Eating in Europe: Tales of a Reformed Food Snob

The days of showing up and wandering into the best meal of your life without even trying are over.
Here are some of our favorite tips for cramming food into your pie hole.

Don’t be picky

Here’s the thing. I used to be a huge snob when it came to eating in Europe. I was absolutely obnoxious about what you should and should not eat in a specific country. I was all, do not under any circumstances eat anything but the local cuisine. You don’t eat sushi in Rome. You don’t eat french fries in Barcelona. You don’t eat teriyaki in London. You don’t eat mac and cheese in Copenhagen. And you never, ever eat McDonalds anywhere in Europe, so just get that thought right out of your head, missy. And the list goes on. I was such a snob, you guys. It was so bad.

An actual real-life Eby’s burrito. It’s really really good, you guys.
Photo credit: Eby’s

Don’t fear the burrito
The U.S. shares a border with Mexico, so you would expect — and you would be right — that you can find some freaking amazing burritos in the U.S. Better of course if you drive south of the border into Mexico, but the U.S.’s thriving Mexican communities generously share their cuisine with the rest of the U.S. population and we are all better for it. Yes we have good burritos in the United States because Mexico is like… right there. Where you wouldn’t expect to find a good burrito is in Florence, Italy. But you would be wrong.

In Florence there is this little burrito place called Eby’s. College students know it for their American-friendly cocktails, but that’s not why I go there. Their “tortillas” are more like a super thin piadina—a flat bread typical of the the Emilia-Romagna region. You choose your fillings, and everything is fresh and tasty perfectly spiced. (I get the spicy chicken and it is YUMMY.) My friend, who lives in the Los Angeles area, has confirmed that while these are not real burritos, they are absolutely delicious. When I was leading my Seattle University students around Florence, we stayed at a convent that had a curfew of 11:00pm. One night I was craving an Eby’s burrito and seriously considered knotting my bedsheets together to escape and get me one.

Yes, they are that good. Yes, you should try one.

Reservations

If you went to Europe pre-2019, most of the time you could casually wander into a great spot for dinner. This, sadly, is no longer the case. To get into the good places... and even sometimes the not-so-good places... reservations are just a must now. When in doubt, make a reservation.

Honestly, I hate that we have to do this now. My family and I like to travel loose. We want to eat when we feel like it, at a restaurant that catches our eye during our wanders... especially when we don't know where the day will take us. I prefer not being regimented beyond museum and church reservations. But there are just too damn many of us travelers now, and reservations are just an absolute must for the sanity of the staff as well as to ensure we can get a meal when we need one.

TIP: Practicing with a friend can really help your confidence when making a reservation in a foreign language!

All that being said, what's true is that sometimes you'll still be able to wander in without a reservation. And nine times out of 10, they'll ask you if you have one and if you don't, they'll just seat you anyway. But you can't count on that, and you just don't know who's going to be cool and who will turn you away. There's nothing worse than being turned away SUPER hangry with no options. Ask me how I know.

I know it can be daunting in countries where you don't speak the language. Trust me, I know. But a little work before you leave with Duolingo or other language apps, as well as sending emails or making reservations online when possible, can go a long way.

TIP: In the U.S., restaurants reserve tables for an hour or two and then they turn the tables over. But in Europe, you reserve the table for the entire evening. Unless you’re at a restaurant that caters to American tourists, they will never bring your check until you ask for it.

Eating out with kids in the UK

It is now that I turn my weary gaze to the UK and throw down a few hard-learned lessons.

The first lesson is that there are a number of restaurants in the UK that close their kitchens at 8:00pm. Sometimes 9 if they’re feeling fancy. This is shocking to say the least, especially if you’re used to traveling in Mediterranean countries where they don’t start eating until 9:00 at night.

TIP: In Mediterranean countries, their eating schedule is on-pace with surviving the hot summer months. They take siestas during the hottest part of the day, then eat once the sun has gone down and it’s finally cool enough to dig into their pasta or paella.

This was an especially interesting lesson to learn for my family of three when we landed in London and finally got into the city at 8:00pm. We quickly and painfully found that no restaurants were serving food in our neighborhood anymore. (Or if they were, they were full. Or if they weren’t full, we needed a reservation. See above.) We were starving and after wandering around and being turned down by errrryone for what seemed like 1,000 years, we finally crawled into a Tesco Express and loaded up with sad frozen foods and bags of crisps. (And a few dozen of those little cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic thank the old gods and the new.) You guys we were SO CRANKY. Soooo cranky. My family does not do well when we’re hangry af, I’ll tell you what.

“Why didn’t you just go to a pub?” you may ask. Great question! We tried. A lot. Our son was 8 at the time, and there was not a single pub in the greater London area that would allow him inside its doors after 7 or 8pm. We had to learn that on-the-ground in our hangry state, as we have never found a single guidebook or website or anything that indicated this sorry state of affairs. “Um why didn’t you check the websites of the pubs or just, I don’t know, look at the notice on the front door, losers?” you may find yourself wondering. I have yet to see a website or posted notice anywhere in the UK that outlines this rule. If you find one, let me know because omg.

So, handy tip from me to you: don’t expect to take your kids into pubs after 7pm in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Even if the pub is still serving food then, they won’t serve your kid.

A less depressing handy tip is that if for some reason you’ve ignored all of the above advice and find yourself and your kids hangry in the UK (like Anarchy in the UK but way more punk rock), Wagamama or Pizza Express are both shockingly great options. Wagamama is a super kid-friendly noodle joint that is incredibly tasty, and Pizza Express has saved our sorry asses on more than one occasion with their actually legit pizza for a huge chain.

Have you got any eating out in Europe tips to share? Let me know!