Beyond the Lab

Some science. A lot of food.

26 cities · 72 places · 11 countries

I love travelling for food almost as much as I love travelling itself. I’m always chasing the places locals swear by, cafes tucked away on side streets, and meals that randomly pop back into my head on a Monday afternoon.

Click a city dot to jump to its recommendations.

Places worth travelling back for

Dublin , Ireland

8 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Elliot's They keep experimenting with new flavours, and they never miss.
  • Brew Lab A little pretentious, but honestly, it lives up to the hype.
  • Alma Their sweet potato harissa and granola bowls are so good.
Restaurants
  • The Old Spot Go for the Sunday roast.
  • Darkey Kelly's For their Guinness stew.
  • The Seafood Café Their oysters. Enough said.
  • The Hole in the Wall Best pint of Guinness in Dublin, in my opinion.
  • Bunsen Simple burgers done very, very well.

Galway , Ireland

3 places
Restaurants
  • Hooked Get the fish and chips.
  • Il Vicolo Cosy Italian food with lovely local ingredients.
  • The Dough Bros A Galway pizza stop I would happily repeat.

Killarney , Ireland

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Good Boy Bagels If I'm missing proper bagels in Ireland, this is where I go.
  • The Fat Cat Café After walking the Gap of Dunloe, their soup and sandwiches hit differently.

Kilkenny , Ireland

1 place
Restaurants
  • Campagne Such a random find on a trip. Great brisket!

Bergamo , Italy

2 places
Restaurants
  • Il Circolino Città Alta Magical atmosphere, good wine, very easy to stay too long.
  • Da Giuliana A quirky little find with great food and lovely people.

Bologna , Italy

2 places
Restaurants
  • Sfoglia Rina Probably my favourite pasta in Bologna.
  • Mò Mortadella Lab Mortadella sandwiches!

Florence , Italy

1 place
Restaurants
  • Trattoria Sabatino For a proper traditional Florentine meal.

Venice , Italy

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Rosa Salva Early morning pastries and coffee before the city gets busy.
Restaurants
  • Adagio A lovely little breakfast stop.

Rotterdam , Netherlands

1 place
Restaurants
  • Markthal Stroll around, eat cheese, buy pastries, repeat.

Berlin , Germany

2 places
Restaurants
  • Cargo Gastronomia Still confused about why some of my favourite lasagne was in Berlin, but here we are.
  • Bratpfanne Steglitz For currywurst. No complicated reason needed.

San Diego , USA

7 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Cliffhanger Café Get a hot dog and stay for the view.
Restaurants
  • The Smoking Goat Try the chorizo mussels.
  • Ironside Fish & Oyster Tuesday oyster happy hour might be one of life's better ideas.
  • Sisters Pizza Wrong coast, great pizza.
  • Jack & Giulio's Apparently I need to find an Italian restaurant in every city.
  • Cloak & Petal A good casual sushi spot.
  • Farmer & The Seahorse Made for a lazy Sunday breakfast.

Cape Town , South Africa

1 place
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Little Grand Café Try the lobster croissant!

Los Angeles , USA

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Café Dulce Try everything. Red bean, ube buns, whatever looks interesting.
Restaurants
  • KazuNori Really good hand rolls and sake.

Las Vegas , USA

1 place
Restaurants
  • Mon Ami Gabi Their Cuban sandwiches are so good.

Seattle , USA

2 places
Restaurants
  • Place Pigalle A great local spot in Seattle.
  • Pike Place Market Just wander around hungry and find your pick.

New Orleans , USA

5 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Café du Monde Chicory coffee, beignets and jazz.
Restaurants
  • Pêche Seafood Grill Probably some of the best flavours on this whole list.
  • Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar Try the chargrilled oysters.
  • Cochon Butcher Go for the muffuletta.
  • Brennan's A classic New Orleans breakfast!

Goa , India

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Baba Au Rhum A Goa café I keep wanting to return to.
Restaurants
  • The Fisherman's Wharf Seafood by the water. About as fresh as it gets.

Bengaluru , India

4 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Third Wave Coffee Coffee shops open until 11 pm. Yes, I know!
  • Blue Tokai A southern coffee gem.
Restaurants
  • Vidyarthi Bhavan Go for the dosa.
  • Kareem's Big flavours, great curries, no complaints.

Chandigarh , India

4 places
Restaurants
  • Awadhi Kathi rolls. Why are these not universal?
  • Colaba Canteen Street food energy without having to choose just one thing.
  • Sagar Ratna South Indian comfort food.
  • Home Still very hard to beat.

Zaragoza , Spain

1 place
Restaurants
  • La Bodega de Chema Try the cabrito lechal al horno.

Rovaniemi , Finland

1 place
Restaurants
  • GUSTAV Kitchen & Bar Lovely food, even better when you are hiding from a snowstorm.

Helsinki , Finland

3 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Ekberg 1852 Old-school Helsinki café charm and plenty of pastries.
  • Kaffa Roastery Come for the coffee.
Restaurants
  • Kosmos Classic Helsinki and exactly the kind of place I like finding.

New York , USA

10 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Apollo Bagels Their tomato and cream cheese bagel is ridiculously good.
  • Librae Bakery Always looking for a good croissant and coffee. This delivers.
  • L'Appartement 4F Another great croissant nearby, in case you are like me and one is not enough.
  • Junior's For the cheesecake, obviously.
  • Patisserie Tomoko A really interesting mix of French and Japanese flavours in pastries.
  • PopUp Bagels Soft, fluffy bagels that are very easy to keep eating.
Restaurants
  • Chelsea Market Less one meal, more a food crawl.
  • Duzan Possibly the best falafel I have had.
  • Bungalow Indian food with big, bold flavours.
  • Minetta Tavern Classic New York dinner energy.

Tallinn , Estonia

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • La Boulangerie Lovely pastries and coffee.
Restaurants
  • Vegan Restoran V Vegan dishes pulling flavours from all over the world.

Athens , Greece

2 places
Cafés & Bakeries
  • Little Tree Books & Coffee Books, coffee and exactly the kind of place I can lose an afternoon in.
Restaurants
  • En Athinas (Εν Αθήναις) The best spanakopita I had in Athens.

Nafplio , Greece

1 place
Restaurants
  • Pidalio Tavern A cosy local meal.