The World’s Best Food

The best meals rarely happen by accident: they happen because someone knew exactly where to go. This is a guide to the food addresses worth building a trip around: markets where serious produce meets serious atmosphere, pizzerias where a single bite justifies the journey, bakeries that have quietly become pilgrimage destinations, and burger counters rewriting what the dish can be.

FOOD MARKETS

Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid

A cast-iron pavilion near the Plaza Mayor, opened in 1916 and still operating as one of the most pleasurable rooms in Spain. More than 30 stalls cover the Spanish larder — Galician seafood, Iberian cured meats, aged cheeses, olives from across the peninsula. Pull up a stool at one of the wine bars with a glass of cava and a plate of anchovies. The noise and energy are part of the experience.

Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, Lyon

Renamed in honour of the city’s most celebrated chef, this three-floor market houses 54 stalls and restaurants across 13,500 square metres. Mons fromager offers one of the finest cheese selections in France. Bobosse produces Lyonnais charcuterie of rare quality. For lunch, Baba La Grenouille serves frogs’ legs en persillade at the counter. A serious half-day in one of Europe’s great culinary cities.

Tsukiji Outer Market, Tokyo

The inner market relocated to Toyosu, but the outer market survives and thrives. Arrive early for otoro of exceptional quality, beef intestine miso stew at Kitsuneya, and mochi topped with seasonal strawberries at Iroha. The Tsukiji experience is inseparable from Tokyo’s food culture — supply chains, technique, and obsessive quality visible at every counter. Come before 9am.

PIZZA

Pizzeria Da Michele, Naples

Founded in 1870 and still serving two pizzas only: marinara and margherita. The dough ferments for 24 hours; the fior di latte is local; the San Marzano tomatoes come from the slopes of Vesuvius. The queue moves faster than expected. The interior is stripped back to near-nothing. What arrives on the plate is the result of 150 years of refinement and no distraction from it.

Roberta’s, New York

Opened in Bushwick in 2008, Roberta’s helped shift the conversation about American pizza permanently. Wood-fired, Neapolitan-influenced but distinctly its own thing — the Bee Sting, with soppressata, chilli honey and basil, became one of the most imitated pizzas in the world. The original Brooklyn location still has the energy that made it famous. A rooftop herb garden supplies the kitchen. Reservations essential, or arrive early and wait at the bar.

The Pizza Bar on 38th, Tokyo

Helmed by executive chef Daniele Cason, The Pizza Bar on 38th was named Asia-Pacific’s best pizzeria for the third consecutive year in the 2025 50 Top Pizza ranking. Situated on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, the restaurant has just eight counter seats arranged at a sleek marble counter, an omakase format applied to pizza, with each slice served from the brick oven one at a time. Tokyo’s obsession with craft and precision has produced something that stands alongside anything in Naples.

BAKERIES

Pophams, Islington, London

When Pophams opened in 2017, laminated pastry in London took a significant step forward. The marmite, Schlossberger and spring onion swirl became a signature; the broader menu continues to evolve with the seasons. Three London locations now, plus a homeware and pantry outpost in London Fields. The Islington original remains the place to start.

Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley, London

Grolet won best pâtissier in the world in 2018 for trompe-l’œil creations that reproduce fruits and flowers in pastry with near-hallucinatory precision. His Belgravia outpost, steps from Hyde Park, is his first outside France. The croissants and pain Suisse are exceptional. The fruit trompe-l’œil — changed seasonally — is the item most worth the visit. A pastry lab experience seats eight for a full tasting sequence.

Hart Bageri, Copenhagen

Established by Richard Hart alongside René Redzepi, Hart Bageri operates in Frederiksberg with the same rigour brought to the kitchen at Noma. Danish rye of serious depth, croissants of near-perfect lamination, and seasonal pastries that reflect the Nordic larder rather than the French one. One of the clearest demonstrations that Scandinavia now leads this category globally.

BURGERS

Hundred Burgers, Valencia and Madrid

Named first in the 2024 World’s Best Burgers ranking — the first non-American address to hold that position. Founded in Valencia in 2020, the kitchen works exclusively with dry-aged beef, which delivers a depth of flavour most burgers simply cannot match. The Valencia original is the one to visit, in a city that rewards an extended stay for food alone.

Burger & Beyond, London

A double patty, American cheese, pickled onions, mayo-based sauce in a soft demi-brioche bun. The construction is straightforward; the execution is not. The result stands at roughly 9cm high and 11cm wide — genuinely jaw-testing, though the brioche compresses. Ranked in the top ten of the World’s Best Burgers list. Two locations in London; the Shoreditch original is the one.

Au Cheval, Chicago and New York

A long-established address on the Chicago diner-bar circuit that has earned a place on every serious burger list for over a decade. The double cheeseburger — two thin patties, American cheese, house-made dijonnaise, pickled jalapeños — is a study in balance and restraint. The New York outpost in Hudson Yards broadens access, but the original on West Randolph Street retains the atmosphere the burger was built for.

BREAKFAST

Limon Kahvaltı, Istanbul

Hidden in the backstreets of Galata, just steps from Galata Tower, Limon Kahvaltı opened in late 2024 inside a converted former shop, offering an unlimited spread where every product has traveled from a different corner of Anatolia. The house signature is Limontella, a lemon spread served with clotted cream and fresh mint, found nowhere else. No reservations, no menu choices: the meal is the menu, and you can order more of anything you like. The queue starts forming before 9am on weekends. Arrive early, stay long.

Café Méricourt, Paris (11th arrondissement)

Paris has absorbed Scandinavian breakfast culture over the past decade, and the result at its best is something worth a detour. Café Méricourt in the 11th is the current high-water mark: open daily from 8.30am, relaxed, neighbourhood, entirely serious about what comes out of the kitchen. The baked eggs in spinach (a substantial portion, properly seasoned) is the order. The crowd skews local and creative. Exactly what a city morning should feel like.

Path, Tokyo (Yoyogi-Hachiman)

Tucked in the backstreets near Yoyogi Park, Path serves breakfast and brunch from 8am, including their celebrated Dutch pancake, oven-baked and topped with uncured ham, burrata and maple syrup. Limited to 50 servings a day, each pancake takes 30 minutes to prepare. To secure a table at the weekend, arrive before 8am. The croissants and natural wine list are worth noting too: this is a bistro that happens to do breakfast, not a breakfast café that happens to bake.

A2D Insider Tips

Book ahead: markets reward early arrivals; bakeries sell out. Arrive at opening or accept the consequences.

Combine categories: Valencia offers Hundred Burgers and Mercado Central in the same city. Lyon adds Les Halles to one of France’s great restaurant scenes. Build itineraries that layer the experience.

Travel to eat: the best food addresses are increasingly reason enough for a trip. Our clients regularly build two or three days around a single city’s food culture. It is time very well spent.

Ready to plan a journey built around the world’s best food addresses? We design bespoke itineraries combining the restaurants, markets, and experiences that make each destination worth visiting. Get in touch to begin.