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A - Amsterdam, Netherlands | Late spring in Amsterdam brings golden light, canal blooms, and a blossoming culinary identity. Once defined by stamppot and pancakes, the city now simmers with creative kitchens reinterpreting Dutch classics. At restaurants like De Kas, produce plucked mere metres away stars in each plate, while Indonesian rijsttafel reminds visitors of the city's colonial culinary footprint.
B - Bangkok, Thailand | In the sweltering heat of a Bangkok summer, flavour offers relief. From alleyway grills hissing with pad thai to mango sticky rice served beneath neon-lit signs, the city is alive with spice and smoke. Ranked the world’s second-best food city in 2025, Bangkok's real soul is in the street: where tom yam soups swirl with lemongrass and lime, and every dish feels like a bold declaration of joy.
C - Cape Town, South Africa | Cape Town’s April skies are tinged with amber and the scent of woodsmoke. Food here is rooted in convergence: Cape Malay curries with cinnamon and clove; ocean-fresh snook smoked at the harbour; and boerewors sizzling over weekend braais. At Time Out Market, the city’s new culinary landmark, 13 kitchens offer a microcosm of its ever-evolving palette.
C - Clare Valley, Australia | Amid the rustle of vine leaves and cool evenings of Australia’s autumn, Clare Valley unfolds like a secret. Here, cellar doors lead to kitchens dishing up blue cheese ravioli with a view. Bush DeVine serves native herbs beside Riesling-glazed meats, while Skillogalee offers long lunches among gum trees. It’s not just wine country; it’s a slow food sanctuary.
D - Dubai, UAE | Before the desert heat peaks, Dubai enters a gastronomic golden hour. Forget gold-leafed desserts; the new flavour is authenticity. At Orfali Bros, wagyu kebabs meet sour cherry molasses. Moonrise reimagines Middle Eastern heritage with a Japanese whisper. And in a quiet villa, Sufret Maryam serves 48-hour fermented bread beside labneh kissed with garlic oil.
G - Genoa, Italy | In Genoa, spring warmth coaxes pesto-slicked pastas and herb pies from kitchens built on centuries of tradition. The city is a hymn to chickpeas: farinata, panissa, and pansotti with wild greens. At Il Marin, anchovies are elevated to art. The aroma of freshly baked focaccia from Antico Forno della Casana lingers like perfume through the narrow carrugi.
G - Goa, India | Pre-monsoon Goa shimmers in late heat, but its food scene is hotter still. Cashew-scented feni is being reimagined by mixologists, paired with crispy baitfish and prawn balchao. At António, tradition dances with reinvention; in Assagao, Pablo's fuses bar snacks with old-school charm. Don’t miss the fish thali at Ritz Classic or the sea-to-table ethos at Bombil.
I - Islay, Scotland | On Islay, the whisky breathes peat and sea, but now so does the cuisine. At The Machrie, scallops arrive dusted with seaweed, while Bridgend Hotel offers fish and chips with single malt views. The new Ardbeg House is whisky-dining elevated; and aboard Islay Sea Adventures, lobster and langoustine are hauled fresh from the water to your plate.
J - Jakarta, Indonesia | Traffic snarls, heat clings, but the food in Jakarta electrifies. Rendang melts into rice with quiet fire, mi goreng crackles with soy and chilli. Every roadside stall offers a lesson in balance. For spice lovers, “pedas” means permission to burn bright. Chicken satay is smoky perfection, and nasi goreng is a national lullaby sung in garlic and spice.
K - Kigali, Rwanda | April rains kiss the hills, but Kigali’s kitchens are just beginning to blaze. At Meza Malonga, a pan-African tasting menu weaves shrimp, suya and sorghum into a sensory tapestry. Anda Kigali draws on mushrooms and tilapia with European restraint. At Ruä, steak arrives in coffee-wine sauce, the country’s caffeine legacy infusing both cocktail and cuisine.
K - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Here, food is memory. Chef Lorcán Kan recalls roadside roti with sambal and daal as formative as any French training. In KL, Chinese, Malay, and Indian traditions collide deliciously. At Akar, the tasting menu might feature smoked duck and coconut curry. On the street, charcoal still kisses the edges of satay skewers and flatbreads.
L - Lagos, Nigeria | Lagos doesn’t whisper, it sings. Puff-puffs bob in oil beside street-side debates over the supremacy of suya. Jollof rice comes spiced like a secret. The food is fiery and forthright, with spice that doesn’t ask permission. Time Out placed Lagos seventh globally in 2025, but its culinary voice has been resonating for centuries.
L - Lima, Peru | Lima is loosening its starched collar. Sure, there's Mérito with its crab tartlets and scallop crudo, but huariques are the soul of the city. Try anticuchos grilled on the street or chirashi bowls at Shizen. Even ceviche has gone rogue, appearing in taco form at Demo or beside arepas at Clon. The past and future coexist on every plate.
L - Lisbon, Portugal | There are few pleasures more honest than a Lisbon taberna. Prawns seared in garlic oil, clams steamed with white wine, and pork pluma grilled to perfection. Cervejaria Ramiro has seafood that seduces; its steak sandwich for dessert seals the affair. It’s a city where each meal is a pause, a sigh, a small, perfect rebellion.
L - Lofoten, Norway | Up in the Arctic Circle, cod hangs like tapestries from timber racks. At Holmen, redfish is pan-seared over kelp, lamb is smoked in hay. Villa Lofoten stirs truffle into seaweed butter and spreads it on flatbread. At Kvitnes Farm, food is foraged, not bought. Lofoten is light, salt, and silence — distilled into dinner.
M - Madrid, Spain | Madrid in spring is a flurry of footsteps, tiled bars, and tapa after tapa. Patatas bravas served with swagger, jamón sliced to translucency. Vermúth on tap. The city is a mosaic of old and new, where churros are breakfast and midnight snack. Time Out ranks it fifth in the world, but its charm can’t be quantified.
M - Medellín, Colombia | The eternal spring of Medellín lends itself to long mornings over coffee, afternoons of arepas, and nights that end in bandeja paisa. Here, the food is hearty, honest, and humming with soul. Third on Time Out’s list, it’s a place where affordability meets authenticity, and flavour blooms at altitude.
M - Mexico City, Mexico | Tacos aren’t a trend here; they’re a way of being. Al pastor twirls on the spit, mole simmers in market pots, and tamales arrive wrapped in warmth. At Pujol or Quintonil, tradition becomes theatre. At street stalls, it’s poetry. This city is a feast at every price point, every corner, every hour.
N - New Orleans, USA | The number one city for food in 2025? No surprise. New Orleans pulses with flavour: po'boys dripping with gravy, gumbo as thick as jazz, beignets blanketed in sugar. Creole, Cajun, Caribbean — every influence melds into a cuisine that feels both rooted and rebellious.
P - Paris, France | In Paris, butter is a philosophy. Croissants shatter, escargots luxuriate in garlic, and coq au vin simmers into legend. At Le Cornichon, lasagne is reimagined with beef chuck, choux buns conceal crunch and cream. Paris seduces not with surprise, but with consistency — the quiet perfection of a crust, a sauce, a sip.
R - Rome, Italy | Rome owns its place atop Tripadvisor’s food cities of 2025. In Trastevere, suppli ooze mozzarella; at Roscioli, pizza al taglio is a rectangle of joy. Carbonara at Armando al Pantheon whispers secrets of guanciale and pecorino. And when the gelato drips, you let it. Because Rome, like its food, refuses to rush.
S - San Sebastián, Spain | The Basque coast yields teardrop peas and kinmedai kissed by flame. At Etxebarri, fire becomes a language. But the city is more than its stars — every bar serves pinxtos like edible haiku. The rhythm here is seasonal, sea-bound, sacred.
S - Santiago, Chile | Santiago is smoke and stone fruit, sea urchin and wine. At Boragó, bonfire lamb is plated with herbs you’ve never heard of but won’t forget. At Con Agallas, ceviche is clean, briny truth. The city is leaning into its wildness, and the results are astonishing.
S - Shanghai, China | Steam rises from bamboo baskets. Xiaolongbao glisten. Pan-fried dumplings crunch. In Shanghai, flavour has depth and history. Michelin stars meet market steam, and every bite is calibrated to surprise. When crab season arrives, the city shifts into high gear, and chopsticks become instruments of reverence.
V - Vienna, Austria | Beyond sachertorte and schnitzel, Vienna is redefining itself. Chefs are excavating Austro-Hungarian heritage and remixing it with modern precision. Coffeehouses remain, but now they serve tasting menus. The city is moving forward, politely but firmly.
W - Washington, D.C., USA | No longer just a steakhouse town, D.C. is where mezze meets mole, jollof meets Japanese whiskey. Albi dazzles with coal-fired mushroom hummus, Moon Rabbit marinates wagyu in lemongrass. From Filipino feasts in Mount Pleasant to Mexican barbacoa near Capitol Hill, D.C. is deliciously ungovernable.
