All the Best Food I Ate in Venice, Edinburgh, London

I am writing this from 38,000 feet in the air, somewhere over eastern Canada, after 12 days of gallivanting in Europe. This isn’t going to be about everything that I did, but rather the best food that I ate.

I traveled to Venice for the Biennale, the world's oldest, largest, and most prestigious international contemporary art and cultural exhibition. It occurs every two years and is on display from May - November. The 61st Edition was curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, the first African woman to take this honor, who suddenly died one year before the opening. It was my first time attending and it was phenomenal.

This was my second trip to Venice and one thing I was dreading was the food. I lived in Rome for nearly three years and have eaten in nine of Italy’s regions, and Venezia, just ain’t it. There is a lot of mediocre food and there are few things I hate more than going out and eating mediocre food, so I am here to help you avoid that same thing!

I went to Ai Mercanti the first night that I was in town as I was meeting up with my friend Justine and her Aunt, both of whom have lived in Rome for many years. The restaurant was relatively small, but cute. It sits on a small courtyard and it is a place that you might not stumble upon otherwise. I had the cod, which had a Thai flavor pallete and was perfectly cooked. My friend had the squid ink risotto and loved it. the service was great and they also serve up some delicious natural wines.

Osteria da Carla restored my faith in food in Venice, single-handedly. My friend Rhea and I were looking to grab something to eat in between all the art. We were close to San Marco square, so I had low expectations, but I used Google Maps and looked at restaurants near us with high ratings. This landed us on a tiny street about a two minute walk from the square. Osteria da Carla is unassuming and absolutely delicious. The cacio e pepe stuffed ravioli - just wow. I don’t usually order ravioli, because I have a childhood aversion to it, but I’m glad I got past that to eat this. One of the best bites I have had in the last year. We also got the rabbit ragu and were blown away. My friend never had rabbit and was extremely hesitant, but she loved it. Even the green salad was delicious. Great wine. Great service. My friend Rosario went for her birthday after I gushed about it, and they loved it! Do not miss this place if you’re in Venice.

My friend dream and I stumbled into this restaurant which is on a large square. While looking at the menu, a woman said the food was great so we decided to go in. I had one of the specials, which was a pasta with pesto and stracciatella and it was GREAT. Good service as well.

The first time I came to Venice, I experienced a lot of annoying racism, and I went to Hotel Cipriani and it was my best experience by far in the city. So when I was heading back, I knew I wanted to visit again. It is one of the swankiest hotels in the city and also the birthplace of the Bellini. It will be an expensive afternoon, but it will be delicious and the service will be above and beyond. I like their Il Porticciolo restaurant. It is right on the water and perfect for lunch. The som Marco was very helpful and patient and introduced me to a chardonnay that blew me away.

I finally made it to Scotland. I have been planning a trip there for years and it just never worked out. My niece is studying abroad in London so I said I would visit but had a bit of time between Venice and London and thought it was the perfect time to visit the Scottish capital. I was pleasantly surprised by the food. Extremely fresh and lots of flavor!

This restaurant is the the Virgin Hotel, where I stayed. It has elevated takes on local classics. It was delicious, but a bit expensive. Since I was being lazy, I was grateful to have a good meal inside of the hotel. I had the lobster and the haggis croquettes.

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This was about 15 minutes from Edinburgh’s old town. I had some really delicious fish and chips here and even the mushy peas were yummy!

I went to this restaurant twice during my visit. The food was fresh and delicious and you have perfect views of the Edinburgh Castle. Part of the menu is handwritten, so I am assuming the menu rotates pretty often. I had the langoustine and while it is difficult to eat, no regrets. The second day I had steak frites. Loved the peppercorn sauce.

This is a good ole staple in London. It is a fast casual restaurant with amazing chicken. My flavor of choice is the lemon herb sauce and then I dip the chicken in the medium sauce. Yum! In grad school I ate here at least once per week and I never do a trip to London (or Johannesburg) without eating at Nando’s. I took my niece and her friends out for dinner, along with my cousin and best friend.

Dishoom is a culinary institution in London. It is some of the best Indian food you will eat. Straight forward and never misses. Another place I always eat when I am in town. The prawns and chicken biryani were the standouts. I also loved their margarita with Mezcal. There are multiple locations across the city and word on the street, they will be opening in NYC soon!

My very generous, very kind best friend sent me a random calendar invite for dinner on my birthday and I was confused because I was going to be in London and he lives in NYC. I accepted but never looked at it. A couple days later I looked and was floored that it was for dinner at Michelin starred Akoko and he was flying in. Because of him I had one of my best meals this year and an amazing weekend full of laughs and good food in London. We had a nine course tasting menu and I would say 7 of 9 courses were 8.5 or higher. My favorite was their take on a blini with caviar. I also loved the mussels and ox tongue, yes, the tongue of an ox, delicious. At £130 I felt like it was well priced also. Definitely book in advance if you want to eat there while in London.

Went to Donia for the second time on this trip and I loved it as much as the first. Great staff and amazing Filipino food. You must get the pandesal, chicken chicharron (which I am addicted to), the prwan and pork dumplings and the chicken inasal. I promise you no regrets and they are open for lunch and dinner!

If you’ve seen Chef’s Table or my WhatsApp Travel Series, Crossing Cultures, then you are familiar with culinary powerhouse that is Asma Khan. Her popular restaurant Darjeeling Express is one that I eat at on every trip to London since we met back in 2022. She also has several cookbooks out to enjoy her cuisine at home! We enjoyed the final dinner service in its Kingly Court location. The restaurant will reopen at the end of June.

I hope you find this list useful! Please share with others and let me know if you try any of these restaurants!

Be well. Travel well. Live well. Until next time: catch me if you can!

- Jessica