Photo: Schoening/Alamy
Winning tip: Super fresh seafood in Athens
Hidden in the main hall of Athens' Varvakios Agora market lies seafood so fresh the air smells of saltwater. At Hasapika you can choose your fish and specify how you want it cooked: seared octopus, salmon ceviche, giant fried shrimp - the choice is endless. But the highlight is the Hasapika pan: handmade pasta in a decadent tomato broth, loaded with crayfish, mussels and shrimp. It can serve three, but two of us fought for every last morsel, wiping down the pan with warm olive oil-soaked bread. My Italian friend called it one of the best pasta he had ever tasted. Well worth €28 for two.
Suriya Bala
Meat rolls and mustard, Bucharest
In Obor Market, a few kilometers northwest of Bucharest's Old Town, lies Terasa Obor, an outdoor barbecue spot known for its mici (pronounced "meech" and also known as mititei). Literally 'little ones', these are small meat rolls made from beef or lamb, similar to koftas, and a popular street food in Romania, with variations on the dish popular in the Balkans. In the center of a bustling market, this is an excellent spot for people watching and a favorite among locals. Mici cost five lei each (just under £1), with fresh bread one lei, and are served with mustard.
Jos Rault
Salty Bites, Norfolk
The food at the Crab Hut, a hut-turned-food stall that sits quietly in the marshes of Brancaster Staithe, is as simple as it gets: small bowls of whelks (£2), cockles (£2.50) and crayfish (£ 3), and generous rolls filled with local crab (£4.50). There's an honesty and a clarity in every bite, and yet a certain brine that makes you feel as if you're tasting the North Norfolk landscape. There is no seating inside. I recommend grabbing a nearby picnic bench or walking through the swamps to the sand dunes.
Tiephaine
Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of the tips are displayed online and may also appear in print. To enter the latest competition, visit the Reader Tips homepage
The story continues
-
Sicilian punk melodies, Valencia
A soft, warm Valencian evening is rounded off perfectly and cheaply by spending time in a small Sicilian, punk-inspired bar in Cabanyal: the Officina Meccanica Work in Progress. The mushroom burrata might as well be hallucinogenic, as its creamy richness is perfectly accompanied by the rosemary-infused melting mushrooms. A bowl of fresh panel (Sicilian fritters made from chickpea flour and other ingredients) add just the amount of crunch to balance the flavors, which are further perfected with a glass of crisp Insolia (Sicilian white wine). The meal combines with the friendly atmosphere and provides a feeling of well-being that will last for months to come.
Jane
Fiery soup, Iceland
On a recent trip to Iceland, after a long drive on the icy roads, we reached the village of Vík í Mýrdal on Route 1, close to the southernmost point of the island and home to the beautiful black basalt sand beach Reynisfjara. (The village is located about 200 kilometers east of the currently active volcanic zone around Grindavík). Here we discovered the great Soup Company. The menu is simple: there are soups to choose from - free refills - and bread and butter. We had the aptly named lava soup, a spicy red soup (main ingredients beef, black beans, red wine, onion, tomatoes, bay leaves and red lentils) served in a black bread bowl, with yoghurt on the side. It was as delicious as it was photogenic. Each spoonful revealed a harmonious combination of flavors, creating a culinary experience that resonated with the imposing landscapes.
Gabriel
Perfect pierogi, Krakow
Krakow was beautiful, but very cold when we were there last January. Fleeing the icy wind, we crept through an alley in the historic heart of the city to No Bones, a vegan restaurant a three-minute walk from the main square. For the equivalent of 6.50 we ordered a bowl of smooth Pierogi, each dumpling delicate but substantial, each a peppery umami parcel of cabbage and mushrooms. Recovered and warmed up, we headed back into the Polish winter to explore further. A perfect and delicious lunch when you are in Krakow, especially when the wind is blowing and the snow is crunching under your feet.
Phoebe
Seared tuna, which sears the memory of Madeira
Tucked beneath the battlements of a medieval fortress, above a rocky coast, Funchal's Santiago Beach Bar is not a place where you can expect "Oh my God, that's good" food... especially not outside, during a storm. But order a tuna sphere after a local beer, or three (so you don't feel like you're taking up the table and the view) and what do you get? You get thinly sliced, seared tuna steak, as fresh as the wild sea that you are mesmerized by. You get an image in your mind, a taste in your mouth, a memory that you will always cherish.
Simon
Bari's burnt spaghetti, Italy
Spaghetti everything'assassinaalso called spaghetti bruciati (burnt spaghetti), was the most amazing pasta we had in Bari; you can order it in most restaurants, but we first ate it on Via Massaua in the port. It is specially made to order. This is perhaps the best-known traditional dish in Puglia and has been featured on TV shows such as Gino's Italy: Secrets of the South. It also appears in Gabriella Genisi's Lolita Lobosco detective novels - the fifth book in the series was simply called Spaghetti all'Assassina - and the accompanying TV drama. The secret is in the tomato sauce and also in the preparation that simmers part of it into a crispy, partly burnt spaghetti. One flavor is very spicy and explodes like a moon rocket, leaving you gasping for air. People came to see how we were doing - we found the people in Bari so friendly!
David Innes-Wilkin
Georgian delicacies, Berlin
On my most recent trip to Berlin I found my favorite restaurant yet, Der blaue Fuchs (The Blue Fox), a Georgian restaurant with artsy walls, patterned tablecloths and outdoor tables overlooking the green Kollwitzplatz on Knaackstraße. This vegan spot serves home-cooked Georgian classics, like the iconic boat-shaped one Khachapuri (cheese filled bread). We had an appetizer platter with grilled eggplant and vegetable spreads, flavored with walnuts, pomegranate and regional herbs, including blue fenugreek, so distinctive and unique to Georgian cuisine. We then enjoyed heating up bean stews in earthenware pots, washed down with Georgian wine from the oldest wine traditions in the world.
Adrienne
When in Rome, get in line
A queue is a good sign. A queue in Rome for pizza in the rain? Worth the wait. L'Antico Forno Roscioli on Via dei Chiavari is the pizza restaurant to end all pizza restaurants. When you enter, you are greeted with fresh bread and pastries on the left, in front of a counter contorni seduces you. A wooden board filled with pizza options (thin crusts and focaccia crusts) is your last stop. If they have verandatta (slow roasted pork belly roll), get it. The flatbread with potatoes and rosemary (no sauce) was excellent, and the supplier (think slim arancini) the best in its class. Be prepared to eat outside regardless of the weather.
Caroline Glendinning