Best World Cities for Foodies in 2023

The most human word we can think of is love; the next is ....food. What would life be without food? And Foodies! Yes, it is a word that means a person with a passion for food and the experience of eating, which sums up a majority of us. We define foodies as people who don't eat only to survive but value food, the creation of food, and its entire process.

The most recent study by Asher & Lyric released is the "Global Foodie Index," which was calculated using five key factors such as the number of Michelin-rated restaurants per city, the number of "World's Best Restaurants" per city, the number of national cuisines represented per city, the average cost of meals, and the number of restaurants per city per capita. They categorized one hundred fifty entries, and we highlighted the first three on the list. The ten top entries are listed below: You can learn more about the top entries on the following pages.

1 Tokyo, Japan

2.Paris, France

3.Bangkok, Thailand

4 New York, USA

5 Phuket, Thailand

6 Singapore, Singapore

7.Osaka, Japan

8.Hong Kong, Hong Kong

9.Seoul, S. Korea

10 Chiang Mai, Thailand

The methodology was based entirely on numbers, but that doesn't mean those not mentioned in the top ten are put in a bad light The food itself is a personal choice

The metrics used by Asher & Lyric were also based on the data gathered from Michelin, The World's 100 Best Restaurants, Trip Advisor, Numbeo Cost of Living Database, and OpenDataSoft. All Cities with a Population >1,000.

ASIA, YOU'VE NEVER BEEN SO GOOD TO ME

Hello Asia! 13 of the Top 20 countries are located within Asia, four are in Europe, and two are in the United States. The data also showed more diverse offerings in most cities, increasing patronage.

Big In Japan

Japan has three of the world's 15 best foodie destinations, and Tokyo leads the pack of global foodie destinations. Tokyo earned the highest marks for its number of Michelin restaurants and the number of national cuisines. Garnering an impressive 436 Michelin-starred restaurants are in Tokyo alone, and foodies can also enjoy 120 different national cuisines while dining in this stellar city.

Into The Blue

Japanese people have some of the highest life expectancies in the world, and this is often attributed to their diet! The traditional food in Japan is also often considered some of the healthiest in the world for the calorie-conscious foodie. It is one of the world's " Blue Zones," with many dishes featuring plenty of fruits, vegetables, and seafood.

Special Note from Asher & Lyric

Top-ranking Best Food Destination lists often concentrate mainly on the most significant cities, like New York and London. We aimed to dig deep and rank some lesser-known (but still significant) foodie destinations. We did our best to survey often under-represented regions, as delicious food can be found worldwide.

Study Limitations

The Michelin Guide, arguably the gold standard for foodie culture, has a heavy bias towards Asian, European, and to a lesser extent, American restaurants. Much of the world is under-represented regarding Michelin star ratings, which is an obvious limitation of our foodie study. However, Michelin is such an industry standard that it would be negligent to omit it as a factor.