How to Eat Like a Local: Pocket Guide to the Gastronomy and Restaurant Culture of Europe

Hi lovely readers, 

I wanted to start off the week by posting a little about the gastronomy of famous European cities, some of the restaurants I’ve been to that I personally recommend, and what to KBYG (know before you go).

Food is the heart of any home and the soul of culture, it keeps us going throughout the day, it can feel safe and comforting or completely nerve wracking when the menu is in another language or full of specialities you’ve never heard of. I highly recommend doing some research about the food in the particular places you’ll be visiting. If you’ve found this article you’ve already started the most important step, congrats! 

When Researching...

One thing to ask yourself is “what do the locals eat“ this can save you money and can introduce a whole new perspective on the place you'll be visiting. We can learn a lot about a people through our stomach :) One of the best anecdotes I have for this suggestion happens to be something I learned recently. Everyone knows that Spain is famous for its paella but not every city in Spain is known for that, the cities like Valencia that are situated right on the ocean are the  places you’ll want to go to if you are looking for fantastic and economic paella. Now if you go to Sevilla, Madrid, or Cordoba and order paella you'll find yourself eating with lots of tourists and an expensive bill at your table. In Sevilla it would be better to order Tortilla Española or croquetas, etc etc.

In places like Spain and France they can detect a tourist just by what they order, nothing wrong with being a tourist but sometimes it’s cheaper and safer to order what everyone else is getting, especially if you are traveling alone!! 

Eating Times

Unlike widespread American eating times, most European cities eat at later times and have different portion sizes that we may be used to. Italy, France, and Spain all eat at later times (I will speak of these three since I have been to them but this is not an exhaustive list by any means).

Breakfast- around 9 to 11am

Lunch- 2 to 3 pm

Dinner- later around 9 or even 10:30

The biggest culture shock was dinner by a long shot, dinner in America is the biggest meal of the day and is usually around 6pm so I was pretty hungry the first few days of this schedule. That's when I learned a little more about portion sizes for the meals and what is custom for the locals. In Spain lunch is the biggest meal and breakfast and dinner are both smaller and lighter foods. What is interesting to note here to is that when you eat in a restaurant at the normal dinner time of 9 or 10:30 you will find a lot more locals than if you were to eat at 6pm.

In the Restaurant

Now this may seem like an obvious topic to cover, but there are so many simple and random things I wish I knew before dining in Europe.

Picking a Restaurant

• avoid tourist attraction areas, the food is usually not as good and is pricey

• there is always a menu posted outside of each restaurant, take advantage of that

• don't let the people waiting at the door or standing outside the restaurant persuade you into going in, that's sometimes there only job all day... waiving people in and out. If you don't like what you see on the menu you're not going to hurt their feelings

  
  

Waiters

• they will not come to you to ask how your food is nor if you are ready for the check, you have to waive them over. And no it's not rude... just don't snap your fingers or expect them to come over right away

• the waiters are responsible for clearing tables and will do so when they realize that someone new is sitting there. Just sit down and they will clear it, just because it hasn't been cleared doesn't mean its not available to sit at!

Extra Stuff on the Table

• the bread they provide is usually not free

• they may charge you for oil or any kind of sauce in little packets

• water is not provided with the purchase of a meal or a beverage

• when ordering water make sure you specify if you want it sparkling or not

• they can usually box up anything you don't finish

  
  

  

  
  

I hope you've enjoyed getting an insider look at the dining experience of Europe and leave knowing where to go from here, I recommend making a list of dishes you want to try while leaving room for exploration when you have the menu in front of you.