It’s no secret that great food and sampling local cuisine is a big motivator to many of us when we choose our next holiday destination.
Travel comparison site Globehunters has analysed nine different criteria, including diversity of cuisines available, affordability and
restaurants per 10,000 people, to determine the world’s best food cities.
If you’re a foodie, a world traveller or both, you’ll want to start saving up the airfare money for these 15 cities.
At Mizlala, the swanky eatery run by famed chef Meir Adoni near Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, the talent and ingenuity of the chef resonates
through every dish. Dishes like the Seafood Pan a sautee of crabs, calamari, mussels, roasted fennel, tomatoes, grilled onions, sage butter
and white wine sauce has quickly turned the 4-year-old restaurant into a favourite of locals and tourists alike, and it’s one of many
reasons that this Israeli metropolis has landed at No. 5 on Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers Choice Awards Survey for top food cities around
the world.
But that’s not the only spot that makes Tel Aviv one of the world’s food capitals. There’s the Imperial bar, a homage to the craft cocktail with
cleverly inspired creations like the Polynesian Firefly and the Gold Fashioned (complete with actual flecks of gold!). There’s the Village
Green, a vegan cafe that’s helped Israel’s Tel Aviv elevate its vegan-friendly reputation. And there’s Mezze, a gluten-free ode to
Mediterranean cuisine. Just about every corner of this city houses a culinary gem, from the underground diamonds-in-the-rough to the
sparkling trendsetters.
Elsewhere on Conde Nast Traveler’s ranking lie a few surprises at least for those who consider cities like Rome, Paris and Barcelona to be
unshakeable in today’s culinary zeitgeist. Asia made an impressive showing, with H0ng Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo
coming in at No. 3, 7, 8 and 10, respectively.
So which city conquered all in food capitals? That title went to Cape Town, South Africa, which boasts a “breezy simplicity” that makes its
world-famous seafood a culinary icon. Not to be missed is the lively fishing village of Kalk Bay, where you’ll find melt-in-your-mouth beer-
battered hake, snoek, kingklip and legendary slap chips (soft French fries) that exude a truly South African food experience.