europedoor
Search My Europe

20 across Europe

Food & table

  1. Bosnian coffee, properly

    Džezva, fildžan, a sugar cube held in the teeth, and an hour of not being in a hurry.

    Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina · low

  2. Peka in a village konoba

    Ordered by phone that morning: octopus and potatoes under an iron bell buried in embers for three hours.

    Vis, Croatia · moderate

  3. A pub with a tapster, not a menu

    The good places pour continuously and mark your tab in pencil; you say when to stop, and the pour type is a real choice.

    Prague, Czechia · low

  4. Smørrebrød in the correct order

    Herring first, then fish, then meat, then cheese, with aquavit between — a lunch that takes three hours and is meant to.

    Copenhagen, Denmark · moderate

  5. A market street before ten

    Cheese, bread, a rotisserie chicken and a bottle, then eat it in a park; the most Parisian thing available and it costs almost nothing.

    Paris, France · low

  6. A beer garden, done correctly

    Buy the beer, bring the food, sit at the unmarked communal tables — the marked ones are for served customers and the distinction matters.

    Munich, Germany · low

  7. Oysters at the counter

    Native flat oysters from the bay outside, September to April; a dozen, brown bread, and no ceremony.

    Galway, Ireland · moderate

  8. Fried pizza on the street

    Older and poorer than the baked kind, folded into a wallet and eaten walking; the sign to look for is a queue of locals.

    Naples, Italy · low

  9. Palermo by street food

    Panelle, arancine, sfincione, and — if you are brave — pani ca meusa. A thousand years of occupation in six snacks.

    Palermo, Italy · low

  10. Testaccio, where Rome eats

    The market and the streets around it are where Roman offal cooking survives; go at one, order what the sign says.

    Rome, Italy · low

  11. Cicchetti and an ombra

    Small plates and a small glass of wine at a bàcaro, standing, moving on after one — the Venetian version of an aperitivo.

    Venice, Italy · low

  12. Lunch in the Zeppelin hangars

    Smoked fish, black bread, curd and pickles bought from four different counters and eaten standing up.

    Riga, Latvia · low

  13. Lunch at a working fish counter

    Skip the tourist stalls; eat where the boats deliver, standing up, whatever came in that morning.

    Bergen, Norway · moderate

  14. Lunch in a milk bar

    A communist-era subsidised canteen, still running, still cheap; queue, point, pay, and eat what Poland actually eats.

    Kraków, Poland · low

  15. Tapas, the Granada way

    Every drink comes with a plate you did not order and cannot choose; four bars is a dinner.

    Granada, Spain · low

  16. La hora del vermut

    Sunday, around one, house vermouth on tap with an olive and a siphon of soda — the most Madrid ninety minutes there is.

    Madrid, Spain · low

  17. A pintxo crawl, done properly

    One drink and one signature dish per bar, standing, then move. Sitting down is how visitors get it wrong.

    San Sebastián, Spain · moderate

  18. Paella where the rice grows

    The Albufera lagoon south of the city grows the rice and cooks it over orange wood; lunchtime only, and never in the evening.

    Valencia, Spain · moderate

  19. A proper fika circuit

    Four bakeries, one afternoon, and the argument about whether the cardamom bun beats the cinnamon one.

    Stockholm, Sweden · low

  20. A two-hour Turkish breakfast

    Fifteen small dishes, endless tea, and no expectation that you leave. Order for the table and clear the morning.

    Istanbul, Türkiye · low