Best Cities for Food Lovers: Traveling is a wonderful way to expand your perspective by experiencing new places, meeting new people, and learning about different cultures. It also offers the opportunity to indulge in the diverse flavors of the world. Each country boasts its own distinctive cuisine, often influenced by immigration, local resources, and the continued influx of travelers.
Whether you’re fond of fresh seafood, barbecued meats, spicy soups, or vegetarian delights, there’s a city that provides the perfect cuisine for you. Here’s our pick of the 15 best cities for exploring food, with plenty to do between meals.
List of 10 Best Cities for Food
Here is the list of the top 10 best cities for food in the world. If you are planning a holiday, then you should consider these cities.
10. Portland, Oregon
Best dish: Pizza
New Orleans has gumbo, Boston has clam chowder; Portland, on the other hand, isn’t known for just one iconic dish, but rather for its food scene at large. The laidback Oregon city has made headlines for being one of America’s most exciting food and drink destinations, where the city’s best plates can be found not only in restaurants but at food carts, farmers markets, and breweries. While locals shouted about restaurants flush with plaudits like Gado Gado, Portland’s pizza scene got the biggest nod in our survey, with a slice of Mexican pizza (essentially a pizza topped with typical taco ingredients) named the city’s best-value bite.
9. Dubai
Best Dish: Mandi
Dubai is known for its innovative architecture and vibrant food scene. The city’s culinary landscape has been evolving, with new dining experiences and local chefs gaining recognition. The emirate, with its large expat community, attracts international culinary talent, resulting in some of the world’s best restaurants. While cuisine from diverse cultures is readily available, locals recommend trying traditional Middle Eastern dishes such as mandi rice, shawarma, and charcoal-grilled chicken. Many travellers widely like the Mandi dish in Dubai
8. Mumbai, India
Best dish: Vada pav
Mumbaikars take pride in their city’s food scene, rated highest in quality among all surveyed cities. The locals’ favorite dishes are a testament to the explosive flavors found throughout the city: fiery manchurian (chopped vegetables or meat fried and covered in a sticky sauce), creamy butter chicken, and the popular street food vada pav (a deep-fried potato dumpling stuffed into a bread roll, served with red and green chutneys) were named as Mumbai’s must-try foods.
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malasiya
Best dish: Nasi lemak
The Malaysian capital is a big, delicious melting pot, with a food scene influenced by Malay, Chinese and Indian culture and reflective of centuries of migration. Nasi lemak, an aromatic dish of coconut milk rice, crispy anchovies, cucumber, and boiled egg, was named the city’s must-eat meal, followed by Thai tom yam soup and roti canai, a crispy pan-fried flatbread.
6. Bangkok, Thailand
Best dish: Som tum
Bangkok, known as the street food capital of the world, ranked as the third-most affordable city to eat out in. Street vendors sizzle up delicious meals in roadside works or serve food from boats in floating markets. Street eats are a vital part of the city’s culture. There are a lot of famous restaurants in Bangkok for food lovers and so this city is one of the best cities for food lovers.
Locals highly recommend trying som tum, a sweet and slightly spicy papaya salad available at many sidewalk stalls and pushcarts throughout the Thai capital. Beyond the markets and no-frills food joints is a city flush with gourmet accolades: Bangkok has 34 Michelin-starred restaurants under its belt and won big in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards.
5. Beijing, China
Best dish: Peking duck
Beijing is a city known for its love of meat. When asked what dish visitors should try, locals often recommend meat-based dishes such as gongbao chicken, hot pot, and Peking duck. However, the city also offers a variety of delicious vegetable dishes, from stir-fried and steamed to spiced or wrapped in dumplings. While Beijing has many high-end restaurants, there are also numerous snack streets and night markets where you can enjoy affordable food such as jian bing (a Chinese savory crepe) and local beer.
4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Best dish: Pho Saigon
Vietnamese cuisine is known for its bold and diverse flavors, which can be experienced in full in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to the street food stalls and bustling markets offering dishes like banh mi, snails, broken rice, and offal stew, there are also several Bib Gourmand and Michelin-starred restaurants that offer innovative takes on classic Vietnamese dishes.
Despite the variety, the most popular dish mentioned in our survey was pho, a warming noodle soup that is a staple in the south, typically served with basil, coriander, chili, and hoisin sauce, and is widely available throughout the city.
3. Lima, Peru
Best Dish: Ceviche
Lima is not only the culinary capital of Peru, but of the entire South American continent. It’s home to the ‘world’s best restaurant’ in Central, but you can sample the Peruvian flavors on Central’s ten-course tasting menu everywhere across the city (and for a fraction of the price). Tangy pisco sours, citrusy ceviche, and lomo saltado (Peruvian beef stir fry) all got the nod from locals in our survey. Still, when it came to value, the simple, hearty arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) was named the city’s most affordable dish.
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
Best dish: Kota sandwich
Cape Town might steal the limelight for its international cuisine (and our newly opened Time Out Market, on the V&A Waterfront, is a testament to the culinary talent in Mother City), but Jo’burg is a worthy rival for the title of South Africa’s food capital. From Ethiopian cafes in Little Addis to Nigerian and West African eats in the south of the city, you can eat your way across the continent here – though the majority of locals we surveyed recommended the city’s traditional South African delicacies, like the Sowetan kota sandwich, bunny chow and mala mogodu.
1. Naples, Italy
Best dish: Pizza Margherita
This is the best city for food lovers. In Italy, Naples is renowned for its delicious food, especially pizza. Pizza originated in Naples in the 19th century as an affordable and convenient meal for the working class. Today, traditional pizzerias, mainly located on Pizza Street (Via dei Tribunali), continue to serve the locals.
While there are more upscale versions available, pizza remains one of the most economical options. Neapolitans particularly favor “pizza a portafoglio,” a folded slice that costs around €1. Consequently, Naples is ranked as the most affordable city for dining out based on our survey.
Naples is famous for its natural beauty and Neapolitan cuisine, including pizza, the city’s original dish, and other local specialties.
So this is the list of the best cities for food lovers and if you planning holidays this year, then you must consider these cities.
