The World’s Best Food Cities
Good food is an important reason to visit a city. Review website Tripadvisor knows all about that and put its algorithms to work to discover which cities rank highest foodwise according to its visitors.
The decision to travel to a particular city no longer primarily depends on its museums or historical heritage, but on its local restaurant and bar scene. Before booking the ticket, travelers already know exactly where they are going to eat. In fact, restaurant reservations are often already in the bag. Along with those for the cooking class and the food tour through the city with a local.
Now, there is a difference between looking for the same types of cocktail bars, ramen spots and vegan destinations in your destination city as you do at home, or going for the local cuisine. Tripadvisor put its algorithms to work to discover, based on the latter—the local cuisines of a city—which are the current top ten food cities. Based on this, the site comes up with one really big surprise: the absence of authentic food cities such as Istanbul, Hong Kong and Lima.
But the food cities that did make the list are also very appealing.
1. Rome
La cucina povera draws an inexhaustible stream of foodies to the ancient city for plates full of cacio e pepe or carbonara and carciofi alla giudia. FavorFlav’s Nadia was there too to find out what you can eat in 24 hours.
2. Florence
Another Italian city. Not surprising. Italians’ often rather loudly proclaimed pride in their local cuisine may sometimes come across as grotesque, but we all want to experience as much of it as possible. Be sure to stop by Il Latini for the city’s specialty, bistecca alla fiorentina.
3. Paris
Although the ‘culinary capital of the world’ is currently dominated foodwise mainly by Americans, Japanese and Basques, the City of Light still reached third place. And the baguette has a lot to do with that. Read what Marjan writes about it and you’ll want to go back immediately.
4. Barcelona
Eating tapas in a tapas bar in Barcelona is an absolute must. Especially at Cervecería Catalana. But Gitte proves that you can also have an excellent brunch there. (See photo at the top)
5. New Orleans
Not only for the music, architecture and alligators, but also for beignets, gumbo, blackened fish, and red beans and rice. You can also eat beignets in Amsterdam at Miss Louisa, based, indeed, on a recipe from the city on the Bayou.
6. New York
What? Only a modest sixth place for the food city of food cities? And that while the FavorFlav editors seem to take turns being there.
7. Venice
We always like to use the books Venezia by Tessa Kiros and Polpo by Russel Norman to find authentic Venetian insider spots.
8. Madrid
Yes, Madrid! For the churros, pinchos de tortilla and hams. But don’t overlook Valencia either, as Sophie recommends.
9. Tokyo
Japan is expensive to stay in. And you can eat bizarrely expensive food high up in one of the many hotel towers. But on the street you will find food that is at least as delicious for very little money, as Emma knows from experience.
10. Bangkok
And although Bangkok is primarily known for its cheap street food, you can also eat very elegantly there. For example at molecular restaurant Gaggan, which has been voted the best restaurant in Asia three years in a row.
