restaurant, but not in the way you may be used to it. We have reinvented the pizza experience and given it our own, unique and very Belgian twist. Adding Duvel beer yeast to the pizza dough, plus some surprising toppings of the highest quality and offering interesting beer pairings - you really must come to Otomat for an entirely new pizza experience.
In our search to find a unique and irresistible dough, we decided to make our pizza base using the same beer yeast used to brew Duvel beer. This very special yeast, combined with three days of proving time, creates an extremely thin and crusty base for our pizzas. All of which enables Otomat to serve up a unique, Belgian slow food variant on the traditional pizza.
When you come to eat with us at Otomat, we immediately ask you the existential question of ‘to Otomat or Notomat’: will you go for a pizza with tomato sauce (‘au tomate’) or sour cream or vegetable spread (‘no tomate’)? But don’t worry, both options are absolutely scrumptious. Can’t decide which one to choose? Sharing a range of different pizzas with your dining companions is a concept developed specially by us! And so now you know where our name comes from…
Why would you come to Otomat? For our heavenly pizzas, of course! Unusual combinations that you won’t find anywhere else, plus the emphasis on our love for the very best (Belgian) products. All topped off with a dash of rock & roll.
Our pizzas are made for sharing. We cut them into slices beforehand so that you can easily pick them up and share them. Which would be something to celebrate with a large(r) group, wouldn’t it? We’ll be delighted to see you! Bookings can be made for groups of 8 and more.
Our menu also features three ‘plant-based’ pizzas. Not just because we want to protect the planet, but because we want to demonstrate that pizza can be just as delicious without any cheese and/or meat. That’s also why our vegan pizzas are featured in among all the other pizzas on the menu – and no longer in a separate section.
We Belgians just love it when things are a little absurd. We call it ‘Belgitude’: quirky, free and without limits. And that is exactly the philosophy that we live by at Otomat.
We have taken an authentic Italian product and created a genuine Belgian version of it: there’s Duvel beer yeast in the thin, crispy dough, generously finished with a range of unusual toppings, often with a Belgian twist. What do you think about ‘Endive with cheese and ham’ pizza or vol-au-vent on a pizza? We did it – and it tastes great, too!
Belgian pizzas, topped with typically Belgian products, as you’d expect. We are very much fans of our own terroir, as the French call it – local produce that we like to honour and celebrate. We always work with leading local producers, all of whom add their passion for good food in their products – just like we do! Some of our Belgian friends are:
When it comes to developing new pizzas, we like to work with a number of well-known names from the Belgian food scene. People with unique passion and expertise, who take our pizzas to an even higher level. Discover the Dirty Vegan from Pieter-Jan Lints, No Cheese Go Nuts by Nicolas Decloedt and Triple Chocolate Pizza from the king of chocolate, Dominique Persoone!
As Belgians through and through, we have a great passion for our most important national export product: beer! From using beer yeast in our pizza dough and our unique list of beers for you to enjoy, all the way to our own beer maturation rooms.
Passion for (Belgian) beer is in our DNA. And you can take that literally. To make our dough rise, we use the same yeast as they use to brew Duvel beer. Which of course means that our pizzas make the perfect accompaniment to a good glass of beer!
You’ll find a beer pairing for every pizza on our menu. In addition to our iconic beer fridge, we also serve a range of different and unique beers on tap. The blackboards in our restaurants feature an extensive range of craft beers as well as big bottles of beer to share.
You’ll find beer maturation rooms at our outlets in Leuven and Brussels Merode. We allow Liefmans Goudenband, Liefmans Kriek Brut and other exclusive products to age in the best possible conditions. In Merode, we also produce our own ‘Barrel Aged Pale Sour’.
So, where did the idea for Otomat come from? What are our plans for the future? But, most of all: what can you expect when you visit one of our restaurants? Read all about it here!
Otomat is the fantastic story of 5 friends who decided to set up a cool, contemporary restaurant together, serving original pizzas as the absolute star. At the beginning of 2015, the five of them embarked on an exciting quest to find out what a great pizza business might look like – and especially how truly original Belgian pizzas should taste... During their many trips abroad (to the US, around Europe and the UK), they dreamed up the idea for a new type of pizza restaurant: less Italian than the traditional pizzeria, with far greater creativity on offer. The result of this quest was served up officially to the general public in October 2015 with the opening of their first restaurant in Antwerp: from that moment on, Otomat Heavenly Pizza gave the pizza scene in Belgium a whole new dimension.
With 7 restaurants in 6 cities already and an extra takeaway concept, we can dare to say that Otomat has already found a place in the heart of many a pizza-lover. Not just with our restaurants, which are open every day from lunchtime through to the late evening hours, but also with additional parties, a summer beer garden featuring live concerts, etc. Our aim is to make a fun experience of every visit to Otomat.
What about our plans for the future? We never sit still and are constantly dreaming and working on new outlets, expanding to other countries, creating more original events and so much more. Remember – you read about it here first!
Because we love spontaneity, there’s no need to book when you come to Otomat. You can simply come along. And if it’s busy? We’ll make sure that you have somewhere to sit and we'll start you off with a drink. However, you can make a booking for groups of 8 or more. We’re open for you every day, from 12 noon until 10 pm (11 pm at the weekend), including on public holidays!
We fully understand that every business has an impact on humans and our natural surroundings. Corporate Social Responsibility is a complex process and so we very consciously want to take the right, carefully considered steps towards the future. The efforts we make may not always be visible, but they are certainly felt. For example, we have always worked at all of our locations with 100% green power and we do as much as we can – and attach a great deal of importance – to recycling and the way we manage waste and leftovers. By opting to work with local Belgian producers, we are also significantly reducing the number of food miles in the supply chain. Investing in the future is also about investing in people. At Otomat, we are very much in favour of inclusivity and diversity. We look at each person’s strengths and opportunities to grow, as well as their needs. So, if you’d like to be part of our big happy family, then check out our vacancies!