The world’s 10 best destinations for food

Eating isn't just a thing you have to do when you're travelling. It's not incidental. It's not a chore.

Food, for many us, is our entire raison d'etre, the very reason we go on holidays in the first place. We travel to taste; we live to eat. We choose our destinations on the strength of their dining scenes. We plan our trips around the dishes we get to eat.

A pintxos (tapas) bar in the Casco Viejo (Old Town) of San Sebastian, Spain.Credit: Ian Dagnall / Alamy

Food isn't just sustenance, it's art and culture, it's tradition and expression. It's joy. It's pleasure.

So grab your fork, pick up your chopsticks, and get ready to tuck in to the world's greatest culinary destinations.

Spain

This country has flown under the radar too long; it's time for Spain to take its rightful place among the gastronomic leaders. Spanish cuisine is as varied as French, as traditional as Italian. It ranges from Michelin-starred magic – three of world's top 10 restaurants, according to the latest 50 Best list, are in Spain – to laidback tapas culture, to classic homestyle cuisine.

There's incredible produce in Spain, too: jamon iberico is Spanish, cava is Spanish, chorizo is Spanish, the best salt-cured anchovies are Spanish, and sherry is Spanish. And then you have iconic dishes such as paella, tortilla espanola, churros and more.

Vietnam

Vietnam's most famous dish, pho, is a staple in Australia by now, so of course that's a reason for food-loving travellers to visit its home. And the pho in Vietnam is as good as you think, varying in style from region to region.

The best in Vietnamese cuisine. Credit: Amanda Ahn / Alamy

However, that's just the start of the gastronomic delights Vietnam has to offer: we're talking banh mi, the classic pork sandwiches, a whole raft of different noodle soups, plus char-grilled things, steamed things, braised things, stir-fried things. And all of these dishes are affordable, accessible, and astoundingly tasty.

Italy

Do you even need an explanation? Do you require someone to mention pizza, or pasta, or risotto? Do you have to be reminded about Italian wine, or Aperol spritzes, or Italy's burgeoning craft beer scene? Or how about Italian markets, with all of that fresh produce, cheese shops groaning with formaggi, delicatessens with all their salumi, pasticcerias with their pastries and their coffee counters?

And then you have to consider the fact that every region, every city, every small village in Italy offers all of these things in its own unique way, with traditions that stretch back centuries.

Japan

Japan is the best gastronomic destination in the world. It's just so, so good. You would have to work very hard to get a bad meal in Japan. You would have to search high and low for someone who doesn't take the craft of preparing and serving food incredibly seriously. Everything from the cheapest convenience store tamago sando (egg sandwich) to the most expensive nigiri at a three-star sushi joint is absolute perfection.

Japan is the best foodie destination in the world. Credit: iStock

Eating is a true joy here. Have dinner at an izakaya, a casual snack bar, and you will understand this. Sit at the counter of a tempura joint or a katsu restaurant or a yakitori bar and watch the masters at work, and you will get it. Eat sushi that will blow your mind, and you will realise: Japan is the best in the world.

Mexico

It's not just tacos. Mexican food is far more than this globally loved phenomenon. What about mole, the complex and intensely flavourful sauces that you will find throughout the country? Or chilaquiles, the breakfast staple of tortilla chips soaked in salsa and topped with cheese? Or pozole, the hearty soup? Or elotes, the barbecued corn with lime and crema?

Mexican food is far more than just tacos.Credit: iStock

But then, Mexico is also tacos. Tacos al pastor, filled with charred pork and pineapple salsa. Carnitas, with confit pork. Longaniza, with spiced sausage meat. Birria, with stewed goat. Pescado, with fried fish.

Eat from the streets, or dine out at fancy restaurants. You can't go wrong.

France

Here is another country that famously loves to eat and drink. The very word, restaurant, is French. (As is chef. And bistro. And ooh la la.) French cuisine is another that barely requires introduction. You know the pastries, you know the smallgoods, you know the bistro favourites, you know the reputation for three-Michelin-starred excellence.

Eating in France is a sheer joy. Credit: Todd Strand / Alamy

What's perhaps underappreciated is the pure joy of eating in France. Though the country is maligned with the "snooty waiter" stereotype, the truth is that dining out in France is a pleasure, a social experience that has been lovingly refined, and always paired with good wine.

UAE

This may sound odd. The cuisine of the United Arab Emirates isn't exactly world famous. But you're not here in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Sharjah to eat purely Emirati cuisine. What you're here to do is enjoy the food of migrants from a whole heap of nearby countries that you may not normally be able (or keen) to access.

We're talking Persian food, as good as any in Iran. Lebanese cuisine cooked by experts. Palestinian food. Afghan food. Pakistani food. Yes, there are plenty of high-end eateries run by celebrity chefs in the UAE, but the true gastronomic beauty of this country is in its affordable, diverse, authentic, no-frills dining scene.

The United Arab Emirates is a surprise inclusion on the list.Credit: iStock

Thailand

We can't include every country in South-East Asia, so our apologies to Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Indonesia. We have found space, however, for Thailand, because the food in this country is as delicious as it is intensely spicy, as varied and accessible as you could hope to find.

Thai food is varied and delicious. Credit: iStock

Thai cuisine is all about the balance of flavours: sweet, spicy, salty and sour. Its curries and noodle stir-fries are legendary, but there's a lot more to Thailand's food, from salads to char-grilled meats to noodle soups and more. And it's all so cheap.

As long as you can handle the heat, you will love eating in Thailand.

Peru

Word of Peruvian food is getting around. Credit: Carles Navarro Parcerisas/Getty

This country will surprise you. Word of Peru's gastronomic greatness is beginning to get around, but still, the actual flavours, the variety, the passion – that will come as a shock. Peru is a nation that loves to eat, and one that takes culinary influence from Spain, France, China, Japan, and from its own indigenous roots.

Dishes such as ceviche and even lomo saltado are well known, but wait until you try aji de gallina (a creamy chicken stew), causa (mashed potato cakes with fish), rocoto relleno (stuffed peppers), arroz con pato (fried rice with duck confit) and more.

India

It is impossible to categorise Indian food. Credit: Alamy

It is absolutely impossible to quantify and categorise the food of 1.3 billion people in this small space. There is no such thing as "Indian food". There is Goan food, Tamil food, Gujarati food, Bengali food and more. There is street food, casual eatery food, high-end restaurant food. There is "veg" food, and "non-veg" food. There are snacks, there are drinks, there are sweets.

The thread linking all of these disparate parts is the skill with which they're prepared, the traditions of their recipes, and the succulent perfection of their execution. There's always something good to eat in India.

China

Chinese food has influenced cuisine all over the world. Credit: Ger Beekes / Alamy

There has to be room for China. This country has influenced almost every other great foodie nation. Love pasta? It came from China. Big fan of ramen? Also Chinese. How about ice-cream? It, too, was invented in China.

This is a country so large that it has not one recognised cuisine, but eight distinct styles. Some we know well (the dumplings of Cantonese food; the spice of Sichuan), some we don't (the soups of Fujian; the dried meat of Jiangsu) – but all are worth seeking out.