Simple tricks to figure out where to eat when you travel

Figuring out where to eat when I am travelling is one of my Achilles heels. The overwhelming amount of choice, the fear of choosing wrong and either having a disappointing meal or getting charged “tourist prices” sends me into decision paralysis.

A great tip I learned for deciding where to eat, while you are travelling, ask people around you where they like to eat, or where is a good place to eat, or what is their favourite restaurant.

You don’t even need to limit it to restaurants, ask where to get the best espresso, or the best pastry, or ask them what their favourite thing to eat is and where to get it. Literally ask a variety of people you come in contact with where to eat. Ask the person leading your day tour, ask people on your day tour (they will also have good suggestions), ask the salesperson at the shop where you are buying something, or the waiter who is serving you.

You can ask at your hotel, but be aware that most concierge or hotel staff have a list of referrals they use as part of an agreement with that restaurant. If you do ask the hotel staff, phrase it in a way that will get you a better answer. Instead of saying, “can you recommend a good place for dinner”, ask “what is your favourite place for dinner”. You can follow this up with “what’s the best thing on the menu in your opinion?” This will get you a much better suggestion that you can feel confident with.

After you have asked someone for the place they recommend, get them to write down the name for you. It is so easy to forget what they just said, or maybe their accent is difficult to understand. The best way to do this is to open your phone to the notes section and ask them to write the name down for you so you remember it (or get the spelling correct).

After they are finished, you can type in the information to give you reference of what that place is and who recommended it. You can also have a notepad and pen handy and give them this to write down the information, but I do prefer the phone method because if they have terrible writing you may not be able to decipher what they wrote. If you are using pen and paper, and it is difficult to read, write down beside it what it says immediately so you don’t forget and you will be able to read your writing at later time.

This is what I usually have in my notes:

Beast Burger – Chiang Mai, Thailand, the guy I met at the mall, best burgers in town.

Then when I am back at my accommodations I look up the restaurant online to find the address and directions and add it to the note for future reference. When you do visit recommended places, try to remember to make a note about your experience of the place and what dish you had and/or liked so you can pass this information forward to help someone else out.

For more travel tips, see my article about saving money on travel.