To really know a city is to eat its food. But what makes a great food city? It isn’t its number of plaudits and Michelin stars, but something a bit more simple: options. Good quality meals at reasonable prices. So we asked thousands of city-dwellers to tell us exactly how good – and how affordable – it is to eat out in their hometown right now. 

Locals were quizzed on their city’s must-visit restaurants, must-eat dishes and best-value bites, and were also asked to rate their city’s food scene on both its quality and affordability. To create and rank the final list, we narrowed down the selection by excluding cities with lower overall scores, and including only the highest-scoring city for each country. We then asked our global network of Time Out editors and writers to give us the lowdown on what makes their city an exciting dining destination in 2024, and to recommend their favourite places to eat right now.

Of course, Time Out knows food. We’ve been eating our way around the world’s best cities for decades, reviewing and ranking restaurants to keep our best-of lists as fresh as can be. And that world-class curation has since been transformed into bricks-and-mortar spaces: our Time Out Markets, where the best food, drink and cultural experiences all come together under one roof. So for this feature, we turned to the experts – our Time Out Market chefs – to nominate three culinary capitals that deserve a spotlight for their food scenes. 

This list is a celebration of culinary culture the world over. Whether for high-end fine dining or affordable street eats, these are the very best cities for eating and drinking right now. Ready to tuck in?

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