We’ve lived in Zürich for the past two years and during this time we’ve travelled a total of 20 weeks to 20 different countries around Europe. Those of you who know us will know we have a huge passion for food! While I’ve always been a sweet tooth, in the past travelling was more about exploring than finding the good food spots. Fast forward to now…while most people base their food around their daily sightseeing, we base our daily sightseeing around the best food places. It doesn’t take us long to realise we really like something, usually a glance sideways at each other and a slight smile that means we will soon be getting seconds (or thirds…)

We’ve decided to collate a list of our absolute favourite foods from our time here including names of the places that we recommend you to try. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

The best Pizza…Capri
After spending the first night in Naples, we fell in love with Napoli style pizza straight away. We visited Capri for a weekend in May this year (we highly recommend staying overnight on Capri Island). Once all the tourist boats left for the day we strolled the narrow walking streets until we came across Lo Sfizio’s. It wasn’t until we saw locals walking out with several pizza boxes stacked high that we knew it was going to exceed our expectations! Try and get a table outside across the footpath and enjoy a pizza and wine at sunset.

The best Chocolate…Switzerland
It’s a bit of a given, but after two years it’s safe to say we have tried nearly all of the chocolate that Switzerland has to offer. Our favourite is definitely Laderach. They literally have giant slabs of their chocolate for you to choose your weight. Our favourites are raspberry/blackberry and hazelnut milk.

The best Pastry…Stockholm
This was a recent discovery and after one bite we knew we would be getting (several) more. They are called “Kardemummabulla” (cardamom buns) and are a traditional Swedish pastry. Thanks to our friends who live in Stockholm we visited one of the top bakeries Bageri Petrus and we regretted that we only visited on our last day. We initially lined up for two, quickly got in line for another two, and ended up getting in line again for some takeaway for the flight home…

The best Croissant…Zurich
This was not what we were expecting but our guests all agree. It just so happens that our tram stop is in front of this bakery and after reading a sign every day that says “Best gipfel in town” we decided to give it a go. You want to go in the morning for one that is still warm from the oven…they are the softest, flakiest croissants we’ve ever had. If you’re ever in Zürich, go to Backbar!

The best Flat white…Belgrade
Coming from NZ we’re always on the lookout for a decent flat white. We didn’t know what to expect when we first arrived in Belgrade but we definitely weren’t expecting to find an amazing coffee culture! We tried flat whites from several cafes around old Belgrade and it was very difficult to pick a favourite. 19 Grams and Przionica D59B definitely stood out.

The best Gelato…Split
Not much to say here, the homemade ice creams from Luka Ice Cream & Cakes are the best! Try the Nutella Cookies or the Kinder. Tip: go during the day or early afternoon, the lines get crazy long in the evenings.

The best Espresso…Lake Como
Strolling the quiet streets of Como town on a rainy day and passing a cafe with local Italian men sitting at the bar sipping espressos is just how we pictured small town Italy. Italy’s one of those countries with so many cities to visit that it’s easy to only visit the tourist traps, but our favourite places so far are the small local towns. In the last two years, we’ve visited Lake Como three times and it’s these local cafes where we’ve had the best espressos.

The best Fish n chips…Iceland
Before we visited Iceland we half expected this would be the place for the best fish n chips…and we were right! But we didn’t realise that we would have to drive two hours from Reykjavik to get them (they were parked up next to the Skogafoss waterfall so of course, we decided to align our visit accordingly). You even got to choose from a selection of local salts to season them with. If you’re ever visiting, check out their Instagram page!

The best hot chocolate…Zürich
What do you get when you turn Swiss chocolate into a hot drink? A mug of happiness that you can find at Confiserie Sprüngli (a Swiss café that is co-owned by Lindt). We first tried one in Zürich when we were here three years ago and we’ve been coming back ever since. Visit their café in Paradeplatz and see the locals dressed in their Sunday best for the famous buffet brunch.

The best Seafood…Santorini
If you’ve ever been to Santorini chances are you’ve visited Ammoudi Bay (the bay at the bottom of the hill from Oia). Both times that we’ve been to Santorini we visited the yummiest seafood restaurant with tables literally on the water’s edge. Just be prepared for the steep walk back up the hill afterwards or if you’re like us you can drive the quad bike right down the bottom of the main road. We recommend Sunset Ammoudi Taverna and as the name suggests the best time to visit is at sunset, stunning!

The best Burger…Paris
We’ve definitely eaten our fair share of burgers around Europe but there was one particular place in Paris that was a highlight. It may have stood out so much that we got a second round the next day. The chain was Big Fernand (it seems to be a chain around Europe) but the one we loved was Place du Marché.

The best Steak…Florence
You haven’t properly visited Florence until you’ve had Bistecca Fiorentina and the best place we had this was at Ristorante Trattoria Angiolino. Great wine, great pasta, great steak. Not much else to say.

The best G&T…Zürich
It wasn’t long after we moved here before we realised that G&Ts are the drink of choice in Zürich, and thanks to team dinners with my colleagues I quickly came to love Monkey 47. One of my favourite bars for G&Ts was Old Crow, a bar in the middle of the beautiful old town Zürich. But like everything in Switzerland it comes at a price: the equivalent of NZD32 for one G&T!

The best Wine…Rome
This was a tough one but we recently spent a long weekend in Rome and as expected it ended up being a foodie weekend. We’d both been to Rome before so we weren’t under time pressure to visit the sights so instead we decided to book an Air BnB in Trastevere, an area known for bars and restaurants. We had some of the best wine that weekend with two occasions that stood out, one being at La Prosciutteria Trastevere where meats and cheeses are served on a giant, long platter, and secondly at our Italian cooking school earlier that day where the owner made wine himself from the grapes on the farm. Yum!

The best Beer…Spain
While this would probably be different if we had been visiting breweries across Europe, our favourite holidays were spent in the South of Spain with friends or family at an Air BnB house where we would spend the afternoons poolside with a San Miguel in hand and enjoying king prawns on the BBQ…our definition of summer!

The best Paella…Majorca
If you ever visit Majorca then the one thing you must do is visit Sa Foradada. It’s north of Palma along the coast with a stunning drive through some of the prettiest towns. Once you park at the top it’s a 45-minute walk down to the restaurant. Paella is cooked on an open fire for you to watch, the sangria is delicious and the location is beautiful. You can even go swimming off the rocks in front of the restaurant. The first time we visited Majorca we made the mistake of coming on a Thursday (the one day a week the restaurant is closed) and we’re so glad we did the walk again when we went back this year…the Paella was definitely worth it!

The best Gyros…Marathonas
The famous Greek pita with meat, sauce and fries…We’ve certainly tried our fair share of these around Greece and for some reason, it must be a difficult thing to get this combination right because we’re often left disappointed. Our favourite place was found earlier this year in Marathonas. They were so good that our friend went back for thirds that visit, and we ended up back there every day of our trip.

The best Tapas…Seville
No surprises here, Spain can do tapas. But if you’re ever in Seville then pay a visit to El Pinton. The food is amazing and they have the yummiest sangria! Cute restaurant, friendly staff and great food. Another place that we visited twice in two days, both summers.

The best Cocktails…Palma, Majorca
If you’re ever in Palma then we definitely recommend a visit to Quina Creu. It’s a tapas restaurant in the middle of old town where you serve yourself delicious tapas straight from the cabinets. We recommend taking a seat at the bar where you can watch cocktails being made. They looked so amazing that we ended up ordering each one that we saw being made…we can recommend the mojito, the espresso martini, the margaritas, the Pina colada and particularly their speciality G&Ts.