Food and travel are closely related. Personally, I travel to eat. I love nothing more than visiting new places to try the unique flavors and dishes. But of course, not every meal can stand out. So redditor u/BornThought4074 asked, “Which country had better food than you expected and which country had worse food than you expected?” Here’s what people said.
1.“The Turkish food was amazing, especially the Turkish breakfasts. They were always these huge feasts with lots of small plates including fresh bread, pastries, cheese, cold cuts, fruit, olives, hummus and the best fresh honeycomb I’ve ever tasted.’
2.“Amalfi, Italy. When I went to the Amalfi Coast I expected the food to be just okay considering how touristy the area is. It actually blew me away. Everything we ate was super fresh and always just delicious.”
3.“The food in Switzerland was not good at all. We really tried to find the best places and researched before every meal. However, all the food we ate was okay at best. However, the views do not disappoint us! “
4.“Cambodia, unfortunately, is on my bad food list. I was expecting bright, fresh flavors like Vietnamese food, but most things tasted bland.”
—u/Depressedmonkeytiler
“I had really high hopes for Cambodian food when I visited and left feeling very excited, especially compared to the food I’ve had in neighboring countries.”
—u/DQBeltBuster
Kosal Hor/Getty Images
5.“Sri Lanka! The food blew me away. I never had a bad meal while traveling there. It’s been six years since I visited this country, and years later I still dream about some of the things I ate. The curries were so flavorful.”
6.“The food in Iceland was better than expected. From fish stew and hot dogs to lamb chops, fresh rye bread and skyr, I ate a lot of delicious things there.’
7.“There is great food in Indonesia. Where I’m from, Indonesian cuisine is unknown and it’s hard to find an Indonesian restaurant. The food was a pleasant surprise.”
8.“Puerto Rico. It’s a tropical island, but ironically, fresh fish was hard to come by. We ate a lot of pork and fried food. I love visiting Puerto Rico. I have been several times and had nothing but good trips. the food game is off.”
9.“The food in the Netherlands was at a low level. I like some Dutch snacks and desserts, like stroopwafels, poffertjes, and frikandel, but otherwise Dutch cuisine is among my least favorite. Whenever I go to the Netherlands, my favorite thing to eat is Indonesian food.”
10.“Bologna, Italy. This is the place to go for better than expected food. This must be the true food capital of Italy. Think: tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini, lasagna and more.”
11.“If Colombia had some of the best food in the world, it would just be unfair. The country has beautiful people and a diverse, stunning country. If Colombia had as good food as Mexico, it would have to be shut down with an antitrust lawsuit. That being said, I didn’t find the food terrible, just very average.”
12.“Georgia had amazing food. From the khachapuri to the wine, everything was amazing. I went in not knowing much about the kitchen, but after taking a cooking class in a local home and eating our way across the country, I left so impressed that I started cooking Georgian food at home.”
13.“Lima, Peru has the best food. The city has many great restaurants, from some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world to many small and casual gems. There is also great Chinese and Japanese food.”
14.“Poland. I expected the cuisine to be more like German food (which I like but find often repetitive and unimaginative), but I was very pleasantly surprised by the Polish food.’
15.“The food in Dubai was better than expected. Dubai gets a lot of hate, but you’ll find great food if you step away from the malls and fancy restaurants and go where the working-class locals and expats live and eat. It’s hard to find another city with so many diverse, unique and authentic options.”
16.“The food scene in Ireland blew me away. Americans tend to think of Irish food as meat and potatoes, but I had excellent Irish food that went far beyond the stereotypical dishes, and I also ate some bomb international food.’
17.“I was a bit disappointed with the food in Morocco. I used to enjoy tagine and couscous, but it seemed like every restaurant had a little more of those two options and they got boring.”
18.“Belgium was a surprising gem for me. I had almost no expectations for this trip. I went for the beer, but ended up liking the homey and flavorful comfort food.”
19.Finally, “To be honest, my partner and I were a bit disappointed with the food in France. We tried a wide variety from street food to some fancy restaurants and overall it was pretty…meh. honestly, we were also in Italy less than a week ago, so maybe that had something to do with our disappointment.”
Do you have anything to add? Which destinations exceeded your expectations when it came to food? And which places left your taste buds disappointed? Let us know in the comments or drop it in this Google Form.
