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. 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.