Welcome to Spoon Eats World, where college students dish on the unforgettable food spots they found while studying abroad. They took notes inside and outside of the international classroom, capturing their favorite bites and best local spots – from bustling markets and cozy cafes, to TikTok-famous eateries and hidden gems.
As you may have read in my last article about study abroad, I definitely prioritized a great culinary scene when choosing where I wanted my home base. Italy was the top option, and being in the coolest medieval city, Siena, allowed me to really immerse myself in Italian culture. The city itself is a hidden gem in my opinion, but my main goal for study abroad was to chat with locals, visit cool places, and eat the cuisine local to the region I was visiting. I traveled often on weekends and got to experience the food in over eight new countries, so here is a round up of some of the best bites I had during my time living in Italy and traveling around Europe.
September 6, 2024: Pesto Focaccia in Cinque Terre
My first weekend getaway abroad was a quick train ride from Tuscany: Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre translates to Five Lands in English; this area made up of UNESCO colorful villages was a perfect way to learn the ropes of traveling with others, using our beginner Italian, and navigating the country we’d soon call home for a few months. Cinque Terre is known for Ligurian cuisine, which notably includes pesto alla genovese, focaccia, and fresh seafood, to name a few ingredients. We stayed in the beautiful town of Levanto, which got us to the main part of Monterosso in minutes by train. During a casual stroll upon arrival, my friends and I found a hole-in-the-wall focaccia shop and knew we had to try the famous pesto, prosciutto, and mozzarella cheese on top. This little nosh was the perfect fuel to start our incredible beach weekend in Cinque Terre, and was the most local spot we probably could’ve picked.
September 28, 2024: Pain Au Chocolat in Paris
Less than a month into study abroad, I embarked on a bucket list trip to Paris by myself. I had never solo tripped before, but spontaneously ended up skipping class one Thursday to hop on a flight to CDG. I knew my main priority of the weekend in solitude would be cafe hopping, and as a self diagnosed caffeine addict, the best place to stroll, drink coffee, and eat pastries is definitely Paris. I tried multiple pain au chocolat during my stay in France, but my favorite one was from Leonie Bakery on my way to the Musée d’Orsay. I remember sitting outside, enjoying my time alone and thinking about how cool studying abroad was, and people watching on the street while all the French folk strolled by chatting, walking dogs, or riding bikes. The best part about eating croissants in Paris is you can walk in and out of so many different places and try one from multiple cafes during your stay (so long as you’re alright eating more than one per day!).
October 6, 2024: Pizza Al Taglio in Rome
I definitely mentioned my Roman weekend in the last Spoon Eats World article, but I have to bring it up again because of how important it is to me. Rome is genuinely the best food city I’ve ever visited, and I think it may take the top spot in terms of Italian food in all of Italy. My parents visited me the weekend of this trip, so together we all did a food tour around all of the fun neighborhoods with a local guide. He took us to many different spots to sample tons of street food, and the pizza al taglio from the famous Roscioli was insane. I can’t emphasize enough how delicious this Roman-style pizza is, and since it’s often sold by the slice, we got to sample a few flavors. My favorite was the one with olive oil in the dough and topped with potatoes and rosemary.
October 18, 2024: Guinness + Other Bevs in Dublin
I started off a week of traveling for my school’s fall break in Dublin, Ireland, to experience lots of great drinks, pub culture, and hearty comfort food. I had surprisingly never had a Guinness before this trip, but my friend and I knew the Guinness Storehouse tour was the most fun way to experience the entire culture that is this dry stout. On top of learning how it was made, we got to experience the Gravity Bar that allowed us to see the panoramic views of Dublin while sharing a pint. Although we did not split the G, drinking Guinness was definitely a priority when visiting this city, and we also had a lot of Rockshore Cider, a crisp, local Irish cider brewed at St. James’s Gate (Guinness).
October 25, 2024: Breakfast Plates in Copenhagen
Breakfast is by far my most favorite meal of the day, so when I learned how much of a staple it is to Danish culture, I had to see what the hype was about. Atelier September is a café that blends vegetarian cuisine with art and design to create a vibey space for breakfast served on 150 year old china. A Copenhagen breakfast plate is traditionally curated with a sourdough bun, or bolle, whipped butter, a soft-boiled egg, some variation of cheese, and jam. While eating the plate, you can enjoy the ambience of whichever cafe you choose to try as well as the vibe of “hygge” that spans across Denmark as a whole. Overall, this breakfast plate was my favorite culinary experience visiting Copenhagen, and I love its significance as a cozy morning ritual to spread the “slow morning” approach.
November 8, 2024: Churros Con Chocolate in Madrid
My best friend studied abroad in Spain while I was in Italy, so visiting her was like having a personal tour guide to take me to all of the best food places. One of the most talked about dessert joints in Madrid is Chocolatería San Ginés, a historic café known for the best churros served with a thick chocolate dipping sauce. It’s open almost all night long, so you’re bound to run into locals staying out a bit too long depending on how late you plan your visit for. I’d recommend going later so you get the full cultural experience. I hadn’t had a dessert so locally tied to a place before my trip to Madrid (gelato spans really all of Italy), so this was a fun experience I got to share with my best friend. We ate our churros and chocolate outside, enjoying the people watching near Puerta del Sol and listening to bits of Spanish conversions as folks strolled by.
November 25, 2024: Chicken Paprikash in Budapest
Hungarian cuisine is one of the greatest tragedies I’ve ever experienced once I found out it’s nowhere to be found in the U.S. I fell in love with goulash, dumplings, and most specifically, chicken paprikash during a late November trip to Budapest, and I genuinely haven’t stopped thinking about all of the food since. While traveling here, I discovered it’s quite easy to stroll into almost any local restaurant and enjoy the best chicken paprikash. While locals would argue that homemade is best, I found my fave at a random restaurant near the Danube that I wish I could remember the name of. According to Reddit users, however, you can find amazing paprikás csirke at Retek Bisztro for a less traditional version, Csalanosi Csarda for a local favorite, and Rosenstein if you can score a res.