ALESSIA’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK

EAT • DRINK • WANDER • DISCOVER

I’ve never been particularly good at simply visiting a city.

I want to know it.

I want the restaurant hidden down the street I nearly walked past. The tiny café making exceptional coffee. The chef doing something extraordinary. The old pub with three centuries of stories in its walls. The neighbourhood locals actually spend their Sunday mornings in. The market stall with a queue for very good reason.

And I certainly don’t believe exceptional automatically means expensive.

Give me the Michelin-starred dining room, but also give me the extraordinary bowl of noodles, the perfect bánh mì, a family-run restaurant, something eaten standing at a market stall or a bakery worth crossing a city for.

Some of the best things I’ve ever eaten have arrived without white tablecloths, silverware or a reservation confirmation anywhere in sight.

I travel with an appetite for far more than food.

History, architecture, galleries, markets, beautiful hotels, long lunches, neighbourhood walks, hidden bars and discovering the personality of a city are all part of the adventure.

I want to understand why people love where they live.

So this is my Little Black Book.

Some are places I know and love. Others come from chefs, food writers, locals and recommendations I’ve collected while travelling. Some are firmly bookmarked for my next visit.

And some destinations have memories woven through them that no restaurant guide could possibly explain.

It will never really be finished.

That’s rather the point.

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MELBOURNE

Home.

And perhaps the reason I’m so ridiculously particular about coffee.

Melbourne has spoiled me.

Fine dining exists comfortably beside Vietnamese bakeries, Greek tavernas, Japanese counters, Italian institutions, Lebanese grills, Chinese restaurants, tiny wine bars and pubs where the food has become almost as important as the beer.

It’s sophisticated without needing to announce it.

And after travelling the world, there are still things Melbourne simply does better.

FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

Gimlet at Cavendish House • Vue de Monde • Minamishima • Attica • Flower Drum • Grill Americano • Grossi Florentino • Cutler & Co. • Society • Reine & La Rue • Amaru • Navi • Ides • Côte Basque

Andrew McConnell’s Melbourne deserves almost a Little Black Book of its own: Gimlet, Supernormal, Cutler & Co., Cumulus Inc., Marion and Côte Basque.

MELBOURNE INSTITUTIONS & FAVOURITES

France-Soir • Supernormal • Cumulus Inc. • Tipo 00 • Osteria Ilaria • Di Stasio Città • Embla • Bar Lourinhã • Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca • Entrecôte • Lee Ho Fook • Kisumé • Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar

ASIAN MELBOURNE

Minamishima • Flower Drum • Lee Ho Fook • Supernormal • Sunda • Aru • Serai • Lagoon Dining • Soi 38 • Dodee Paidang • Shujinko • Nam Loong • Hutong Dumpling Bar

CHEAP, CULT & COMPLETELY WORTH IT

Pho Hung Vuong Saigon • A1 Bakery • Nhu Lan Bakery • Very Good Falafel • Butchers Diner • Soi 38 • Shujinko • Sal’s Authentic New York Pizza • Hector’s Deli

COFFEE

Market Lane Coffee • Patricia Coffee Brewers • Brother Baba Budan • Proud Mary • Seven Seeds • St. Ali • Code Black Coffee • Vacation Coffee • Dukes Coffee Roasters

BAKERIES & SOMETHING SWEET

Lune Croissanterie • Baker Bleu • Agathé Pâtisserie • Tivoli Road Bakery • To Be Frank • All Are Welcome • Bread Club • A1 Bakery

WINE & COCKTAILS

Caretaker’s Cottage • Apollo Inn • Bar Margaux • Eau De Vie • Byrdi • Above Board • The Everleigh • Arlechin • Embla • Gerald’s Bar • City Wine Shop • Marion

PUBS

The Napier Hotel • Builders Arms Hotel • The Standard Hotel • Marquis of Lorne • The Lincoln • The Palace Hotel • The Railway Hotel

MARKETS & GRAZING

Queen Victoria Market • South Melbourne Market • Prahran Market • Footscray Market • Dandenong Market

WANDER

Carlton → Fitzroy → Collingwood • Flinders Lane → Treasury Gardens • South Yarra → Royal Botanic Gardens • South Melbourne → Albert Park • St Kilda → Elwood • Footscray → Maribyrnong River

SEE & DISCOVER

National Gallery of Victoria • State Library Victoria • Royal Exhibition Building • Royal Botanic Gardens • Shrine of Remembrance • Abbotsford Convent • Heide Museum of Modern Art • Block Arcade • Royal Arcade

SHOP & BROWSE

Collins Street • Flinders Lane • Gertrude Street • Chapel Street • Queen Victoria Market • South Melbourne Market • Block Arcade

And yes, if you tell me you’ve discovered Melbourne’s best bánh mì, I will require evidence.

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SYDNEY

Sydney knows exactly how beautiful it is.

The harbour does most of the showing off, but the food scene deserves just as much attention.

Serious restaurants, neighbourhood trattorias, extraordinary seafood, immigrant food, old pubs and places where lunch comes with one of the world’s great views.

FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

Quay • Bennelong • Saint Peter • Firedoor • Oncore by Clare Smyth • Sixpenny • Bentley Restaurant + Bar • Aria • Margaret

SYDNEY FAVOURITES

Pellegrino 2000 • Ester • Alberto’s Lounge • Clam Bar • Restaurant Hubert • Icebergs Dining Room and Bar • Mr. Wong • Lankan Filling Station • 10 William St • Poly

CHEAP, CULT & MULTICULTURAL

Spice Alley • Marrickville Pork Roll • Gumshara • Happy Chef Seafood & Noodles • Mamak • Cairo Takeaway • Faheem Fast Food • Cabramatta’s Vietnamese restaurants

COFFEE & BREAKFAST

Single O • Mecca Coffee • Edition Roasters • AP Bakery • Room Ten • Paramount Coffee Project • Bills

DRINK

Maybe Sammy • Cantina OK! • Old Mate’s Place • Dean & Nancy on 22 • The Baxter Inn • Caterpillar Club • Bar Planet

PUBS

The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel • The Glenmore • The Hero of Waterloo • Fortune of War • The Dolphin Hotel • The Courthouse Hotel

MARKETS

Carriageworks Farmers Market • Sydney Fish Market • Paddington Markets • The Rocks Markets

WANDER

Bondi → Bronte → Coogee • Circular Quay → The Rocks → Barangaroo • Manly → Shelly Beach • Potts Point → Elizabeth Bay • Paddington → Woollahra • Royal Botanic Garden → Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

SEE & DISCOVER

Sydney Opera House • Art Gallery of New South Wales • The Rocks • Observatory Hill • State Library of New South Wales • Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden

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TASMANIA

Tasmania is dangerous territory for a woman who plans holidays around food.

Extraordinary produce. Seafood straight from cold southern waters. Cool-climate wine. Whisky. Cheese. Old buildings. Wild landscapes.

And some seriously ambitious chefs.

HOBART • EAT

Fico • Aloft • Landscape Restaurant & Grill • Dier Makr • Templo • Bar Wa Izakaya • Institut Polaire • Peppina • The Agrarian Kitchen

CASUAL & LOCAL

Jackman & McRoss • Pigeon Whole Bakers • Daci & Daci Bakers • Machine Laundry Café • Salamanca Market • Farm Gate Market

DRINK

Sonny • Institut Polaire • Mary Mary • The Den • Preachers • Evolve Spirits Bar

WANDER

Salamanca Place • Battery Point • Hobart Waterfront • kunanyi / Mount Wellington • Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

SEE & DISCOVER

MONA • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery • Cascade Brewery • Richmond • Port Arthur

LAUNCESTON & BEYOND

Stillwater • Black Cow Bistro • Havilah • Josef Chromy Wines • Timbre Kitchen

Cataract Gorge • Tamar Valley • Bridestowe Lavender Estate • Bay of Fires • Freycinet National Park • Wineglass Bay • Cradle Mountain

Tasmania is one of those places where the journey between restaurants is almost as delicious as arriving.

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ADELAIDE & SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide has quietly become one of Australia’s great eating and drinking cities.

Then, just as you’re getting comfortable, it casually reminds you that the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills are waiting outside.

Frankly, unfair.

FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

Restaurant Botanic • Magill Estate Restaurant • arkhé • Fugazzi • Shōbōsho

EAT

Africola • Osteria Oggi • Golden Boy • Peel St • Fugazzi • Shōbōsho • Parwana Afghan Kitchen • Ballaboosta • Etica

COFFEE & BREAKFAST

Exchange Coffee • Elementary Coffee • Hey Jupiter • Peter Rabbit • My Kingdom for a Horse

DRINK

Maybe Mae • Hains & Co • Clever Little Tailor • Pink Moon Saloon • Hellbound Wine Bar • Bibliotheca

ADELAIDE CENTRAL MARKET

Go hungry.

Cheese • charcuterie • bread • fresh produce • seafood • coffee • multicultural food • and whatever smells too good to walk past.

BAROSSA

Hentley Farm • Seppeltsfield • Yalumba • Rockford Wines • Torbreck • Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop

MCLAREN VALE

d’Arenberg Cube • Wirra Wirra • Coriole • Maxwell Wines • Samuel’s Gorge • The Salopian Inn

ADELAIDE HILLS

Mount Lofty • Stirling • Hahndorf • The Lane Vineyard • Shaw + Smith • Mount Lofty Botanic Garden

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LONDON

London rewards curiosity.

Leave the obvious streets, walk through an ancient passageway, cross the Thames, disappear into Soho, order another glass of wine and suddenly the city feels completely different.

London can give you Michelin stars, brilliant South Asian cooking, Chinatown at midnight, old-school institutions, bakeries worth queueing for and a pub lunch you’ll still be thinking about on the flight home.

And after returning following a longer hiatus than I ever intended, London reminded me exactly why I keep finding reasons to come back.

FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL

Core by Clare Smyth • Restaurant Gordon Ramsay • The Ledbury • Gymkhana • Hélène Darroze at The Connaught • Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester • Dinner by Heston Blumenthal • Claude Bosi at Bibendum

EAT

The Devonshire • The Palomar • Padella • St. JOHN • Noble Rot • Berenjak • Bocca di Lupo • Barrafina • Brat • Kiln • Rules • Dishoom

CULT & CASUAL

Beigel Bake • Roti King • Lahore Kebab House • Xi’an Impression • Speedboat Bar • Mangal II • BAO • Flat Iron

COFFEE & PASTRIES

Arôme Bakery • Fortitude Bakehouse • Rosslyn Coffee • Monmouth Coffee • Kaffeine • Prufrock Coffee • Pophams • Toad Bakery • Buns From Home • Bread Ahead

DRINK

The Connaught Bar • Scarfes Bar • Dukes Bar • Gordon’s Wine Bar • Bar Termini • Swift Soho • Cahoots • Nightjar • The French House

PUBS

The Devonshire • The George Inn • The Spaniards Inn • The Grenadier • The Churchill Arms • The Holly Bush • Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese • The Lamb & Flag • The Mayflower

MARKETS & GRAZING

Borough Market • Maltby Street Market • Broadway Market • Old Spitalfields Market • Portobello Road Market • Seven Dials Market • Brixton Village

WANDER

Mayfair → St James’s → Green Park • Soho → Seven Dials → Covent Garden • Notting Hill → Portobello Road • Little Venice → Regent’s Canal → Primrose Hill • Tower Bridge → Shad Thames → Borough Market • South Bank → Tate Modern → Millennium Bridge → St Paul’s • Hampstead Village → Hampstead Heath

OLD & HIDDEN LONDON

St Dunstan in the East • Leadenhall Market • Sir John Soane’s Museum • The Wallace Collection • Postman’s Park • Temple • Inns of Court • Wilton’s Music Hall • Hampstead Pergola

SHOP & BROWSE

Liberty London • Selfridges • Fortnum & Mason • Harrods Food Hall • Burlington Arcade • Marylebone High Street • Jermyn Street • King’s Road • Portobello Road

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NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand makes it extraordinarily easy to organise a trip around food.

Exceptional produce, seafood, wine, coffee, mountains, coastlines and cities small enough that an excellent restaurant can still feel wonderfully local.

And then there are all those landscapes between meals.

AUCKLAND

Auckland deserves considerably more than a quick stop on the way somewhere else.

Māori and Pacific influences, exceptional New Zealand produce, serious restaurants, Asian food, wine and Waiheke sitting temptingly offshore.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Ahi • Paris Butter • Tala • The Grove • Onslow • Mr Morris

EAT

Amano • Hello Beasty • Gemmayze Street • Gilt • Ragtag • Tempero • Metita • Depot • Pici • Cassia

CASUAL & CULT

New Flavour • Ziggle • Napoli Contemporanea • Eden Noodles • Duck Island

COFFEE & PASTRIES

Daily Bread • Receptionist Coffee • Ozone Coffee • Coffee Pen • Amano Bakery

DRINK

Caretaker • Panacea • Hotel Ponsonby • Parasol & Swing Company

WANDER

Ponsonby • Britomart • Wynyard Quarter • Viaduct Harbour • Devonport • Mount Eden • Waiheke Island

WELLINGTON

Compact, creative and wonderfully food obsessed.

Wellington is exactly the sort of city where “one quick coffee” can derail an entire afternoon.

I approve.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Jano Bistro • Logan Brown • Ortega Fish Shack • Rita

EAT

Kisa • Highwater • Ombra • Charley Noble • Koji • Supra • Apapacho • Cicio Cacio

CHEAP & CHEERFUL

Taste of Home • KC Cafe • Rams • Keralacarte • Viva Mexico • Mother of Coffee • Fisherman’s Plate • Pomodoro Pizza

COFFEE

Fidel’s • Customs • Flight Coffee Hangar • Peoples Coffee • Prefab

DRINK

Hawthorn Lounge • Crumpet • Puffin • Noble Rot

WANDER

Cuba Street • Oriental Bay • Wellington Waterfront • Mount Victoria • Wellington Botanic Garden

CHRISTCHURCH

Christchurch is becoming considerably more interesting gastronomically.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Inati • Tussock Hill • Sugarloaf at Flockhill • Gatherings • Black Estate

EAT

Londo • Earl • King of Snake • 5th Street • Twenty Seven Steps • Odeon • Manu • Cellar Door

COFFEE

C4 Coffee • Unknown Chapter • Child Sister • Black Betty

DRINK

Austin Club • O.G.B • The Last Word • Cellar Door

WANDER

Riverside Market • Christchurch Botanic Gardens • The Arts Centre • New Regent Street • Hagley Park

ESCAPE

Waipara wine country • Black Estate • Akaroa • Banks Peninsula

QUEENSTOWN

Queenstown seems particularly dangerous for someone who enjoys beautiful scenery, excellent food and finding reasons not to go home.

Mountains. Wine. Long lunches. Lake views.

This could become a problem.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Amisfield • Rātā • Sherwood • Aosta • Nest

EAT

Botswana Butchery • Blue Kanu • Margo’s • The Grille by Eichardt’s • Fergburger

COFFEE & BREAKFAST

Vudu Café & Larder • Bespoke Kitchen • Yonder

DRINK

The Bunker • The Lodge Bar • Little Blackwood • Eichardt’s Bar

WANDER & ESCAPE

Queenstown Gardens • Lake Wakatipu • Arrowtown • Bob’s Cove • Glenorchy • Lake Hayes • Gibbston Valley • Central Otago wineries

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SINGAPORE

Singapore speaks directly to the foodie in me.

This is precisely how I like a city to eat.

An extraordinary tasting menu one evening. Hawker food the next morning. Hainanese chicken rice for lunch. Cocktails somewhere glamorous after dark.

No culinary snobbery required.

MICHELIN & SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Odette • Les Amis • Burnt Ends • Labyrinth • Candlenut • Summer Pavilion • Meta • Saint Pierre

HAWKER CULTURE

Maxwell Food Centre • Chinatown Complex Food Centre • Lau Pa Sat • Old Airport Road Food Centre • Tiong Bahru Market • Tekka Centre

Hawker centres are not the inexpensive alternative to Singapore’s restaurant culture.

They are Singaporean restaurant culture.

CULT DISHES & CASUAL EATING

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice • Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle • Song Fa Bak Kut Teh • Jumbo Seafood • Ya Kun Kaya Toast

COFFEE & PASTRIES

Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee • Apartment Coffee • Nylon Coffee Roasters • Tiong Bahru Bakery • PPP Coffee

DRINK

Jigger & Pony • Atlas • Manhattan • Native • Nutmeg & Clove • Long Bar

WANDER

Tiong Bahru • Chinatown • Kampong Glam • Marina Bay • Joo Chiat • Emerald Hill • Singapore Botanic Gardens • Gardens by the Bay

SEE & DISCOVER

National Gallery Singapore • Peranakan Museum • Thian Hock Keng Temple • Marina Bay • Singapore Botanic Gardens

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MEXICO

Mexico holds memories for me.

I’ve loved visiting over the years, and it is one of those places where remembering a trip isn’t necessarily about one famous sight or one spectacular dinner.

It’s fragments.

A flavour. A song. Heat on your skin. The colour of a building. Tequila poured around a table. A meal you still remember. A street you suddenly recognise. That particular Mexican warmth that makes everything feel slightly more alive.

There are countries I want to discover.

Mexico is one I want to keep returning to.

And perhaps what I love most is that it refuses to be only one thing.

Ancient and contemporary. Sophisticated and wonderfully chaotic. Extraordinary restaurants and extraordinary food eaten standing up. Desert and ocean. Art and architecture. Markets and glamorous hotels. Mezcal and Michelin stars.

Mexico City and Los Cabos are completely different creatures.

I have memories of both.

And I want more.

MEXICO CITY

Mexico City is a magnificent assault on the senses.

It is enormous, layered, historic, creative, stylish, noisy, delicious and almost impossible to finish.

Which makes me adore it.

I could spend a morning wandering through a museum, disappear into a market for lunch, walk through Roma Norte all afternoon, have one of the world’s great dinners and still somehow find myself eating tacos later.

That is a city with its priorities firmly in order.

FOR SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY

Pujol • Quintonil • Rosetta • Máximo • Sud 777 • Em • Esquina Común • Expendio de Maíz • Masala y Maíz • Gaba • La Once Mil

LONG LUNCHES & RESTAURANTS I WANT TIME FOR

Contramar • Entremar • Nicos • Meroma • Mi Compa Chava • Azul Histórico • El Cardenal

Mexico City understands lunch beautifully.

Seafood, tostadas, cold drinks, conversation and absolutely no compelling reason to look at the clock.

TACOS & STREET FOOD

El Vilsito • Los Cocuyos • El Huequito • Taquería Orinoco • El Pescadito • Los Parados • Mercado de Coyoacán

My approach to taco research is simple.

One is research.

Three is comparative research.

Anything after that is commitment to academic excellence.

MARKETS & GRAZING

Mercado de Coyoacán • Mercado de San Juan • Mercado de Medellín • Mercado de Jamaica • La Merced

This is where I want to taste rather than simply look.

Fruit. Chiles. Mole. Tostadas. Tamales. Tortillas. Things I recognise and plenty I don’t.

COFFEE, BAKERIES & SOMETHING SWEET

Panadería Rosetta • Quentin Café • Buna • Blend Station • Café Avellaneda • Churrería El Moro • Pastelería Ideal

TEQUILA, MEZCAL & COCKTAILS

Licorería Limantour • Handshake Speakeasy • Baltra Bar • Hanky Panky • Café de Nadie • Fifty Mils

Tequila is already my weakness.

Mexico does very little to discourage the situation.

WANDER

Roma Norte → Condesa • Centro Histórico • Polanco → Chapultepec • Coyoacán • Juárez • San Ángel

HISTORY, ART & ARCHITECTURE

Museo Nacional de Antropología • Museo Frida Kahlo • Palacio de Bellas Artes • Templo Mayor • Castillo de Chapultepec • Casa Luis Barragán • Museo Soumaya • Catedral Metropolitana

ESCAPE THE CITY

Teotihuacán • Xochimilco • Puebla

There are cities where you tick off the attractions.

Mexico City makes me want to abandon the list altogether.

LOS CABOS

And then there is Baja.

Los Cabos holds a completely different collection of memories for me.

Mexico City makes me want to keep walking.

Los Cabos makes me want to stop.

Desert running into ocean. Intense blue water. Baja seafood. Beautiful hotels. Long lunches. Warm evenings. Tequila at sunset and that extraordinary landscape where everything seems stripped back to earth, cactus, rock, sky and sea.

I have loved visiting here.

There is nostalgia attached to it now.

And returning isn’t really about recreating old memories.

It is about discovering what the next ones will be.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Cocina de Autor • Acre • Flora’s Field Kitchen • Manta • Árbol • Al Pairo at Solaz • LÍMO Heritage Kitchen at Suelo Sur • CarbónCabrón

FARM, FIELD & FIRE

Flora’s Field Kitchen • Acre • El Huerto Farm to Table • LÍMO Heritage Kitchen

This is one of my favourite sides of Los Cabos.

Beautiful produce, open-fire cooking, gardens and farms with the Baja landscape sitting just beyond the table.

Lunch needs several hours.

Obviously.

EAT LIKE YOU’RE IN BAJA

Metate • Los Tres Gallos • Lumbre • Nao • Omakai • Rubas Bakery • La Lupita Taco & Mezcal

SEAFOOD

Give me whatever came out of the water recently.

Fish tacos • ceviche • aguachile • tostadas • grilled fish • chocolate clams • shrimp

Cold drink.

Sunshine.

Done.

SAN JOSÉ DEL CABO

Historic centre • Gallery District • Mission San José del Cabo • Thursday Art Walk when in season • local galleries • cafés • restaurants • wandering without much purpose

San José has always appealed to me more when I slow down enough to actually walk it.

CABO SAN LUCAS

Marina • Land’s End • El Arco • Medano Beach • the coastline

And yes, Cabo can be loud.

Sometimes that’s rather the point.

TODOS SANTOS & BEYOND

Todos Santos • Cerritos • East Cape • Palmilla • Baja desert • Sierra de la Laguna

A road trip through Baja, somewhere beautiful for lunch, nowhere urgent to return to.

That belongs in my Little Black Book too.

Mexico City feeds my curiosity.

Los Cabos holds memories.

Mexico keeps giving me reasons to return.

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BUDAPEST & HUNGARY

Hungary is different.

It always will be.

This isn’t simply another country in my Little Black Book, because Hungary isn’t somewhere I discovered by travelling.

It is part of me.

Hungarian was my first language. The flavours are familiar before I even taste them. The humour, the noise around a family table, the habit of feeding people whether they’re hungry or not, the stories, the traditions and the particular Hungarian talent for turning a small gathering into several hours of food, conversation and another drink are woven into my understanding of home.

I can travel halfway around the world and be fascinated by everything unfamiliar.

Hungary gives me the opposite feeling.

Recognition.

Even a ridiculously quick return can be enough.

Lángos.

A few pálinka.

Cards with my cousins.

Everybody laughing, everybody talking, and already discussing when I am coming back.

There are things I’ll always keep private because they belong to family rather than the internet.

But that feeling of returning?

That belongs here.

BUDAPEST

Budapest is one of Europe’s great cities, although I am admittedly incapable of being impartial.

The Danube dividing Buda and Pest. Parliament glowing beside the river. Thermal baths. Grand cafés. Ruin bars. Markets. Art Nouveau façades. Old apartment buildings hiding extraordinary courtyards.

And food that has moved far beyond the outdated idea that Hungarian cooking begins and ends with gulyás.

FOR SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY

Stand • Platán Gourmet • Borkonyha Winekitchen • Babel • Salt Budapest • Essência • Rumour • Costes

MODERN HUNGARIAN

Stand25 Bisztró • Rosenstein • Gettó Gulyás • Két Szerecsen • Textúra • 21 Hungarian Kitchen

THE CLASSICS

Gulyás • pörkölt • paprikás csirke • halászlé • töltött káposzta • hortobágyi palacsinta • lecsó • rakott krumpli • nokedli • libamáj • túrós csusza

This is food with history.

Paprika, onions, sour cream, dumplings, slow cooking, smoke, preserved flavours and recipes that belong as much to family kitchens as restaurants.

And please, never call every Hungarian stew “goulash” in front of a Hungarian grandmother unless you enjoy being corrected.

LÁNGOS

Hot.

Fresh.

Garlic.

Sour cream.

Cheese.

No reinvention required.

There are moments for tasting menus.

There are moments for standing somewhere eating lángos while trying not to get sour cream on yourself.

Both deserve equal respect.

SOMETHING SWEET

Dobos torta • Esterházy torta • somlói galuska • rétes • krémes • kürtőskalács • túrógombóc • palacsinta • bejgli

Hungarians have never really understood the concept of a modest dessert.

Another inherited characteristic I am quite comfortable with.

GRAND CAFÉ BUDAPEST

Gerbeaud • Centrál Grand Café & Bar • New York Café • Ruszwurm • Café Gerlóczy

Some are grander, some more touristy, some more nostalgic.

But Budapest café culture is part architecture, part history and part cake.

I am prepared to endure all three.

MARKETS

Central Market Hall • Hold Street area • Fény Street Market • Lehel Market

Look for paprika, sausages, pickles, cheeses, bread, seasonal fruit, salami and things that remind you Hungarian cuisine exists well beyond restaurant menus.

DRINK

Hungarian wine deserves far more international attention.

Tokaji Aszú • Furmint • Hárslevelű • Kékfrankos • Kadarka • Egri Bikavér • Villányi Franc

And then, of course, there is pálinka.

Plum remains particularly close to my heart.

Pálinka is not something to shoot without thought. In Hungary it is hospitality, celebration and ritual.

Pour.

Look each other in the eye.

Egészségedre.

To your health.

Then discover why everyone suddenly has another story to tell.

WANDER BUDAPEST

Castle District → Fisherman’s Bastion → Matthias Church • Parliament → Shoes on the Danube → Chain Bridge • Andrássy Avenue → Heroes’ Square • Jewish Quarter • Gellért Hill • Margaret Island • Bartók Béla Boulevard

SEE & DISCOVER

Hungarian Parliament • Hungarian National Gallery • House of Music Hungary • Museum of Fine Arts • Great Synagogue • St Stephen’s Basilica • Hungarian State Opera • Hospital in the Rock • Memento Park

THERMAL BUDAPEST

Széchenyi • Gellért • Rudas

Hungarians have been sitting in hot mineral water discussing life for centuries.

There are worse cultural traditions to adopt.

EGER

Eger deserves much more than a day-trip footnote.

Baroque streets. A castle with an enormous place in Hungarian history. Thermal bathing. Cellars cut into volcanic rock.

And wine.

Lots of wine.

EAT & DRINK

Macok Bistro • local csárda cooking • traditional Hungarian dishes • local cheeses • Eger wine cellars

DRINK

Egri Bikavér • Egri Csillag • Kékfrankos • Kadarka

WANDER

Eger Castle • Dobó Square • Basilica • Minaret • Baroque centre • Valley of the Beautiful Woman

The Valley of the Beautiful Woman may have one of the more irresistible names in European wine tourism.

Naturally, I approve.

TOKAJ

Tokaj isn’t simply a wine destination.

It is part of Hungarian cultural identity.

Vineyards, volcanic soils, historic cellars and one of the world’s great sweet wines.

DRINK

Tokaji Aszú • dry Furmint • Hárslevelű • Szamorodni

DISCOVER

Tokaj • Mád • Tarcal • Sárospatak • historic wine cellars • vineyard roads

Give Tokaji Aszú time.

This isn’t dessert wine you throw back at the end of dinner.

It’s liquid history.

LAKE BALATON

Balaton is summer Hungary.

Water, wine, swimming, little towns, vineyards, fried fish, lángos and that wonderfully Central European ritual of escaping to the lake as soon as the weather allows it.

NORTH SHORE

Balatonfüred • Tihany • Badacsony • Káli Basin • Szigliget

SOUTH SHORE

Balatonboglár • Fonyód • Keszthely and the wider lake region

EAT & DRINK

Fresh fish • lángos • fröccs • local cheeses • seasonal produce • Badacsony wines • Balatonfüred-Csopak wines

A cold fröccs overlooking Balaton in summer is proof that luxury occasionally requires nothing more complicated than wine, soda water and a very good view.

PÉCS

Mediterranean in spirit, layered with Roman, Ottoman and Hungarian history.

Early Christian Necropolis • Pécs Cathedral • Mosque of Pasha Qasim • Zsolnay Cultural Quarter • Király Street • Villány wine country nearby

SZENTENDRE

Colourful houses, cobbled streets, galleries, Serbian heritage and the Danube.

Yes, it attracts visitors.

Go anyway.

SZEGED

Paprika country.

Szeged Cathedral • riverside • Art Nouveau architecture • Pick salami • halászlé

If you’re going to understand Hungarian fish soup, this is one of the places to start arguing about which regional version is correct.

Hungarians are extremely good at culinary disagreements.

DEBRECEN & HORTOBÁGY

Debrecen • Great Reformed Church • Hortobágy National Park • Great Hungarian Plain • traditional pastoral culture • csárda cooking

This is another Hungary entirely.

Open skies, horses, plains and traditions far removed from Budapest.

THE HUNGARIAN COUNTRYSIDE

And then there is the Hungary that will never fit neatly into a travel guide.

Small towns.

Villages.

Gardens producing far too many tomatoes.

Fruit trees.

Homemade preserves.

Someone’s uncle producing pálinka of highly debatable alcohol content.

A table that somehow keeps acquiring more food.

Cards appearing after dinner.

Arguments conducted with enormous enthusiasm and absolutely no lasting consequences.

Family.

This is the Hungary I know differently.

Not through Michelin stars or hotel recommendations.

Through belonging.

Some places I travel to discover.

Hungary is somewhere I return to remember.

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EUROPE

Europe is where my Little Black Book becomes completely unreasonable.

The continent contains too many extraordinary culinary cities to pretend this section will ever be complete.

PARIS

Arpège • Le Clarence • Septime • Frenchie • Bistrot Paul Bert • Bouillon Chartier • Du Pain et des Idées • Marché des Enfants Rouges

ROME

La Pergola • Roscioli • Armando al Pantheon • SantoPalato • Pizzarium Bonci • Forno Campo de’ Fiori

FLORENCE

Enoteca Pinchiorri • Trattoria Sostanza • Trattoria Cammillo • Il Santo Bevitore • All’Antico Vinaio • Mercato Centrale

VIENNA

Steirereck • Plachutta • Figlmüller • Café Central • Café Sperl • Naschmarkt

BARCELONA

Disfrutar • Lasarte • Bar Cañete • Cal Pep • El Xampanyet • La Boqueria

SAN SEBASTIÁN

Arzak • Akelarre • Martín Berasategui • Mugaritz • Ganbara • Bar Néstor • La Viña

COPENHAGEN

Geranium • Alchemist • Kadeau • Barr • Juno the Bakery • Torvehallerne

ON MY EUROPEAN RADAR

Lisbon • Madrid • Amsterdam • Prague • Athens • Istanbul • Lake Como • French Riviera • Dubrovnik

Give me Michelin stars.

But also give me the trattoria with eight tables, the pintxo bar where everybody is standing, the market stall, the bakery selling out before lunch and the grandmother’s recipe that has outlived every food trend invented by TikTok.

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NORTH AMERICA

This chapter is waiting to become considerably longer.

NEW YORK

Le Bernardin • Per Se • Eleven Madison Park • Atomix • The Four Horsemen • Katz’s Delicatessen • Russ & Daughters • Joe’s Pizza • Los Tacos No.1 • Levain Bakery

MONTRÉAL

Joe Beef • Mon Lapin • Au Pied de Cochon • Schwartz’s • St-Viateur Bagel • Jean-Talon Market

TORONTO

Alo • Edulis • Quetzal • Richmond Station • PAI • St. Lawrence Market

VANCOUVER

Published on Main • Kissa Tanto • AnnaLena • St. Lawrence • Miku • Granville Island Public Market

CHICAGO

Alinea • Oriole • Smyth • Kasama • Monteverde • Pequod’s Pizza

SAN FRANCISCO

Atelier Crenn • Benu • State Bird Provisions • Zuni Café • Swan Oyster Depot • Tartine Bakery

LOS ANGELES

Providence • n/naka • Hayato • République • Guelaguetza • Holbox • Grand Central Market

NEW ORLEANS

Commander’s Palace • Dooky Chase’s Restaurant • Galatoire’s • Willie Mae’s • Cochon • Café du Monde

There is something particularly appealing about a continent where dinner can mean a world-famous tasting menu, tacos from a counter, smoked meat, bagels, soul food or pizza eaten standing on a pavement.

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AND THEN THERE’S THE REST OF THE WORLD…

Tokyo.

Kyoto.

Hong Kong.

Bangkok.

Seoul.

Buenos Aires.

Marrakech.

Istanbul.

The Amalfi Coast.

San Sebastián.

Copenhagen.

And countless places I haven’t discovered yet.

I have no desire to simply collect countries.

I’d rather understand a little of each place I visit.

Eat what it does beautifully.

Learn some of its history.

Walk its neighbourhoods.

Find its markets.

Try something I’ve never eaten before.

Talk to people.

Look up at the architecture.

Find somewhere unexpected.

And occasionally stay longer than planned.

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TELL ME YOUR SECRET

This is where you come in.

Whenever I travel, some of my best discoveries come from people who actually know the city.

And I’m not necessarily interested in the restaurant with the six-month waiting list.

I want to know about the family-run place hidden around the corner.

The chef doing something extraordinary.

The noodle shop you’ve been going to for fifteen years.

The tiny wine bar tourists walk straight past.

The perfect coffee.

The old pub with a peculiar story.

The market stall I need to arrive early for.

The bakery that sells out by eleven.

The building most visitors never notice.

The walk you take when you want to fall in love with your city again.

If you know somewhere exceptional in a city I’m visiting, tell me.

Expensive, inexpensive, famous, obscure, Michelin-starred or a plastic chair beside the best plate of food in town.

I really don’t care.

It simply has to be good.

I’m particularly susceptible to recommendations involving exceptional food, fascinating history, beautiful architecture, excellent coffee and very good tequila.

Consider yourself warned.

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PERHAPS WE’LL DISCOVER IT TOGETHER

Of course, sometimes a recommendation becomes considerably more interesting when there’s someone to share it with.

A table for two.

A neighbourhood neither of us knows particularly well.

A spectacular hotel bar.

A market on Saturday morning.

A reservation we’ve been looking forward to for months.

Or an afternoon that begins with lunch and acquires absolutely no respect for the original itinerary.

That is one of the things I love most about travelling.

You never quite know which places, meals, conversations or people will become part of the story.

My international tours, Fly Me To You, Travel Me To You and Alessia Without Borders arrangements can all be found through my International pages.

Perhaps I’m already coming to your city.

Perhaps you know somewhere that belongs in my Little Black Book.

Or perhaps you’re about to give me an entirely new reason to visit.

Until then, I’ll keep adding to the list.

Because the world is enormous.

My appetite is considerable.

And I have barely started.

Alessia Vale xx