Local food is the highlight for people who are travelling to a new place. The food that you taste at a particular place tells you a lot about it — the unique culture of the place, regional quirks (eg: Gujarati cuisine is sweet, but Kathiyawadi cuisine is spicy), and much, much more.
Here are a few tips of picking out the best local restaurants when you are travelling:
Make Use of Your Phone
When you are travelling, the one way you can take a measure of a restaurant nearby in a new city is by checking out the reviews. See what people are saying and find out what is rated the best and has the most positive reviews.
Mobile apps are a great way to source good restaurants nearby when you are new to the city. Just whip out your phone, look at the menu on an app like Zomato when you are not sure what to eat. You can even look at the map and figure out how far the restaurant is from the hotel you are staying at.
Ask a Local
If you are not someone who is very tech savvy, then you can simply do something people did in the old days — ask the local people what their favourite restaurant is.
Asking a local might mean you are not directed to the swankiest place in town, but you might be directed to a place that serves delicious local cuisine. After all, if you are in a new city, why should you eat something you can eat at home.
Get a Recommendation from an Influencer
Check out local food bloggers and influencers on social media and see what they have to offer. If you search for ‘good restaurants’ locally, you might find a lot of local blogs, social media posts recommending good restaurants nearby.
Look for the Crowd
If you see people are queuing up outside a restaurant, then you have struck gold.
Though you might feel like you are wasting ideal vacation time in a queue, you might have hit the jackpot with a good restaurant if everyone wants to eat there.
Look Beyond Common Tourist Areas
Tourist areas in a city will have plenty of restaurants, but they might serve standard cuisines that is common to all hotels, rather than local specialties. These restaurants in a tourist area might be concentrating on popular food items rather than local specialties.
Look for Local Cuisines
Like how Mumbai is known for vada pav, Goa for seafood, Pondicherry for Cajun cuisine, find out the special dish of the place you are travelling to. Dining at a local restaurant nearby and savouring the local specialty will make your holiday very memorable.
Look at a Restaurant’s Social Media Presence
If you are a stickler for food being served in style and like to size up a restaurant before you try it, look at the restaurant’s social media presence. Looking at the restaurant’s social media presence will make you realize what sort of cuisine they serve, the food culture and the popularity of the restaurant.
Take a Long Lunch
If you are planning to splurge on a meal, there will be lots of plush restaurants around serving an excellent buffet lunch. A lunch menu is cheaper than a dinner menu, you can afford to eat a more substantial meal for lunch, and you will get to experience a local version of fine dining.
If you are visiting Vadodara, there are plenty of places for you to try the local cuisine. If you are looking for the ultimate fine dining experience that will satiate your appetite for delicious food, you can go wrong with our in-house multi-cuisine restaurant Azure at the Grand Mercure Vadodara Surya Palace.
