The 15 best cities in the world to eat Lyon, France. If you're the type of traveler who spends as much time researching restaurants as you do museums, listen. Earlier this year, we polled 27,000 Time Out readers in the Time Out index to find out what motivates our cities. Along the way, we asked about community spirit, diversity, affordability and, of course, the local food and drink scene.
Now that we've reviewed the data, we can finally reveal the best cities in the world for food and drink, chosen by locals. These 10 destinations scored the highest when we asked readers to rate their city for food and drink. In fact, all of the cities listed below have an approval rating of at least 93 percent when it comes to dining out. From Buenos Aires and Melbourne to Shanghai and Madrid, these are the most delicious places on the planet.
A second incredibly close spot is Tel Aviv, where the culinary scene is bursting with hot newcomers, traditional Middle Eastern fare, an astonishing array of vegan-friendly spots, and lively cafes that overflow the streets. Once you've eaten your weight in shawarma, falafel and hummus, try something new: sabich (a pita sandwich filled with fried eggplant, hard-boiled eggs and tahini) or malabi (milk pudding with rose water) should do the trick. Buenos Aires is synonymous with grilled meats and red wine, and you should try many of both while you're here, but the capital is also brimming with excellent Mediterranean, Italian, Asian and Spanish foods thanks to a robust immigrant population (second only to the U.S. UU.).
Taste empanadas on the go, sit back and savor a pizza, explore one of the city's indoor food markets and finish each meal with an alfajor, an addictive cookie sandwich paired with dulce de leche. Our readers ranked these 25 places as the main gastronomic destinations of the year. From the birthplace of Mezcal to the cities with the most Michelin-starred restaurants and chefs, these are the best places to visit with an appetite. Many of the cities on this list are within the same country or region, so allow this list to guide you through your own food tour.
From Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan to Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and, of course, Lyon, Paris and Aix-en-Provence in France, you can go in any direction and find the beginning and end of your dream food tour. Alternatively, spend all your time unpacking the dishes and culture of some incredible places, such as Mendoza, in Argentina's wine region, or Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, where the products are as exceptional as the appreciation for the food experience. Even the gastronomic capitals of the world, such as Paris, have fallen off our list to make room for America's own New Orleans and Charleston. The birthplace of mezcal, Oaxaca ranks first this year.
It is known for the way it combines its culinary traditions (think mole, molotes and fresh, moving dishes) with the innovative flavors of modern Mexican cuisine. From fettunta, the original garlic bread, to ravioli nudi or ravioli naked, Florence food finally appears around the world in some of the most famous restaurants. Why don't you go to the source? There may be no better place to go to restaurants and enjoy full days of food than Gion, Kyoto, a waterfront neighborhood with slender streets filled with restaurants almost exclusively, ups and downs. Lyon, a city in which to eat for the next 100 years without tiring, serves classic French dishes and fresh, modern dishes without the waiting list or the price of Paris.
You can visit Athens for food at Loukoumi Taverna in Astoria, imagine that you have arrived in Seoul while strolling through the lines of Korean barbecue restaurants on 32nd Street, channeling the vibes of Mexico City at the Ramirez Taqueria, savoring Warsaw in Karczma or landing in Beijing on the 7th train to Flushing, Queens, where you can eat sizzling soup, meatballs, and thick, jelly-like noodles with pork at the New World Mall food court. I may be biased, but I think New York is the best city in the world and it has a lot to do with the restaurant scene. The first time I visited Mexico City, I wasn't sure what to expect. A big city in Mexico that isn't close to the ocean? But after my first taco al pastor in El Tizoncito shortly after landing, everything made sense.
This city is bursting with culture, incredible vibes and life-changing cuisine. Here you can eat extraordinarily well on any budget, whether you're sipping on 20-cent street tacos and blue corn quesadillas, or feasting on Pujol's famous tasting menu. New York is a city of superlatives and that obviously applies to its food scene as well. It has more than 10,000 restaurants, where you will find every type of cuisine imaginable, and for all budgets.
It is the true food mecca of the world, allowing you to take a gastronomic trip around the world without leaving the city. Our favorite experiences, however, are looking for gourmet foods like Zabar's (the best food store in the world?) — and we're not ashamed to admit that we still love joining the Whole Foods chain every time. Check out the New York City Guide The Tsukiji fish market alone would be enough to make Tokyo a foodie destination. That's where 5 million pounds of fish are sold every day, mostly to serve as sushi.
But this is also the city with the most Michelin stars in the world and with some of the best casual restaurants. You could say that Lyon is where France originally elevated food to an art form, and chef Paul Bocuse was the pioneer. The city still caters to gourmets of all budgets, although it is haute cuisine that clearly stands out. It focuses on local traditions and products, and bouchons (the most traditional restaurants) are among the best places to enjoy the most rustic cuisine washed down by the best French wines.
Barcelona became a world-class city largely due to its innovative contemporary Catalan cuisine. It offers a large number of excellent restaurants where food is science and chefs such as Ferran Adrià are also artists and scientists, while for the more conservative there are excellent classic establishments serving the most traditional dishes. In addition to that, there is one of the best food markets in the world, La Boqueria, not to mention the impressive Mercat de Santa Caterina. See the Barcelona city guide There is an extraordinary culinary movement in San Sebastian that goes beyond its impressive trio of restaurants with 3 Michelin stars.
This is a city that takes food very seriously and a place where a meal can turn into an event. The best experience is to visit the La Brecha market in the morning and end the day at any restaurant that serves Basque-style tapas accompanied by local wines. London currently has a thriving food culture, and that's not just because of celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver. Food markets like Borough are still memorable experiences, and even smaller venues, such as Neal's Yard, remain lively and irresistible.
Add the extraordinary culinary diversity of its multi-ethnic restaurants and you have one of the gastronomic capitals of the world. See the London City Guide You could say that the Danish capital became a gastronomic capital thanks to just one restaurant: Noma, often praised as the best in the world. But that assessment would not be fair. Noma exists because Copenhagen is a city that has refined your taste buds and offers an impressive variety of restaurants to suit all tastes.
It is also the center of the revival of Nordic food and there is a flourishing coffee culture. Returning to the megacity a week later, he delved into the local food scene by taking a food tour of the Chandni Chowk street market in and around Old Delhi. Whether you're playing their grills (just go to Don Julio and take the guts), eating empanadas (we like them in Perón Perón) and choripán sandwiches (literally, there may be no better street food in the world) on the street, drinking incredible wines from Mendoza, Salta and Patagonia in their wine bars, or even going to one of their trendy “closed door” restaurants inside a chef's home, BA has to be on the radar of any food enthusiast. I learned a lot about Mexican food and culture on a food tour with Mexico Underground (plus, they showed me the taco spots I would never have found).
Eating is now a reason to travel, and whether it's to a city with a long gastronomic history or a more recent culinary hotspot, there are now several gastronomic meccas on the planet worth visiting. Discover tasty Barcelona dining experiences that you don't want to miss as you explore the best food in Barcelona at the best restaurants in the city. Porto offers gastronomic travelers a complete dining experience, ranging from traditional food in simple taverns to elevated meals in sophisticated restaurants. Montreal isn't just one of Canada's best food cities, it's also one of the best food cities in the world.
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