If we had to rank neighborhoods purely on the quality and density of their food, ignoring everything else, this is our shortlist of twelve.
1. Yaowarat (Bangkok). The greatest concentration of street food on Earth. Comes alive after dark.
2. Testaccio (Rome). The most authentic Roman cuisine. The Testaccio market is the city’s working food market.
3. Tsukiji (Tokyo). Even after the wholesale market moved, the outer market remains a temple of Japanese seafood.
4. Roma Norte (Mexico City). The current global epicenter of fine Mexican dining. Pujol, Contramar, Máximo Bistrot, Quintonil, Rosetta — the list goes on.
5. Le 11ème (Paris). The 11th arrondissement is where Paris’s most ambitious neo-bistros cluster. Septime, Clamato, Le Servan, Bistrot Paul Bert.
6. Yaletown / Mount Pleasant (Vancouver). Vancouver punches well above its weight on Asian-fusion food.
7. Chinatown (Singapore). Hawker centres alongside Michelin-starred dim sum. Unbeatable value.
8. Bandra (Mumbai). Mumbai’s most cosmopolitan food district, from old Iranian cafés to new modern Indian.
9. Vesterbro (Copenhagen). Kødbyen’s Meatpacking District has Noma alumni opening new restaurants every month.
10. East Austin (Texas). American barbecue at its very highest level, plus a thriving new generation of Texas-fusion restaurants.
11. Trastevere (Rome). Yes, twice for Rome. The trattoria density justifies it.
12. The Mission (San Francisco). Mission Chinese, Foreign Cinema, Tartine Manufactory, the burrito holy land of La Taquería.
If we extended the list to twenty, we’d add Chiang Mai’s Old City, Lima’s Barranco, Naples’ Quartieri Spagnoli, Istanbul’s Karaköy, Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market quarter, Florence’s Oltrarno, Lisbon’s Mercado da Ribeira, and Seoul’s Gwangjang.
