San Sebastián, Spain: Where Eating Well Is a Local Sport
San Sebastián is the best-value serious eating in Europe if you stay at the bar and skip the tasting menu. Donostia, to use its Basque name, has fewer than 200,000 residents and is routinely described as having one of the densest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world. That is not a statistical quirk. Food here is treated the way other cities treat football. The Basque tradition of the txoko, a private society whose members cook elaborate dinners together rather than eat out, tells you where the priorities lie. The markets, bar counters and supermarkets all reflect it.
The easiest way in is pintxos: small bites on bread, held together with a toothpick, lined up along the bar counters of the old town from around 7pm. Walk from bar to bar. Take one or two things at each, order a glass of txakoli (a lightly sparkling local white, poured from a height), and pay at the end. Some bars count toothpicks, but many now bring the bill from memory or from what you ordered, so ask. A full evening costs roughly $17–28 (€15 to €25; ≈ £13–20) a head as of October 2026. Calle 31 de Agosto and Calle Fermín Calbetón are the best-known streets. Bar Zeruko and La Viña are the usual stops, the latter for a burnt cheesecake that has been copied across the world.
The honest caveat: the old town is small, the best-known bars are packed from 8pm, and the bars with the best reputations are not always the best at any given hour. Ask what has just come out of the kitchen and order that. For a full tasting menu, Arzak (three Michelin stars, rooted in Basque cooking) and Mugaritz (two stars, avant-garde, and a challenge if you want your dinner to look like dinner) usually need booking months ahead. Check the restaurants' own sites for current stars, prices and booking windows. Expect to pay several hundred euros a head for either.
4-Day San Sebastián Food Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive and check in to the old town (Parte Vieja). Do a pintxos crawl on Calle 31 de Agosto in the evening. Aim for five or six bars, not fifteen.
- Day 2: Go to La Bretxa market in the morning for fishmongers, cheese and jamón. Walk La Concha beach in the afternoon. Have a sit-down dinner at a traditional sidrería (cider house) or a txakoli bar.
- Day 3: Take a day trip to Biarritz in France (about an hour by bus or train, check current timetables) or to the Rioja Alavesa wine region (around 1h 15 by car). Come back for pintxos.
- Day 4: Book a guided pintxos tour or a cooking class (expect about $95–135 (€85 to €120; ≈ £75–105) a head). Have a farewell lunch at Kokotxa or Bar Borda Berri, and book either one ahead.
Daily Budget (San Sebastián)
- Budget: about $78–100 (€70 to €90; ≈ £60–80) a day. A hostel or guesthouse bed is around $39–56 (€35 to €50; ≈ £30–45), a pintxos evening $17–28 (€15 to €25; ≈ £13–20), and a lunchtime menú del día $13–17 (€12 to €15; ≈ £10–13).
- Mid-range: about $170–225 (€150 to €200; ≈ £135–180) a day. That means a boutique hotel in the old town, sit-down dinners and one winery visit.
- Splurge: $450 (€400; ≈ £360) a day and up, with one tasting menu at Arzak or Mugaritz. Check the restaurants' current menu prices, which have been in the low-to-mid hundreds of euros per person.
- Txakoli is roughly $2.80–3.90 (€2.50 to €3.50; ≈ £2.21–3.08) a glass and pintxos $2.25–4.50 (€2 to €4; ≈ £1.78–3.56) each. San Sebastián is not cheap by Spanish standards, but a bar dinner is still far better value than a restaurant one.
- All prices are estimates as of October 2026. Check venue sites and current menus before you book.
Getting There & Practical Tips
- Fly into Bilbao and take the Lurraldebus (about 1h 20, around $19 (€17; ≈ £15) as of October 2026) or into Biarritz in France. There are no direct flights from the US.
- Madrid to San Sebastián by train takes about five hours twenty. Fares vary widely by date and booking window. Check Renfe for current prices.
- Pintxos bars fill up from 7pm to 8pm. Arrive at seven for the freshest stock and some elbow room. Weekends after 9pm are a crush.
- Sunday: many shops are shut, but the pintxos bars are open and the old town is lively. Check individual bar hours, as some close one day a week.
- Language: Spanish and Basque (Euskara). A few words go a long way: eskerrik asko means thank you.
Tokyo, Japan: Eat Where the Stars Don't Reach
Tokyo is the best city in the world for eating on a budget as well as for eating at the top. It has long had more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city, and the starred places are extraordinary. But the paradox is that the most memorable meal of a trip is often at an eight-seat counter or in a basement with no star, making one dish the way it has been made for decades. The stars are the visible tip. The rest is a food culture that runs at the same standard from the top to the bottom.
Start with ramen. Styles shift from neighbourhood to neighbourhood: soy-based shoyu in older districts such as Asakusa, rich tonkotsu in the Shinjuku area, and mazemen (brothless, sauce-tossed noodles) from younger chefs in places like Shimokitazawa. Ichiran and Ippudo are the famous chains and perfectly good. The better meal is usually a neighbourhood shop with a queue out of the door. Budget $5–10 (¥800 to ¥1,500; ≈ €4.46–8.93 / £3.94–7.87) for a bowl as of October 2026. Tsukiji's outer market remains the best morning food street in the city, even though the inner wholesale market moved to Toyosu in 2018. Go by 7am, before the crowds, for tamagoyaki (sweet omelette), grilled seafood and a sushi breakfast. Go hungry.
The depachika, the food halls in department-store basements, are the quickest way to see the whole range of Japanese food in an afternoon. Try Isetan in Shinjuku, Takashimaya in Nihonbashi, or Shibuya Hikarie. Every counter looks like the best one. Set aside $13–20 (¥2,000 to ¥3,000; ≈ €12–18 / £10–16) and graze across several. You cannot eat everything in Tokyo. Accept that on day one, and you will enjoy the rest of the week.
7-Day Tokyo Food Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive and recover. Spend the evening grazing the depachika basement at Isetan Shinjuku.
- Day 2: Go to the Tsukiji outer market at 7am for a seafood breakfast, then walk the senbei (rice cracker) shops in Asakusa and have ramen for lunch.
- Day 3: Visit Toyosu market. The tuna auction viewing has had limited access and sometimes requires advance registration, so check the market's official site for the current rules. Have a sushi breakfast at a counter in the market.
- Day 4: Spend the day in Ginza. Book a kaiseki lunch or set menu in the middle of the day, when it costs less than dinner. Have yakitori under the Yurakucho train tracks in the evening.
- Day 5: Head to Shibuya and Shimokitazawa for a coffee-shop crawl, a natural wine bar and an izakaya dinner.
- Day 6: Take a day trip to Kamakura for shirasu (whitebait) bowls, seafood near Enoshima and wagashi (traditional sweets) near the temples.
- Day 7: Spend a last morning at Ameyoko market in Ueno, have one more bowl of ramen, then head to the airport.
Daily Food Budget in Tokyo
- Budget eating: about $13–23 (¥2,000 to ¥3,500; ≈ €12–20 / £10–18) a day. Convenience-store breakfast is about $3.35 (¥500; ≈ €2.99 / £2.64), ramen or a set lunch $5–8 (¥800 to ¥1,200; ≈ €4.46–7.14 / £3.94–6.30), an izakaya dinner $10–13 (¥1,500 to ¥2,000; ≈ €8.93–12 / £7.87–10).
- Mid-range: about $40–80 (¥6,000 to ¥12,000; ≈ €35–70 / £30–65) a day, with sit-down lunches and dinners and an evening at a sake bar.
- Splurge: $200–400 (¥30,000 to ¥60,000; ≈ €180–360 / £155–310) a day for kaiseki or omakase sushi.
- Omakase sushi counters run from about $100–330 (¥15,000 to ¥50,000; ≈ €90–290 / £80–260) a head. Book months ahead for the best-known counters, and ask your hotel to help with reservations.
- The best-value meal in the city is the department-store basement lunch set, usually $8–13 (¥1,200 to ¥2,000; ≈ €7.14–12 / £6.30–10).
- All prices are estimates as of October 2026. Exchange rates move, so check a converter before you go.
Etiquette at Japanese Food Venues
- At sushi counters: eat nigiri as soon as it is put in front of you. The chef has timed it for that moment.
- Ramen: slurping is normal and is taken as a sign you are enjoying it.
- Tipping: do not. It causes embarrassment and may be refused.
- Photographs: fine in casual restaurants. At high-end counters, ask before you raise your phone.
- Shoes: at traditional restaurants with tatami seating, shoes come off at the step. Wear clean socks.
- Counter dining: keep your voice low and stay off the phone. Quiet appreciation is the right register.
Bologna, Italy: The Real Ragù Is Not Bolognese
Bologna is the best city in Italy for a food-first trip, and it is a bit of a secret that it is also one of the easiest to do on a modest budget. Its nickname is La Grassa, the Fat One, and it wears it with complete self-satisfaction. The city gave the world ragù, which looks very little like the ground beef in tomato sauce that goes by the name bolognese abroad. It gave the world mortadella, the original, studded with cubes of fat and sometimes pistachios, and nothing like the pink luncheon meat sold under the same name elsewhere. Add tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo and lasagne verdi. Bologna does not so much have a food scene as a food scene with a city attached.
The Quadrilatero market district, a few streets of food shops and stalls around Via Drapperie and Via Pescherie Vecchie, is the quickest way to see it. Fishmongers, cheese shops stacked with wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano, butchers with prosciutto hanging from the beams, pasta shops where egg pasta is rolled by hand. Go slowly on a weekday morning, when locals shop. Mercato di Mezzo, a covered food hall just off Piazza Maggiore, is more tourist-facing but good for a quick lunch.
A note on FICO Eataly World, the large food-and-farming attraction on the edge of the city: it divides locals, and its opening hours and offer have changed since it opened, so check the official site before you plan half a day around it. If you want to see food production, a Parmigiano-Reggiano dairy or a balsamic producer near Modena is the more direct route. Book ahead, since small producers often need an appointment.
3-Day Bologna Food Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive and walk the Quadrilatero. Have lunch at Tamburini (a famous deli, mostly standing), take a pasta-making class in the afternoon and eat dinner at an osteria.
- Day 2: Walk the porticoed path up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca in the morning. It is nearly four kilometres, mostly under arches, and one of the longest covered walkways in the world. Visit a Parmigiano-Reggiano dairy or a balsamic vinegar producer near Modena (about 30 minutes away) in the afternoon. Have tortellini in brodo at Trattoria Anna Maria in the evening.
- Day 3: Visit FICO Eataly World if it suits you (half a day), or spend the time on one more market and a long lunch. Finish with mortadella and tigelle bread at a local spot, then head home.
Daily Budget (Bologna)
- Budget: about $62–84 (€55 to €75; ≈ £50–65) a day. University-area trattoria lunches run $11–16 (€10 to €14; ≈ £8.69–13), aperitivo with food included $9–13 (€8 to €12; ≈ £7.11–10), a hostel bed $28–39 (€25 to €35; ≈ £20–30).
- Mid-range: about $135–190 (€120 to €170; ≈ £105–150) a day, with a boutique hotel and proper osteria dinners at $28–45 (€25 to €40; ≈ £20–35) a head with wine.
- A pasta-making class costs about $67–100 (€60 to €90; ≈ £55–80) a head for three to four hours, usually with lunch.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano bought at a dairy is cheaper than in the shops back home. Bring luggage space, and check the rules on carrying dairy through customs on your return.
- Bologna is an easy day trip from Florence (about 40 minutes by high-speed train, roughly $22–45 (€20 to €40; ≈ £17–35) if you book ahead).
- All prices are estimates as of October 2026. Check venue sites and Trenitalia before you travel.
Etiquette & Practical Notes
- Do not ask for spaghetti bolognese. Ask for tagliatelle al ragù. The English dish is a foreign invention here.
- Lunch is the main meal, from about 12:30pm to 2:30pm. Dinner starts around 7:30pm. A restaurant that is already seating people at 6pm is usually serving visitors.
- Bologna has a large student population, so English is widely spoken. Try a few Italian words anyway.
- The city is compact and walkable, and the long porticoes mean you can walk most of the centre in the rain without getting wet.
- Avoid August if food is the point: the students leave and many local restaurants close for the summer holidays.
Chiang Mai, Thailand: Cheap Is the Wrong Word for Northern Thai Food
Chiang Mai is the place to eat northern Thai food, and the best bowl of the week will probably cost under $2.55 (£2; ≈ €2.35). But "cheap" misses the point: this is a distinct cuisine, not a discount version of the Thai food most visitors already know. It is earthier, less sweet and more bitter than central Thai cooking, and leans on dried spices rather than fresh herbs. It grew in the old Lanna Kingdom, which was a separate state until it was absorbed into Siam in the late 19th century, and it shows Burmese, Shan and Yunnanese influence.
The dish to find first is khao soi: a coconut-curry broth with both soft and crispy egg noodles, served with chicken or beef, a wedge of lime, shallots, pickled mustard greens and chilli oil. Every family, restaurant and street vendor makes their own. Finding the one that becomes yours is one of the small pleasures of the trip. Eat at the market, order what the person in front of you ordered, and add the chilli oil slowly.
The night markets are the other half of the plan. The Sunday Walking Street on Ratchadamnoen Road and the Saturday Night Market on Wualai Road are the big street-food events. Vendors line pedestrian streets under string lights, selling mango sticky rice, sai ua (northern pork sausage with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaf), crispy pork rinds and naem (fermented pork sausage, pleasantly sour). A full meal from several stalls costs roughly $3–6 (THB 100 to THB 200; ≈ €2.68–5.36 / £2.36–4.72) as of October 2026. Cooking classes are good value too. A full-day class with a market visit, six to eight dishes and lunch has typically cost $28–43 (THB 1,000 to THB 1,500; ≈ €25–40 / £20–35). Schools such as Mama Noi, Zabb E Lee and Thai Farm Cooking School are well known. Check recent reviews and the schools' own sites for current prices.
5-Day Chiang Mai Food Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive and head to the night market on a Saturday or Sunday evening. Eat sai ua, mango sticky rice and a first khao soi.
- Day 2: Take a full-day cooking class. Mama Noi, Zabb E Lee and Thai Farm Cooking School are all well known, so compare current reviews.
- Day 3: Go to Warorot Market in the morning, where locals shop, and eat breakfast from the vendors. Visit Doi Suthep temple in the afternoon and return for street food.
- Day 4: Take a day trip to Chiang Rai (about three hours by bus) for the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the night market. Alternatively, stay in town and eat.
- Day 5: Do a last khao soi hunt. Khao Soi Khun Yai and Khao Soi Mae Sai are two well-known places. Check opening hours first, as small restaurants close on set days.
Daily Budget (Chiang Mai)
- Budget: about $23–35 (THB 800 to THB 1,200; ≈ €20–30 / £18–30) a day. A fan-cooled guesthouse room is around $9–15 (THB 300 to THB 500; ≈ €8.04–13 / £7.09–12), market meals $1.20–2.35 (THB 40 to THB 80; ≈ €1.07–2.10 / £0.94–1.85) each, a songthaew (shared red pick-up truck) ride $0.90–1.45 (THB 30 to THB 50; ≈ €0.80–1.29 / £0.71–1.14).
- Mid-range: about $57–100 (THB 2,000 to THB 3,500; ≈ €50–90 / £45–80) a day, with a boutique hotel with a pool, restaurant dinners and guided experiences.
- Higher-end: $235 (THB 8,000; ≈ €210 / £185) a day and up ($230 (≈ €210 / £180)+), for a resort spa, a cooking class and a private tour.
- Khao soi at a well-regarded local place costs around $1.70–2.30 (THB 60 to THB 80; ≈ €1.52–2.05 / £1.34–1.81). In a tourist-facing restaurant, expect $3.55–5 (THB 120 to THB 180; ≈ €3.17–4.46 / £2.80–3.94).
- Cooking class: about $28–43 (THB 1,000 to THB 1,500; ≈ €25–40 / £20–35), including a market visit and lunch.
- All prices are estimates as of October 2026. Check venue sites and current exchange rates.
Safety & Cultural Etiquette
- Chiang Mai is generally regarded as one of Thailand's easier cities for solo travellers and families. Read the current Thailand advisory from the US State Dept, the FCDO or DFAT before you go, as advice can change.
- Air quality: smoke from seasonal burning affects the north, typically in the dry season from roughly February to April. If food is the plan, visit between November and January, and check air-quality readings before you book.
- Temple dress code: cover shoulders and knees at all temple sites. Many temples lend wraps at the entrance.
- Monks: do not touch a monk or hand anything directly to one. Women in particular should place items down for a monk to pick up.
- Shoes: remove them before entering any temple building and some restaurants.
- Water: do not drink tap water. Stick to sealed bottles. Street food cooked fresh in front of you is usually fine. Skip anything that has been sitting out.
- Scams: a tuk-tuk driver who offers a "special price" to take you to a gem shop or tailor is best politely declined.
Lima, Peru: Fine Dining on Top, Ceviche Underneath
Lima is South America's best food city, and the cheap end of the menu is as interesting as the expensive one. Its rise has been one of the big food stories of the 21st century. Central, Virgilio Martínez's restaurant in Miraflores, has been on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list for years and took the top spot in 2023. Maido serves nikkei cooking, the blend of Japanese and Peruvian food that grew out of Japanese immigration to Peru from the late 19th century, and has sat high in the rankings. Astrid y Gastón, Kjolle and Mérito round out a cluster of acclaimed restaurants. Check the current list and each restaurant's site, since rankings move every year.
What turns Lima from impressive into exceptional is what lies beneath the fine dining. The huariques, small family-run restaurants in working-class districts such as Surquillo, serve ceviche made from fish bought that morning for a few dollars. Mercado de Surquillo is one of the best food markets on the continent: produce stalls, ceviche counters, rotisserie chicken and juice bars where the vendor will blend whatever you point at. Peru grows thousands of potato varieties. Lomo saltado, stir-fried beef with tomato, onion and chips, shows the Chinese chifa influence and is on almost every menu. It is the city's best comfort food.
Do both ends of the market if you can. A tasting menu at Central is built around Peru's range of altitudes and ecosystems, from the sea to the high Andes, and is priced accordingly. A ceviche at a market counter the next day will cost a fraction as much and may be closer to what Lima actually eats. Neither makes the other redundant. Book the big restaurants well ahead, and treat lunch as the main meal at the ceviche places, which often close mid-afternoon because the fish is sold for the day.
5-Day Lima Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrive and settle into Miraflores. Have a pisco sour at a classic bar (Bar Inglés or Huaringas) and ceviche for dinner.
- Day 2: Go to Mercado de Surquillo in the morning (arrive by 9am), walk the Miraflores seafront (the Malecón), and have lunch at a cevichería such as La Mar or Chez Wong. Book ahead.
- Day 3: Spend the day in Barranco, a bohemian arts district good for brunch and galleries. Visit the Larco Museum in the afternoon for its pre-Columbian collection. Have a fine-dining reservation in the evening.
- Day 4: Take a day trip to the Pachacamac archaeological site (allow about an hour each way). Back in Lima, have anticuchos (grilled beef heart skewers) at Grimanesa Vargas, a well-known stall-turned-restaurant in Miraflores.
- Day 5: Spend the morning at the Chorrillos fish market to watch the catch come in, have a farewell ceviche and fly home.
Daily Budget (Lima)
- Budget: about $30 to $50 a day (£23 to £38). A hostel in Miraflores costs $15 to $25 (≈ €13–20 / £12–20), huarique meals $4 to $8 (≈ €3.57–7.14 / £3.15–6.30), public transport $0.50 to $1 (≈ €0.45–0.89 / £0.39–0.79) a ride.
- Mid-range: about $80 to $130 (≈ €70–115 / £65–100) a day, with a boutique hotel, restaurant dinners at $20 to $40 (≈ €18–35 / £16–30) a head and taxis.
- Fine dining: Central, Maido and Astrid y Gastón have charged around $120 to $180 (≈ €105–160 / £95–140) a head for tasting menus before wine. Check current menus, as prices have been rising.
- Ceviche: from about $4 (≈ €3.57 / £3.15) at a market stall to $25 (≈ €20 / £20) at a celebrated cevichería. The difference is real, but both are worth trying.
- Pisco sour: $5 to $8 (≈ €4.46–7.14 / £3.94–6.30) at a good bar. It is the city's benchmark drink.
- All prices are estimates as of October 2026. Check venue sites and current exchange rates.
Safety & Practical Notes
- Lima is a large city and standard urban precautions apply. For visits, Miraflores, Barranco and San Isidro are the districts most visitors stay in.
- Keep your phone out of sight on the street and do not take out a camera in areas away from the main visitor districts.
- Use a ride-hailing app (InDriver, Cabify, Beat) rather than hailing a taxi on the street, and check the plate and driver before you get in.
- Altitude: Lima is at sea level, but day trips to Cusco or Machu Picchu involve significant altitude (Cusco is around 3,400m). Allow time to acclimatise if you combine them.
- Water: do not drink tap water. Food at established restaurants is generally fine. Be choosier with the very cheapest street vendors.
- Advisories: the US State Dept, the FCDO and DFAT all publish Peru travel advice, including on crime and, at times, civil unrest. Levels change, so read the current pages before you book.