In 2016 I had an especially big year of eating, discovering some wonderful dishes from around the world as well as at home.
So, rather than knock any of my local favourites out of my annual list of best dishes, I decided for the first time to create a list of dishes I’d enjoyed while travelling overseas as well. It was a hard choice, but here are the best dishes I had from around the world in 2016 that I’m still dreaming about going back for.
Garlic Snails L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges (Lyon, France)
Snails in garlic butter seems too simple to order in one of the world’s most legendary restaurants. But I did, and it was a revelation. Who knew snails could be so tender, or that garlic and herb butter could be this vibrant? And I loved the ceramic snail shells! So glad I had the chance to eat the food of Paul Bocuse while the great chef was still alive.
Roast Guineafowl The Gannet (Glasgow, Scotland)
Scotsman Peter McKenna, an alumni of Liam Tomlin’s Sydney restaurant Banc (which closed in 2003), has a great passion for local seasonal produce. On this visit he fed us delicious foraged budding wild garlic shoots (a short-lived annual treat) and Judas ear mushrooms with roasted free-range guineafowl from a local farm.
Fish’n’Chips The Crown at Bray (Bray, England)
Everyone goes to Bray to eat at The Fat Duck (see below) but there’s a lot to love at Blumenthal’s two local pubs as well. Not least a piece of sweet, firm turbot in a light crisp batter (a soda-siphon is the secret) with triple-cooked chips, house-made tartare and crushed peas. Update: The Crown is no longer part of Blumenthal’s group.
Potato Tortilla Errandonea Kantina (Hondarribia, Spain)
On a rainy afternoon meandering between the towns on the French/Spanish Basque border, we stopped at this rustic café high in the Spanish hills. With very little language in common, we were greeted warmly and fed heartily, including the best potato tortilla I’ve ever had. The local cider was pretty good too!
Fondue Café Tivoli (Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland)
With wooden walls covered in traditional engravings and large ornate cow bells hanging from the ceiling, this rustic restaurant high above Lake Geneva is definitely kitsch. But the Swiss do kitsch so well! Locals and visitors alike flock here for the fondue, especially the classic moitié-moitié (‘half-half’ made from half Gruyere and half Vacherin Fribourgeois).
‘Danish’ Pastry Hotel Hafnia (Tórshavn, Faroe Islands)
They don’t call them ‘Danish’ pastries in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing community within the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948. There they’re known as wienerbrød or Viennoiserie. Call them what you will, the best ‘Danish pastry’ I’ve ever tasted was from the breakfast buffet at our hotel in Tórshavn, the Faroes capital.
Botrytis Cinerea Dessert The Fat Duck (Bray, England)
It’s hard to single out just one dish from the mind-bending Fat Duck menu, but this is the one I most want to eat again. Inspired by grape noble rot, apparently it contains over 20 separate elements including nitrogen-chilled red grape juice, aerated saffron, pear caramel-filled chocolate and citrus-infused yoghurt. I just know it tasted great!
Salt-aged Eye Fillet – The Honours (Edinburgh, Scotland) – CLOSED
I like a good steak – and the best I had in 2016 was at Martin Wishart’s smart Edinburgh bistro. Salt-aged eye fillet was cooked medium-rare (as requested) and well rested so it was tender and delicious. Excellent onion rings too. Update: The Honours closed in 2020, with Wishart now focusing on fine-diner Restaurant Martin Wishart in Leith.
Updated 02 Nov 2024
