Europe & Ireland 2026 · Food guide
A Bombay café. Levantine mezze in Edinburgh’s old lanes. A Mexican restaurant planted in the middle of Iceland. Superbon, Denmark’s answer to Chin Chin. A gastropub in Edinburgh’s New Town. Harbour food markets where a dozen kitchens share one roof. A former naval building in Copenhagen where the cardamom buns have a cult following.
And then there are the traditional cuisines that most people never get close to. Fin whale steak. Grilled puffin with thyme skyr. Hákarl, Greenlandic shark fermented underground for months and served with brennívín. In Norway, Pingvinen’s plukkfisk and fårikål, and Bryggeloftet’s reindeer and langoustines on the historic Bryggen wharf. In Denmark, smørrebrød on dark rye at a Christianshavn sailors’ café, and the same open sandwiches again inside Tivoli with the illuminations running.
Every city, a completely different table.
House-made pasta · Covent Garden piazza
Grand arched windows and high ceilings in one of London's most recognisable dining rooms. House-made pasta, proper antipasti, and a room full of people having a very good time. An Italian in the best possible setting.
Bombay café · Carnaby, Soho
Inspired by the Irani cafés of old Bombay. Famous for a black daal slow-cooked for 24 hours. Dark wood, ceiling fans, old photographs, generous portions. One of London's great dinner institutions and impossible to fault.
Japanese izakaya · Seven Dials
Steamed bao buns and Japanese sharing plates in a basement beneath Seven Dials. Order several buns and work through the menu together. Great energy, good cocktails. A proper London night out ten minutes from the hotel.
Traditional Sicilian · New Town, Edinburgh
Traditional pasta, stone-baked pizza, honest Italian cooking in a warm room. Perfect for the first Edinburgh night after a long travel day from Derry. No fuss, no rush, genuinely good.
Tom Kitchin's gastropub · Stockbridge
Tom Kitchin's casual, family-friendly sibling to The Kitchin. Modern Scottish cooking with a relaxed pub feel. Proper food, warm room, no stuffiness. Michelin-grade thinking in a burger and pint format.
Levantine mezze & charcoal grill · George Street
Sharing plates inspired by the Levant, and a charcoal grill turning out Scottish lamb, beef, and seafood. Levantine mezze and charcoal grill on George Street, Edinburgh. Cocktail bar until midnight.
Traditional Icelandic · Ingólfsstræti
First dinner in Iceland, eight minutes from the hotel. The menu is a full Icelandic education: fin whale steak, grilled puffin with thyme skyr, fermented shark (hákarl) with brennívín, sheep’s head, reindeer burger, and dung-smoked salmon. Google 4.7 from nearly 3,000 ratings.
Neapolitan pizza & pasta · Hverfisgata
Solid neighbourhood Italian with Neapolitan pizza and house-made pasta. Affordable by Reykjavík standards and genuinely good. After a full day on the Golden Circle and Silfra snorkelling, exactly the right call.
Reykjavík's best burger · City Centre
After the Sky Lagoon you want something hearty and no-fuss. Le KocK delivers: Reykjavík's best burger, bold flavours, relaxed vibe. A lively crowd, a proper meal, and exactly what a long wet Icelandic day calls for.
Mexican · City Centre, Reykjavík
Bold Mexican flavours in the heart of Reykjavík. Tacos, burritos, loaded nachos, proper margaritas. A welcome change after days of Icelandic fish and lamb. Colourful, loud, fun, and very family-friendly.
Traditional Norwegian pub · Vaskerelven
Unpretentious Bergen pub, dark wood, low lighting, no fuss. Plukkfisk, fish soup, fårikål. The kind of food Norwegians actually eat at home. The real thing, not the tourist version of it.
Neapolitan pizza · Bergen Harbour, Torget
Right on Bergen's harbour square with arguably the best location in the city for an evening meal. Italian chef, pizza oven and flour imported directly from Italy. The margherita is the benchmark; order it.
Classic Norwegian · Historic Bryggen wharf
Bergen's most-reviewed restaurant in a wood-panelled 1910 building on the UNESCO-listed wharf. Reindeer, halibut, langoustines, fish soup. A real institution that locals still choose for special occasions.
Street food market · Christianshavn waterfront
Ten rotating food stalls at the foot of the Inderhavnsbroen footbridge. Burgers, tacos, smørrebrød, fish and chips, gyros. No booking, no set menu. Grab from different stalls, find a communal table on the harbour, and let the city do the rest.
Inside Tivoli Gardens · Hallernes & Gorm's
Dinner inside the park so the whole evening stays uninterrupted. Hallernes Smørrebrød for proper Danish open sandwiches on dark rye, or Gorm's for sourdough pizza. Eat at 19:15, on the rides by 20:00, illuminations at 21:45.
Traditional Danish · Strandgade, Christianshavn
Started as a gathering place for sailors and ferry workers. Maritime atmosphere, proper smørrebrød, roast pork with crackling, Danish classics done seriously well. Five minutes' walk from the hotel along the waterfront.
Southeast Asian · Vesterbro warehouse
The farewell dinner. A converted warehouse in Vesterbro serving vibrant Southeast Asian cooking. Sichuan ribs with proper tingle, steamed baos, bold layered flavours. The hallway has working arcade games. Exactly the right way to end 26 days.