I'm a food and travel writer — here are my tips for eating out abroad
You see, I fall firmly in the 'will travel for food' camp; having written about gastronomic travel for over a decade you could call it a perk of the job. Even off the clock, eating out in a new destination can be the most memorable take-home experience from any trip abroad — something that stays with me long after the tan fades. Here's what I've learnt.
Delving into a country's food scene is a gateway to its culture. On my first day somewhere I hotfoot it to the local market. I've nibbled my way from Tomme de Savoie cheese to impossibly pretty pastries in Provence; braved stinky durian and prickly rambutan in Bali; and picked up cactus jam and cholla bud pico de gallo in the Sonoran desert. Consider the market a foundation course in the unique and perhaps unfamiliar produce that will pop up on regional menus — and a chance to ask in-the-know locals where they're eating.
Next stop Rome? Swap the brouhaha of Campo de' Fiori market and follow lauded local chefs like Cristina Bowerman to the historic Mercato Testaccio, on the ancient amphorae depository site of the old trade route. It's less touristy, and alongside produce (including plenty of offal) there are great snack stalls — tripe sandwiches at Mordi e Vai, anyone? In Berlin, join the Kreuzberg clan at the convivial Markthalle Neun — hit up Big Stuff Smoked BBQ, and keep eyes peeled for the regular Sunday Naschmarkt, in collaboration with Slow Food Berlin, which puts the city's artisanal bakeries and heritage grains to the fore.
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Finding joy in food is one of life's great equalisers; something that transcends borders and unites when common language fails. It's always good to have a vague plan of where (and what) you'd like to eat. I recce early and pin points on an offline Google map — handy for avoiding paying extortionate roaming costs or worrying about ropey signal — so if I stumble upon a particular area I know I have solid options on hand when hunger strikes. Reading up before you travel also means that you can book ahead if needed and work out if a restaurant will be able to accommodate any dietary requirements.
It also pays to check opening hours. It's a running joke that you'll be hard-pushed to find an early supper in Spain, but securing a lunch table at 2pm can equally challenging in smaller towns across France, Switzerland and Denmark, where you should go early, especially if you want to enjoy more than one course.
Don't just rely on websites such as Tripadvisor. Sure, they're handy for less obvious destinations, but can you really trust Bob from Bristol's palate? I follow a social media trail: see where foodies you rate are heading to, go to the individual restaurant pages, then check if the chef has an account to see where they are eating locally. Similarly, tighten your search terms, don't just instinctively type 'best croissant in Paris', instead try 'where do Parisian chefs go for croissants?' And don't disregard food tours — the guide will know which of Mexico City's ubiquitous taquerias are the best (usually the one you'd never find yourself).Culinary Backstreets (culinarybackstreets.com) and Secret Food Tours (secretfoodtours.com) are good places to start for half and full-day tours in some of the more obvious foodie destinations. For shorter tours and more off-grid places, try Get Your Guide (getyourguide.com).
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Let's be real: restaurants that are truly authentic don't need to advertise the fact. Unless someone who lives there is telling you that it's the real deal, don't be swayed by the spiel. Rather, look for longevity. In a competitive market, any place that's been on the scene for 20-odd years is usually doing something right.
Hotel restaurants can be hit and miss, but shouldn't always be avoided. My rule of thumb is to order a club sandwich — a universal benchmark — on room service. If they can nail this (and have a good range of local dishes on the in-room menu) it's worth giving the restaurant a go, especially after a long journey or day exploring. My best one? Soho House Berlin. And if you're happy to forgo facilities in exchange for quality food and a bit more personality, the rise of restaurants with rooms around the world is a win for gourmet travellers.
One of my biggest regrets was a four-hour-plus dégustation experience on an Easter trip to Barcelona. The restaurant was called Moments; it felt more like years. The food was wonderful, but after the third course I could see my chance of getting to the Picasso Museum before closing diminishing with every bite. Unless you're travelling specifically for this kind of experience, don't commit to multicourse extravaganzas — lots of fine-dining establishments will do truncated lunch menus, or indeed let you go à la carte. Or just take the pressure off and opt for low-key: Bar Cañete (small plates from £7; barcanete.com) is my go-to in the city.
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My top two pizzas have been outside Italy. One in the middle of the desert at Pizzeria Bianco (pizzeriabianco.com) in Arizona; one in the middle of the ocean at Soneva Fushi, Maldives (soneva.com). The former was worth the long line (go early!) for the crisp base and homemade cheese and salami that earned its owner, Chris Bianco, an episode of Netflix's Chef's Table nearly 20 years after my visit. The latter was delivered to our villa and chowed down in bathrobes as a tropical storm whipped outside.
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Mixologists are increasingly focusing on local ingredients and elevating their bar snacks; the results can provide a great snapshot of a destination's wider culinary outlook. In Ho Chi Minh City's Ton That Dam wet market, seek out Nhau Nhau (anansaigon.com), a playful libation station that puts Vietnamese beer, Hue saké and new-wave banh mi front and centre. Plus, bartenders love to chat — grill them on where they grab dinner after a shift.
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This is a divisive one. We've all heard the stories about people's holidays being ruined by food poisoning after eating street food. It's easy to put such misfortune down to bad hygiene, and of course sometimes this is the case, but it's also to do with the different microbes prevalent in different countries that our bodies are simply not used to. As someone with Crohn's disease, I am particularly mindful of knocking things off kilter, but I can safely say that I've never felt the ill-effects of street food. Indeed, some of my best meals abroad have been streetside: the hazy backdrop of smoke as we devoured one charred satay stick after another in Singapore comes to mind. It's a matter of your personal appetite for risk. That said, if you are advised not to drink the water, don't. Look for where the locals are eating; busy stalls mean that the food won't be sitting around too long.
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What are your top tips on choosing where and what to eat and drink abroad? Let us know in the comments below
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