This was published 5 years ago
Europe best places to eat traditional foods: 10 iconic dishes
By Terry Durack
Appeltaart, Amsterdam. Who knows why Dutch apple tart is so irresistible? A bucketload of apples is squeezed into crusty, almost biscuity cake, scented with traditional speculaas spices of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, and topped with latticed pastry, in a combination that dates back to the middle ages.Credit: Alamy
Great restaurants and food experiences are as much a part of a trip to Europe as its fashion, art, grand scenery and ever-present street cats.
Take a ride on the famous ferris wheel at Vienna's Prater amusement park as if you are Orson Welles in The Third Man, sure. But then go and eat schnitzel and drink beer for the true Viennese experience.
A day spent walking along the Seine and around the Eiffel Tower is made complete by sliding into a booth and attacking a towering platter of France's finest, freshly-cracked shellfish.
And after tip-toeing through Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, it's only right to celebrate life over a cinnamon-scented Dutch apple cake in the sunshine by the side of a canal.
For me, these dishes are the real sights and scenes of Europe, because they tell you exactly where you are, connecting you to the city, the country and its people. Plus, you get fed.
AMSTERDAM
DISH
Appeltaart
WHY
Who knows why Dutch apple tart is so irresistible? A bucketload of apples is squeezed into crusty, almost biscuity cake, scented with traditional speculaas spices of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, and topped with latticed pastry, in a combination that dates back to the middle ages. Join the queue for "koffie met appeltaart'"at modest market café Winkel 43 in Jordaan to see what the fuss is about.
WHERE
Winkel 43, Shop 43, Noordemarkt, Amsterdam
PARIS
Credit: Alamy
DISH
Plateau de fruits de mer
WHERE
La Coupole, 102 Boulevard de Montparnasse, Paris, 14. See lacoupole-paris.com
WHY
It's all about les ecaillers, the professional oyster shuckers who preside over the display of shellfish and crustaceans at every great Parisian brasserie. When you put your order in, they get to work. And when the magnificent platter piled high with lobster, crab, oysters, mussels, whelks, cockles, prawns and shrimp arrives at your table, you get to work, cracking, sucking, slurping and sipping. To order the Royal Coupole platter (€129 for two, about $205) at the legendary 91-year-old, art-deco brasserie La Coupole is to touch the very soul of Paris – with a crab pick.
LONDON
DISH
Roast beef with all the trimmings
WHERE
Simpson's in the Strand, 100 Strand, London. See simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk
WHY
Simpson's began life as a coffee house and chess club in 1828. Its members used to get so engrossed in their matches that the management would load roast beef onto silver trolleys and feed them as they played. Now, it's the 28-day dry-aged roast rib of Scottish beef that gets all the attention, carved at the table and served in fine rosy-pink slices along with Yorkshire pudding, gravy, horseradish and the finest, crustiest, most golden beef fat potatoes in all of Britain.
BARCELONA
Credit: Alamy
DISH
Arroz negro
WHERE
La Barra de Carles Arbellan, Calle Passeig Joan Borbo, 19, Barcelona. See carlesabellan.com
WHY
Tinted black with squid ink and studded rather austerely with cuttlefish, arroz negro is treated with respect throughout Barcelona and all along the coast to Valencia. Carles Abellan, former head chef to the mercurial Ferran Adria at El Bulli, does a very classy signature arroz spiked with cuttlefish and spicy sobrasada sausage at his warmly elegant La Barra, near the old fishing port in Barceloneta. Each nutty grain of rice is distinct from its brother, the sweetness and sea-saltiness coming in oceanic waves of flavour.
ROME
DISH
Suppli
WHERE
Supplizio, Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 43. See supplizioroma.it
WHY
Suppli are Rome's favourite street snack – golden balls of rice (similar to Sicily's arancini) stuffed with a little meat and mozzarella, crumbed and fried. Break one in half with your fingers and the cheese forms looping, glooping strings. It took acclaimed chef Arcangelo Dandini to restore suppli to its former glory at his "slow fast-food" Supplizio, where your first choice should be the most traditional, stuffed with chicken giblets, sausage and pecorino.
BRUSSELS
Credit: Alamy
DISH
Moules frites
WHERE
Aux Armes de Bruxelles, 13 Rue Des Bouchers, Brussels. See auxarmesdebruxelles.com
WHY
It's as Belgian as Tin Tin, Jacques Brel and Breughel: the clack-clack of steaming hot mussels being picked from the pot in which they were steamed. Best eaten in season (September to February), the mussels are harvested from the cold North Sea off Zeeland and served by the kilogram in celery-scented broth with side platters of golden frites. The touristy Rue Des Bouchers is lined with restaurant spruikers, but ignore them all, in favour of the venerable 97-year-old Aux Armes de Bruxelles.
ISTANBUL
Credit: Alamy
Lamb kebab – heaven on a stick – is said to have originated in medieval times when Turkish soldiers cooked meat on their swords over open fires in the field. At the family-run Zubeyir ocakbasi near Taksim Square, the minced lamb and liver "kebaps" come hot and sizzling from the magnificent copper-hooded mangal charcoal grill.
LISBON
Credit: Alamy
DISH
Portuguese custard tart
WHERE
Pasteis de belem, Rua de Belem, 84, Belem, Lisbon. See pasteisdebelem.pt
WHY
Take the number 15 tram from Praca de Figuera six kilometres west to the waterside suburb of Belem, where the secret recipe of the monks of the Jeronimos monastery survives to this day. Here, the world's favourite custard tart can be enjoyed as it should be – crusty, creamy, caramelised and warm from the oven, dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and taken with a strong black bica (coffee) by its side.
COPENHAGEN
Credit: Alamy
DISH
Smorrebrod
WHERE
Restaurant Schonnemann, Hauser Plads 16, Copenhagen. See restaurantschonnemann.dk
WHY
In spite of Copenhagen's reputation as the home of modern, inventive New Nordic cuisine, it is still a very conservative city whose citizens like things done slowly, properly and with integrity. Especially their smorrebrod. Hence you will need to book ahead to get into this gorgeous little basement lunch spot, which has been baking ryebread, curing herring and salting beef for its own exquisite open-faced sandwiches since 1877. Pro tip: eat with knife and fork, not hands.
VIENNA
DISH
Wiener schnitzel
WHERE
Skopik und Lohn, Leopoldsgasse 17, 1020, Vienna. See skopikundlohn.at
WHY
Think wiener schnitzel and you think Vienna, if only because the name translates as Viennese cutlet. This simple, boneless fillet of veal, pounded until it's as thin and as big as a dinner plate, is crumbed and pan-fried until crisp and golden. Have it at the elegant Skopik and Lohn, where it's served with cucumber and potato salads, a buzzy New York vibe, and dramatic ceiling artwork by Austrian artist, Otto Zitko.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.