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.
Time Out’s Best Cities for Food 2024
1. Naples, Italy
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Lima, Peru
4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
5. Beijing, China
6. Bangkok, Thailand
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Mumbai, India
9. Dubai, UAE
10. Portland, USA
11. Liverpool, UK
12. Medellín, Colombia
13. Seville, Spain
14. Porto, Portugal
15. Marrakech, Morocco
16. Lyon, France
17. Sydney, Australia
18. Montreal, Canada
19. Osaka, Japan
20. Copenhagen, Denmark
