Venice
It may look like a wine shop and function as a bar, but this legendary canalside spot also serves the best cicheti (Venetian tapas) on this side of the…
Must-see restaurants in Mediterranean Europe
Madrid
Ride the elevator up to the 9th floor of the El Corte Inglés department store for one of downtown Madrid's best eating experiences. The food is excellent,…
El Centro & El Arenal
Antonio makes ice cream using his pick of the season's produce (avocado, or rosemary and peach) and creates his own flavour combinations: murillo (almond,…
La Latina & Lavapiés
Juana La Loca does a range of creative tapas with tempting options lined up along the bar, and more on the menu that they prepare to order. But we love it…
Athens
If there's a line to dine at this no-frills psistaria (restaurant serving grilled food), it's worth joining. The payoff is succulent lamb and pork chops,…
Athens
This lovely restaurant with a central courtyard garden is upmarket for Exarhia, but the food is superb and made with largely organic produce. Expect…
El Centro & El Arenal
Hidden away in an anonymous Arenal backstreet, this tapas hotspot is a guarantee of good times. The look is modern casual with big blue doors, brick…
Valencia
A byword in the city for decades for its quality rice dishes, Navarro is run by the grandkids of the original founders and it offers plenty of choice,…
Lake Garda & Around
Petals of egg pasta frame slices of guinea fowl caramelised in honey saffron; silky tortellini are stuffed to bursting with pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon and…
Emilia-Romagna
Picking favourites at this 14th-century castle is excruciating: there's the castle itself, especially when enveloped in cinematic Po river fog; the ageing…
Rethymno Province
One of the most enjoyable places to experience traditional Cretan cuisine and hospitality is this vibrant taverna set among fruit trees and adjoining…
Pompeii
At the helm of this Michelin-starred standout is charming owner-chef Paolo Gramaglia, whose passion for local produce, history and culinary whimsy…
Salamanca
Deep in Salamanca's Mercado de la Paz, Casa Dani is a wildly popular spot for lunch and it gets going earlier than most: most weekdays, there's a queue at…
Madrid
Wildly (and deservedly) popular, Sala de Despiece has a menu that lists everything – every ingredient, method of cooking, size, price and origin – in a…
Pasticceria di Maria Grammatico
Erice
This cafe-pasticceria is run by Maria Grammatico, Sicily's most famous pastry chef, and the subject of Mary Taylor Simeti's book Bitter Almonds – a series…
Thrace & Marmara
Suvla's 60 hectares of certified organic vineyards are located near Kabatepe on the opposite side of the peninsula, but its winery, complete with an ultra…
Eastern Tuscany
Utterly fantastic, 100% homemade cucina tipica Casentinese (typical Casentino cuisine) is the drawcard of this gem of a family-run village bistro,…
Bologna
Book at least three weeks in advance at this seemingly unassuming trattoria in Bolognina, just a step outside the city centre. Flavio and Tommaso came…
Tyrrhenian Coast
This wooden chalet in the hills immediately above Collesano is one of the Madonie's gems – one whiff of the delicious aromas emanating from the kitchen…
Göreme
Diners sprawl on cushions and take a taste-bud tour of village food at this family restaurant. Take our advice and order the tadım (tasting) menu plus a…
Parma
You'll need to venture across the river to Oltretorrente for a traditional Parmigiano experience untainted by the city's influx of culinary tourism…
Alba
Part of the Ceretto family's small empire, La Piola offers a faithful menu of traditional Piedmontese dishes, but at the same time manages to be stylish,…
Como
A new venture affiliated with the plush Avenue Hotel, Comacino offers food as theatre, especially if you sit at the chef’s table (technically a couple of…
Bursa
If you eat one meal in Bursa, have it here. This refuge for serious carnivores is famous nationwide – it is one of two Bursa restaurants claiming to be…
Bologna
Bologna's most exciting reinvention is this formerly uneventful trattoria transformed by chef Elisa Rusconi, who triumphed on Italian television show 4…
Beyoğlu
This much-loved baklavacı (baklava shop) opened in 1949 and was the first İstanbul branch of a business established in Gaziantep in the 1820s. There are…
Bergamo
More esoteric than your average trattoria, Noi is a chameleonic restaurant that changes it spots between lunch and dinner (they even change the restaurant…
Iraklio
It's almost impossible to overstate how good Peskesi's resurrected, slow-cooked Cretan dishes are, nor the beauty of the revamped Venetian villa in which…
Antequera
It's hard not to notice the surrounding agricultural lands as you approach Antequera, and this fascinating little hotel-restaurant combo is where you get…
Bay of Naples
Decked out in model boats and local artwork, casual, affable Capo Blu serves up antipasti worthy of a fine-dining menu. The multicourse assaggio di…
Girona
Girona's culinary talents morph into top-quality coffee and Catalan-inspired brunchy favourites starring local ingredients at this energetic German…
Bologna
At Bologna's temple of culinary contentment, owners Daniele and Valeria lavish attention on every table between trips to the kitchen for astonishing…
Eastern Mediterranean
This much-welcome new addition to Kızkalesi's beachfront is in an attractive old building in the shade of an enormous 50-year-old rubber tree. The rainbow…
Sumela
This 'Hidden Garden', around two thirds of the way to Sumela from Trabzon, serves some of the best Black Sea dishes in the region. Ideally order a mixture…
Iraklio Province
George (Giorgos) was the lone local who dug in with the invading hippies in the 1970s, coining Matala's motto: 'Today is life. Tomorrow never comes.'…
Northwestern Tuscany
Taste wine and olive oil produced on Andrei Bocelli's family estate at this fabulous new eatery, the latest creative opening by the wine-producing Bocelli…
Lake Garda
You could be forgiven for thinking you’d just arrived in rural Bavaria at this popular Lake Garda haunt. On sunny days, multitudes of bikers and motorists…
Barcelona
Menorcan chef Joan Bagur trained in Mexico for a decade under traditional cooks and has his own garden of Mexican plants, which supplies ingredients for…
Van
This is where you come to feast on a set menu that traverses the flavours of southeastern Turkey, including Van's own speciality dishes perde pilavi (a…
Trento
You usually have to book ahead to secure a table at this tiny, vaulted place, but it's always worth braving the heavy door and drapes to see if they have…
