The international locations with the worst and finest meals revealed – from ‘thoughts blowing’ dishes to ‘absymal’ delicacies
Food is a holiday highlight for many travellers.
But which countries have surprisingly good – or bad – cuisine?
That’s a question that Reddit users have been trying to answer after ‘BornThought4074’ asked: ‘What country had food better than you expected and which had food worse than you expected?’
From ‘mind-blowing flavours’ in Georgia to ‘bland’ cuisine in a South American country…these are the destinations where a dish might surprise you…
Better than expected…
Georgia
Georgia has ‘incredible food’ says Reddit user ‘CaptMonkeyPants78’.
They say: ‘We went in not really knowing much about the cuisine, but after doing a food class in a local home and eating until we nearly exploded, we came out so impressed we started cooking Georgian food back home.’
Reddit users have been sharing the countries that have surprisingly good or bad cuisine. Georgia has ‘mind blowing’ food according to some travellers. Pictured above is khachapuri
One traveller says they still get ‘cravings’ for Iceland’s hot dogs even a decade after tasting them
For one deleted user, it’s the ‘quality’ of ingredients that elevates Georgian cuisine. They explain: ‘The cuisine itself is mind blowing but even just the simplest bread, cheese and wine are of the highest quality. You could tell you were in a place where people really care about food.’
And for ‘Mrsoap3’, it’s Georgia’s khachapuri (cheese filled bread) and satsivi (poultry in walnut sauce) that can’t be missed.
Iceland
Iceland is an unexpected foodie gem for several travellers, with ‘KyleUTFH’ describing the country’s hot dogs, lamb chops, fresh rye bread, skyr (yoghurt) as ‘delicious’.
Iceland’s hot dogs left a lasting impression on ‘MargaritaBarbie’ who says: ‘I went over a decade ago and barely eat meat and I still get cravings for those things and their delicious crispy onions.’
‘Treehugger312’ says the country has the ‘best healthy food’ and raves about its fish stew. They say: ‘I know it doesn’t sound appetizing’ but it’s ‘one of my favourite dishes’.
Ireland
The Emerald Isle’s ‘food scene’ is ‘excellent’, according to ‘Mrburbbles88’. They say: ‘So many good cuisines across the board. Americans stereotype Irish food as meat and potatoes more often than not.’
Ireland’s ‘phemonenally delicious’ bread was a culinary highlight for one traveller
Irish local ‘Kieleesi’ explains: ‘The thing with Ireland is we don’t really have too many cultural dishes but we have a fantastic quality of food, especially our dairy and meat. So we are able to do a variety of cuisines pretty well here.’
Meanwhile ‘WellTextured’ reveals that they ate ‘some wonderful seafood dishes’ in Ireland and enjoyed ‘phenomenally delicious brown bread’.
Indonesia
Indonesia’s ‘great food’ was a ‘nice surprise’ for ‘adventu_Rena’ as the cuisine isn’t well known in their home country.
‘Earthsalibra’ concurs, saying: ‘[I] lived in East Java for a couple of years in a rural community, and I miss many of the foods. Also the freshest, tastiest fruit I had ever had.’
Malaysia
Many travellers went to Malaysia with high hopes for the cuisine but the food still managed to exceed expectations.
‘Vbm’ raves: ‘I had very high expectations for food in Malaysia and I could not believe how much better the food was. Utterly amazing for nearly every meal.’
‘Vbm’ raves: ‘I had very high expectations for food in Malaysia and I could not believe how much better the food was. Utterly amazing for nearly every meal.’ Pictured above is a Malaysian laksa (a spicy noodle soup)
‘Charmanderaznable’ adds: ‘Malaysia has the best food on earth. Both Malay and Chinese Malaysian foods are the peak of cuisine as far as I’m concerned.’
‘Unlikely_ending’ says the country’s laksa (spicy noodle soup) is an incredible dish.
Worse than expected…
Colombia
At the other end of the scale, Colombia’s cuisine is described as ‘abysmal’ by ‘King9WillReturn’.
And for ‘Carpe_Cervisia’, it’s even worse than that. They say: ‘I’m not sure abysmal covers it. Even the giant plates of meat were bland. Every good meal I had in Colombia was at a non-Colombian restaurant.’
‘KyleUTFH’ also describes the food as ‘bland’.
It’s still worth visiting Colombia though says ‘Rarelyimportant’ who explains: ‘I mean if Colombia also had some of the world’s best food, it would just be unfair at that point. Beautiful people. Diverse, stunning country.’
Colombia’s cuisine is described as ‘abysmal’ by ‘King9WillReturn’. One user describes the country’s ‘giant plates of meat’ as ‘bland’. Pictured above is Colombian food
New Zealand
New Zealand might be a popular holiday destination but it’s not worth visiting for the food says ‘Goadventuring’ who claims the country’s cuisine is ‘terrible’. They say: ‘Absolutely tasteless. We usually get a cookbook focused on local cuisine when we travel somewhere and didn’t even bother in New Zealand.’
‘Epponnee-rae’ adds: ‘Smaller regional towns and cities often have a couple of good restaurants but otherwise it can be dire in small places.’
France
The birthplace of haute cuisine, it might be a shock to many people to see France’s food named as a disappointment.
However, ‘Lifeinabox1981’ says: ‘Definitely France for worse than expected – they have a superiority complex when it comes to food that isn’t warranted.’
‘Picklesadog’ adds: ‘Agreed on France. Not bad, but worse than expected. I had great food, but it was expensive so it better have been good.
‘I feel like French food can be a case of “the sum is less than the parts.” Dishes were often so overcomplicated that the main ingredient seemed buried.’
