Top chefs reveal their 16 favourite restaurant cities – and one has only recently opened its borders to tourists
From Melbourne to Buenos Aires to Riyadh, we asked top chefs to list their favourite restaurant picks from around the globe
Everyone knows you can enjoy wonderful meals in cities such as Paris, New York, London and Tokyo. But what about other dining destinations? Many great cities around the globe feature fabulous dishes that are more likely to be found in casual bars or bistros than in fancy restaurants.
We asked some of the world’s leading chefs about their favourite food cities and discovered treasures hiding in the markets of Ghana in West Africa, the crowded and noisy streets of Kolkata and a tiny island off Auckland, in New Zealand.
Here are their recommendations.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mauro Colagreco is the holder of the title of World’s Best Restaurant at Mirazur, in the south of France. But he still misses the food of his native Argentina. “The country and cuisine are both incredibly close to my heart,” he says. “I often return to La Plata and Buenos Aires to see family and spend time there. In Buenos Aires, I always recommend Parrilla Don Julio, it offers the best Argentinian meat cooked with unparalleled expertise. For brunch or a relaxed lunch, Narda Comedor is comfort food with fresh ingredients.”
Melbourne, Australia
British-born Ashley Palmer-Watts is the executive chef of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London and Melbourne, where he has fallen in love with the dining scene. “Melbourne is great because of the range of types of restaurants,” he says. “They are just so approachable, with good tasty food. My go-to restaurants are Cutler & Co. and MoVida. I love sitting at the bar. Also Marion wine bar, which is run by Andrew McConnell of Cutler. You can have great food, great wine, great service. It is just so easy and diverse.”
Accra, Ghana
