Food city breaks: eight cities compared for what to order, where to book and which day the best places shut

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Our judgement, because it depends on the dish you want. For pizza, Naples: 50 Kalò, Gino Sorbillo and Da Michele are named by the most sources, and Da Michele makes only a margherita and a marinara. For pasta, Rome: carbonara, cacio e pepe and amatriciana at Armando al Pantheon, which books online only and is shut on Saturday evening and Sunday. For bistros and bakeries, Paris: Septime opens its tables at 10:00 for the next three weeks. For tapas, Seville: El Rinconcillo has served since 1670, and a tapa at Casa Ricardo is €3.20. For ramen at a counter, Tokyo: Ichiran in Shibuya is 1,180 yen, open 24 hours. For fried and griddled street food, Osaka: takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu. For night street food, Bangkok and Singapore: pad thai at Thipsamai, chicken rice at Maxwell Food Centre. The thing that ruins a meal is the closed day or the table that needed booking. Or book: the Rome street food walkad is from €39.60 and the Naples street food walkad from €42 (GetYourGuide).

⚠️ Check the closed day and the booking rule before you build a day around a restaurant. Armando al Pantheon is shut on Saturday evening and Sunday, Septime on weekends, Thipsamai on Tuesdays, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore on Mondays, and Sorbillo and Di Matteo in Naples on Sundays. Da Enzo al 29, Pizzeria Da Remo and Bouillon Chartier take no bookings, so go early.

Prices are each operator’s own, in local currency. The comparisons are our judgement.

The cities side by side

The cities are in the order of the entries below. Each is a link to the city’s own guide.

Italy

This grouping is our judgement. Rome is built on pasta at a trattoria table, Naples on pizza and fried street food.

Naples

50 Kalò, Sorbillo and Da Michele · pizza fritta · sfogliatella · Sorbillo closed Sundays

The pizzerias named by the most of the 134 publishers counted are 50 Kalò (51), Gino Sorbillo (50), Da Michele (46), Concettina ai Tre Santi (43) and Starita (41). Da Michele makes two pizzas, the margherita and the marinara, and you queue with a numbered ticket. The critics disagree with the crowd: in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026 Palazzo Petrucci is 3rd and 50 Kalò 5th, and both of those take bookings at one room or another (best pizza in Naples).

A margherita in Naples. Photo: Kos88, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The street food is pizza fritta, a fried pizza, at Sorbillo and Starita, the pizza a portafoglio, folded in four like a wallet, at Di Matteo, the cuoppo, a paper cone of fried morsels, and the frittatina, a fried pasta croquette. Sfogliatelle, the layered pastry with a ricotta filling, are from Attanasio, Scaturchio and Pintauro, and the babà is a rum-soaked cake (street food and pastries). Sorbillo and Di Matteo are closed on Sundays, and Poppella’s Santa Brigida shop on Mondays. The Naples street food walking tourad is from €42 for 2.5 hours. Naples covers the rest, and where to stay in Naples compares the areas.

Rome

Carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana · Armando al Pantheon · pizza al taglio by weight

Rome’s trattorias are the draw. The five named by the most sources are Flavio al Velavevodetto, Armando al Pantheon, Hosteria Grappolo d’Oro, Salumeria Roscioli and Da Enzo al 29, each in 13 or more of the 40 sources read. Order carbonara, with egg yolk, pecorino and cured pork cheek, cacio e pepe, pecorino and black pepper, or amatriciana, with tomato; Felice a Testaccio mixes its cacio e pepe at the table (where to eat in Rome).

Armando al Pantheon, which has run since 1961, takes bookings only online and is shut on Saturday evening, all of Sunday and from 24 December to 4 January. Da Enzo al 29 and Pizzeria Da Remo take no bookings, so arrive before they open. Da Cesare al Casaletto is closed on Wednesdays. For pizza al taglio, slices cut from a tray and sold by weight, go to Pizzarium or Antico Forno Roscioli.

A street-food walk through Trastevere or Campo de’ Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto is 2½ hours from €39.60 to €48, a tasting with wine €54.50 to €76.50, and the pasta and tiramisu class near the Vatican from €34.50 (Rome food tours). Rome covers the rest, and where to stay in Rome compares the areas.

France and Spain

This grouping is our judgement. One city eats at tables booked weeks ahead, the other standing at a bar, and both are shut on a day you need to know.

Paris

Septime opens tables at 10:00 · Bistrot des Tournelles · Du Pain et des Idées · weekend closures

Septime opens its reservations every day at 10:00 for the next three weeks and is closed on weekends. Bistrot des Tournelles in the Marais serves dinner only, 19:00 to 23:00 every day, with steak au poivre and cordon bleu in a room of antique mirrors; its tables open a month ahead. Bistrot Paul Bert in the 11th is also named by the most independent sources, and Bouillon Chartier and the Café de Flore take no reservations (where to eat in Paris).

For bread and pastries, the places named most are Du Pain et des Idées, Boulangerie Utopie and Mamiche, and Du Pain et des Idées, Septime, Juveniles and La Bourse et la Vie are closed at weekends. Near the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, pick from the short lists on the page, not the nearest terrace. A guided tasting is a 2- to 3½-hour walk through one neighbourhood: Montmartre is cheese, charcuterie, wine and chocolate, and Le Marais falafel, pastrami and pastries (Paris food tours). Paris covers the rest, and where to stay in Paris compares the arrondissements.

Seville

El Rinconcillo since 1670 · tapa €3.20 at Casa Ricardo · Casa Ricardo shut Mondays

Seville eats at the bar. The places named by the most of the 64 publishers counted are El Rinconcillo (27 sources), on Calle Gerona and open since 1670, Casa Morales (20), and Bodega Santa Cruz and Cañabota (19 each). El Rinconcillo is open daily from 13:00 and takes bookings only for its restaurant (where to eat in Seville).

El Rinconcillo on Calle Gerona. Photo: Stefano Vigorelli, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

At Casa Ricardo a tapa of croquetas or solomillo al whisky, pork loin in whisky sauce, is €3.20, a half portion €9.00 and a full portion €15.00; it is shut on Mondays. The shops in the Triana market are closed on Sundays. A tapas crawl with 10 dishes and four drinks is from €68.82 for 3 hours (Seville food tours). Seville covers the rest, and where to stay in Seville compares the quarters.

Japan

This grouping is our judgement. In both cities each shop does one dish, and you often order from a machine or a counter.

Tokyo

Ichiran 1,180 yen, open 24 hours · Fuunji 1,000 yen · Nakiryu cash only · no tipping

Ichiran in Shibuya serves its classic tonkotsu ramen for 1,180 yen, open 24 hours, with no booking. You buy a ticket at a machine by the door and eat at one of 21 counter seats; the shop may refuse entry when it is crowded. Fuunji in Shinjuku serves dipping noodles for 1,000 yen and is open every day (where to eat in Tokyo).

The Bib Gourmand ramen shops need more planning: Nakiryu takes cash only, as do Kanda Matsuya for soba and Shin-Hinomoto for izakaya, a pub serving small plates. Ichiran, Fuunji and Kikanbo take cards. Do not tip (Tokyo etiquette). A Shinjuku food tour is on GetYourGuidead, and the page compares the others (Tokyo food tours). Tokyo covers the rest, and where to stay in Tokyo compares the districts.

Osaka

Takoyaki and okonomiyaki · Mizuno open daily 11:00 to 22:00 · Daruma takes no reservations

Osaka’s food is flour-based. Takoyaki are octopus batter balls cooked in a griddle of half-spheres, and okonomiyaki are savoury pancakes cooked on a hot plate (a teppan). Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka in Sennichimae, beside the Namba Grand Kagetsu comedy theatre, serves the Oiri plate of eight in four flavours. Mizuno in Dotonbori, a Michelin Bib Gourmand, serves okonomiyaki at a teppan counter, including one made with grated mountain yam, and is open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 (takoyaki and okonomiyaki in Osaka).

Okonomiyaki on a teppan. Photo: ume-y, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Kushikatsu, skewers of meat and vegetables breaded and deep-fried, is the Shinsekai dish. Daruma’s Shinsekai main shop is open daily, takes no reservations and last orders are 30 minutes before closing. Kuromon Ichiba Market is a covered arcade of fishmongers, butchers and street grills, best eaten standing at the stall counters (Kuromon Market, where to eat in Osaka). Osaka covers the rest.

Street food after dark

This grouping is our judgement. Both are hot and humid, and both run on cash and queues.

Bangkok

Thipsamai pad thai, shut Tuesdays · Jay Fai Wednesday to Saturday · cash is the rule

For a first night, eat in the Old Town and Chinatown. Thipsamai on Maha Chai Road wraps its pad thai in a thin egg omelette, opens daily from 09:00 to midnight and is shut every Tuesday, with a queue at dinner; its main dishes run from about 60 to 100 baht. Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu on Dinso Road is a Michelin Bib Gourmand, cooks until midnight and takes cards (best pad thai in Bangkok).

Pad thai at Thipsamai. Photo: Iudexvivorum, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Order mango sticky rice at K. Panich, which is shut on Sundays, and a crab omelette at Jay Fai, which has one Michelin star, opens Wednesday to Saturday only and has a queue. Most places are cash only and take no bookings. Book ahead only for Sorn, Le Du, Nusara and Sirocco (where to eat in Bangkok). The Chinatown food tour with Michelin food stallsad picks the stalls for you. Bangkok covers the rest, and where to stay in Bangkok compares the areas.

Singapore

Maxwell Food Centre · Tian Tian closed Mondays · Hill Street Tai Hwa closed Mondays · ++ adds 19.9%

A hawker centre is a hall of cooked-food stalls: you order at the stall, pay there and carry the tray to a table, and you return it afterwards. Start at Maxwell Food Centre in Chinatown for chicken rice at Tian Tian, which is shut on Mondays and takes cash only. Old Airport Road Food Centre has stalls Michelin lists, and Tiong Bahru Market suits breakfast (the best hawker centres).

Carry cash: 46 of Michelin’s 97 Bib Gourmand places in Singapore in 2026 are cash only. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, the only hawker stall with a Michelin star, is shut on Mondays. A menu price marked ++ is before a 10 per cent service charge and 9 per cent GST, so S$100 of food comes to S$119.90, and tipping is not customary (money in Singapore). A guide who picks the stalls and orders for you costs from S$60 to S$127 (Singapore food tours). Singapore covers the rest, and where to stay in Singapore compares the areas.

Where to stay for food lovers

Three hotels from our city stay guides, each close to the eating. Each links to Hotels.com for your dates.

Each city’s stay guide compares the areas: Naples, Rome, Paris, Seville, Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok and Singapore.

Other cities and other trips

For a budget break, see cheap city breaks in Europe. For warm winter weather, see winter sun city breaks. For travelling alone, see solo city breaks. For romantic weekends for two, see romantic city breaks for couples. For family travel, see best city breaks with kids. For New Year, see best New Year’s Eve city breaks, and for Christmas the Christmas market cities. For groups, see best cities for a stag do and best cities for a hen do. For a plan for two or three days, see long weekend city breaks. For Easter 2027, see Easter city breaks. For museums and history, see museum city breaks. For the weather and festivals month by month, see where to go each month; all guides are gathered on Compare cities.

Common questions

Which city is best for a food-led city break?

Our judgement, because it depends on the dish. Naples for pizza, Rome for pasta, Paris for bistros and bakeries, Seville for tapas, Tokyo for ramen at a counter, Osaka for takoyaki and okonomiyaki, and Bangkok and Singapore for street food at night.

Which restaurants need booking weeks ahead?

Septime in Paris opens its tables every day at 10:00 for the next three weeks and is closed at weekends. Armando al Pantheon in Rome takes bookings online only and is closed on Saturday evening and all of Sunday. In Bangkok, book Sorn, Le Du, Nusara and Sirocco; Jay Fai is open Wednesday to Saturday only and has a queue.

Which famous places take no bookings?

Da Enzo al 29 and Pizzeria Da Remo in Rome, Bouillon Chartier and the Café de Flore in Paris, Daruma's Shinsekai main shop in Osaka and Ichiran in Shibuya. Arrive before they open, or at the quiet hours.

Is it cheap to eat well in these cities?

At the counters, yes. Ichiran's classic ramen in Shibuya is 1,180 yen and Fuunji's dipping noodles 1,000 yen. A tapa at Casa Ricardo in Seville is €3.20. Thipsamai's main dishes in Bangkok run from about 60 to 100 baht. A Singapore menu price marked ++ is before a 10 per cent service charge and 9 per cent GST, so S$100 of food comes to S$119.90.

Do I tip in Tokyo and Singapore?

Not in Tokyo, where tipping is not expected. In Singapore tipping is not customary, and a menu price marked ++ is before a 10 per cent service charge and 9 per cent GST.