We can all relate to the pre-trip scramble for restaurant recommendations: You scour destination guides, text acquaintances who know the place, revisit articles you've bookmarked over the past year. You do whatever it takes to ensure that, once you get where you're going—whether it's Paris, Dakar, or Bangkok—you don't waste a single meal. After all, the promise of new flavors is reason alone to travel.
Keeping track of all those recommendations can get unwieldy, however, which is why we've created this map—a snapshot of the world's best restaurants, according to people who eat for a living.
We have celebrity chefs, from Massimo Bottura to Rodney Scott, sharing the locations of the mom-and-pop spots they keep returning to. You'll hear from food show host Padma Lakshmi, pinpointing the restaurant she calls a “home away from home.” Cookbook authors Julia Turshen and Jet Tila spill on the hometown meals they send friends to—and the dishes they would hop on a flight for. In every corner of the world, we have dropped a pin on expert-recommended eateries, with tips on what to order, the vibe you'll find, and why these experiences have made such an impression on people who know a one-of-a-kind restaurant when they see it. We hope this will make future trip planning easier; it might help you decide where to go next.
Below, our interactive map of the restaurants—which range from roadside stalls to Michelin-starred—to travel for. Click through and save these restaurants for your next adventure.