From Athens to Marseille, Paris, Porto, Palermo, and beyond, our contributors name the one dish they couldn’t stop thinking about in 2025. A city-by-city roundup of the best bites they ate all year, from neighborhood classics to quietly exceptional plates.

Paris dining moves between nostalgia and reinvention. From bistros reborn as PMU-style bars to chefs blending Sri Lankan spice with French technique, the city’s appetite for both comfort and change keeps it the most exciting food capital on Earth.

Paris dining today isn’t just about white tablecloths or tasting menus. It’s about neighborhood spots, inventive bakers, and chefs cooking with personality—and this list captures 11 of the best.

In Belleville, Paris tastes like home cooking and global exchange. This photo essay follows a morning in one of the city’s most dynamic neighborhoods — where buttery pastries meet Tunisian brik, Vietnamese banh mi, and the easy rhythm of daily life.

The Hacienda del Parián in Ocoyoacac, a rural village on the outskirts of Mexico City, got its start twenty-six years ago, when the local Ocampo family joined forces with other charro (“cowboy”) families to recreate a traditional estate. The idea was to preserve two very strong Mexican traditions that used to live side by side in haciendas: la charrería, the Mexican equestrian tradition, and rural Mexican cuisine. The estate they built is big enough to celebrate a wedding or a charreada, Mexican-style rodeo, or even both at the same time! It’s also home to a restaurant, which is managed by Christian Ocampo, who started working in the catering side of the family business before moving over to run the restaurant side of things.

Sold for one or two euros, the spritz, which at its most basic is a combination of bittersweet liqueur, sparkling wine and seltzer, has been dubbed “the champagne of the poor” – no wonder it has been the king of cocktails in Naples for at least a decade. Aperitif time – often starring a cool spritz – is the most relaxing, and thus most awaited, moment of the day. And Neapolitans have made an art of this pre-meal ritual. In a city that is known (although sometimes unjustly) throughout Italy as the city of the idle, the aperitif has come to symbolize living well, in the company of friends.

If stepping foot in Brazil doesn’t make your taste buds start tingling in anticipation of kibes (bulgur wheat croquettes), esfihas (thin meat and cheese pastries), tangy molho arabe and hummus, it’s because you haven’t studied up properly on the rich history of Arab migration to Brazil – and the supremely tasty gastronomical mark it’s left on this country’s snack food culture.