When travelling around Europe, you are of course also travelling around lots of exciting and amazing food cultures. There are so many good and interesting dishes to try around the European countries, that we have a hard time choosing which ones to write about. Here are ten tasty dishes in Europe that we like and think are worth trying when travelling, listed in no particular order. What tasty dishes would you recommend in Europe?
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Share
ShareTable of contents
1. pintxos, Spain
You probably know about tapas, but do you know about pintxos (or pinchos)? These are small snacks, usually served on bread and with a toothpick, and are often found in the Basque Country. Not bad with some cava!
2nd Zurek, Poland
Poland is good at food that feels simple, homemade and tasty. Soups are popular and our favourite is the classic soup "Zurek", with potatoes, sausages and egg halves. Preferably with beer and a Wyborowa!
3. grilled lamb, Croatia
We usually think the food in Croatia is a bit boring, but ordering grilled lamb is a safe bet - they do! A particularly good lamb restaurant is Kopacina on the island. Brac. Read more about restaurant Kopacina.
4. shellfish, France
Oh, the seafood in France! Moules frites are a classic, of course, but there are also all the fantastic oysters and crayfish. And of course exciting things like sea snails. Among other things, we have experienced wonderful seafood in Cancale and in Seat.
5. Whale meat and puffin, Iceland
Iceland is a country that surprises when it comes to food. There are exciting ingredients such as whale meat, puffins, birds' eggs and various fish and shellfish - often prepared in creative ways. There are also exciting restaurants, such as Fish Market and Fish Company.
6 Calderaida de Peixe, Portugal
If you are in Portugal, you should definitely order the classic fish stew, Calderaida de Peixe. It may look a little different, but it's always filled with flavoursome fish and seafood!
7. Burek, Albania and Macedonia
In Albania and Macedonia you will find mainly grilled and Italian food. But a must-try is traditional burek, a kind of pie that can have different fillings. Of course, some lettuce, feta cheese and olives go in at the same time!
8. Goulash soup, Hungary
Goulash soup is perhaps an obvious choice when visiting Hungary, but it is worth mentioning anyway because it is soooo good. A goulash soup with beer, bread and maybe some strong spice paste is never wrong!
9. antipasti, Italy
We tend to complain a bit about Italian food, and we're not as fond of it as many others. But we do like one thing: antipasti, the first dish you can order that consists of small cold delicacies. Yum!
10th Coquinas, Spain
Coquinas are a type of delicious mussel found in Spain. The mussels are often served cooked with garlic and plenty of olive oil (Here you will find our recipe for coquinas).
You might also like:
English (UK) 
Svenska 
Deutsch 
Suomi 
Polski
Only British says:
Pintxos, burek and lamb are favourites here too. However, in Poland I would recommend the stew bigos instead.
Crab in Cornwall, cheese spaetzle in southern Germany/Austria, deer pancakes in Hungary, baked potatoes in Scotland, huevos rotos with alioli in Catalonia and French onion soup are my favourites.
11 February 2016 - 9:20
Ann-Sofie says:
In southern Portugal, the Algarve, Calderaida de Peixe is called Cataplana and can be meat, fish or completely vegetarian. Cataplana is also known as the special spherical pot in which the dish is cooked.
11 February 2016 - 9:32
admin says:
Just British, oh how many exciting dishes! 🙂 What does the stew bigos contain? What are deer pancakes...? And huevos rotos... some kind of eggs? I love to try different dishes abroad 🙂 ....
Ann-Sofie, you're probably right about the name, and that's probably what I should have written! I had forgotten the name and googled it. Maybe I should change it...?
11 February 2016 - 9:40
Lennart says:
We have eaten the fish stew many times in the Algarve!
11 February 2016 - 9:43
Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:
So much good stuff! It was particularly interesting to hear about the food in Iceland and Albania. Have not been there. Puffin, that was a surprise!
But boring food in Croatia - eh?! In my experience, the food there (in Plat and Cavtat where I've been) was exceptional: fresh seafood, freshly caught sea urchin and delicious platters of grilled vegetables. If you return to Croatia, visit King Konoba in Plat. Definitely in the top three list of best food in my life!
11 February 2016 - 9:53
Mr Steve says:
I can recognise some of the dishes, but some I have never heard of. The snails in France and the fish stew in Portugal I remember most fondly.
We often try dishes from other countries. A way of "travelling" even though we no longer travel. I have never understood the idea of eating Swedish food when you are on holiday abroad.
11 February 2016 - 9:41
Ama de casa says:
Yes, all the dishes look super tasty, and much better than the diet I'm on right now...
Now I became terribly hungry! 🙂
11 February 2016 - 11:12
OnTrip.com says:
Uhh you get really hungry looking at these pictures of all the delicious food.
11 February 2016 - 11:17
Ditte says:
In Spain, I like to eat seafood of all kinds, including lobster, and there are lots of tapas including pinxtos, tapas on sticks.
Along the coasts of France, it's all about shellfish and I'm also very fond of good fish soup.
Since I'm not fond of / can't stand heavy food, the Polish speciality has to go.
I also like burek and the Italian antpasi, but I prefer not to eat lamb.
As for Italy, I have often eaten very good food but it has made a big hole in my wallet. The best food I have had is in Tuscany and the surrounding area.
Different soups are also usually good and the Hungarian goulash soup is a must.
Oh, there's a lot of good stuff.
Great bites!
11 February 2016 - 11:17
Comsi Comsa says:
These dishes look as tempting as ever.
Want to eat everything!!! 🙂
Hugging ♥
11 February 2016 - 11:22
4000mil says:
Great post! The food (and drink) is really a big part of the trip.
11 February 2016 - 11:26
snort says:
When I was in Dublin, I had a wonderful homemade cottage pie that left me wanting more! In Rome we had lunch in the Jewish quarter and enjoyed various dishes made from fresh artichokes. An Italian homemade Tiramisu is perfect for dessert but it has to be truly homemade....
There is so much good food to enjoy and part of the fun of travelling is really trying the local food. So dare, is my tip!
11 February 2016 - 11:42
Emelie says:
Mm, how very tasty! Our Bosnian neighbours ensure that we always have burek in the freezer. I have also eaten the Polish soup, but I remember it was a bit tasteless where we got it.
11 February 2016 - 11:58
BP says:
Yummie, yummie for all the tips. Have eaten everything except whale meat and puffin, which may be because I have never been to Iceland.
My favourites in Europe are definitely mussels and tapas, preferably with a beer or a glass of wine.
11 February 2016 - 14:03
admin says:
Steve, it's fun and interesting to try the local food when travelling! When we were away for a whole year, I started to miss some food from Sweden, but during regular trips I never have time to do that... And you are "travelling" in many food cultures even though you are at home! 🙂
Lennart, wonderful! I do not know if I got the wrong name for it? But it is good! 😉
Anna, glad you liked the food in Croatia! 🙂 There was good barbecue, but we got a little tired of the fact that there were never sauces or flavours and so on. And then they always overcooked the tuna... But of course we got some good grilled fish... and lamb! 🙂
Ama de casa, ugh, what kind of diet do you have to go on...?
Ontripdk, I got really hungry when I looked for the pictures 😉 .
Ditte, great to hear your food experiences! The Polish food can definitely be stodgy, but we learned to order only starters in the country 😉 Otherwise, I think that Italian food (pasta and pizza) is the heaviest in the stomach... 😉 But interesting with Tuscany, I don't really know what you eat there?
Comsi Comsa, I was also super hungry for a lot of good European food now 🙂 .
4000 miles, yes, that's how it is for us too! The food really makes a big part of the journey!
Znogge, I know almost nothing about Irish food. But that pie sounds exciting! May try if we get there sometime 🙂 Artichokes are good, so set also sounds interesting!
Emelie, but so good with neighbours who have burek at home in the freezer 🙂 The Polish soup can certainly be different in different places, and food is a matter of taste of course 🙂 .
BP, these are probably our favourites too! Mussels are always a favourite and then I love small dishes, of all kinds 🙂.
11 February 2016 - 16:27
Lanclin says:
I have to admit, food is not my thing 🙂 That's why I'm also not very impressed by all the sausages, dumplings, spätzl and schnitzel here in Bavaria 😉.
Many people say that I would be better off in Asia where many of the food cultures are more vegetable-based than here. I've never been to Asia so I probably have to go there and taste a little 🙂.
11 February 2016 - 17:42
admin says:
Lanclin, I like food very much, but I can't say that dumplings or schnitzel are my favourite... I like a lot of European food, but I also love Asian food. Chinese (in Asia) is great, and I also like Vietnamese and Japanese a lot. Are there good Asian restaurants in Bavaria? Stockholm is ok, but it was pretty bad with Asian restaurants in southern Europe...
11 February 2016 - 21:23
Maria says:
I think I would like Coquinas! 🙂 Antipasti is almost what I like the LEAST when it comes to Italian, haha 😀 Or depends a bit on what it is of course, but I prefer to bite directly into the pizza or pasta, but you already know that 😉 .
11 February 2016 - 22:47
admin says:
Maria, haha, I know that we don't have exactly the same preferences about Italian food, but it's lucky that you can seem different 🙂 Take care!
11 February 2016 - 23:12
Solan says:
Delicious food photos from a camera near you. We were told in Portugal about a fish stew with skate, garlic and potatoes...something like that. Delicious. A year later I bought slabs of skate, tried to copy the recipe and it tasted....too damn good. Inedible!
12 February 2016 - 8:36
admin says:
Solan, I haven't tasted stingray... as far as I know. It sounded exciting, but sad that it was not the same when you would cook yourself ...!
12 February 2016 - 9:00
Elisabeth says:
We definitely have to try the small mussels. I haven't tried it, as I thought it was a great way to get the food!
12 February 2016 - 10:29
admin says:
Elisabeth, I think picking is a bit cosy 😉 But you have to really get the sand out of them (if you cook them yourself).
12 February 2016 - 11:58
Evy Knoph says:
I probably have some Dutch favourites, since my time there...
-Vanilla wafer, vanilla cream
-Patatje oorlog "war fries" ie with peanut sauce and mayonnaise..mm. .with a frikandel to (medium between hot dogs and hamburgers approximately)
-Stampot (similar to mashed potatoes but with other vegetables such as endive...)
I agree about mussels in France, we got some when we were in Nice last autumn....
From my Newcastle days, I probably miss Eton mess the most...meringue whisk but with strawberries....
13 February 2016 - 9:34
Caroline King says:
Love zurek! I'm half Polish so I grew up with it. A little tip if you want to cheat a bit and make your own zurek is to buy the powdered soup version that they sell in Polish shops. Bialy barszcz which is a similar soup is also very good. My grandmother usually makes it with sausage and potatoes. I usually cheat it with the powder soup and make a vegetarian version with potatoes and parsley. It's tasty, filling, quick and good for the stomach. I think these acidic soups contain lactic acid bacteria if I remember correctly. at least it feels good.
13 February 2016 - 9:35
admin says:
Evy Knoph, those Dutch specialities sounded interesting! Those "war fries" sound quite strange, but who knows? Would be interesting to try 😉 .
Caroline King, oh interesting with the powder soup tip on Zurek! Now I don't know where there is a Polish shop, but you can google it 😉 Thanks for the tip!
13 February 2016 - 13:22
Maria's Adventure says:
Yum, this just looked absolutely amazing! 😀
14 February 2016 - 23:00
admin says:
Maria's Adventure, there are soooo many good things out there!
15 February 2016 - 9:42