Lisbon, Portugal

Digital nomads and travel bloggers elevated Lisbon into a food destination, but beyond pastéis de nata and bacalhau, the average tourist restaurant meal is unremarkable, scoring just 3.2 out of 5 on local food critics' aggregated reviews. That rating is 18% lower than the typical European capital's average and trails Barcelona's 3.8 average. Lisbon's culinary appeal relies on just two dishes—a narrower repertoire than any other city on this list—while its dining costs have surged 35% since 2019, outpacing inflation by 10 percentage points. The hype, fueled by 2 million Instagram posts tagged #LisbonFood, vastly outweighs the actual gastronomic depth.