Europe's Best Street Food - Short Guide for Foodie Travelers (2024)

If you are a foodie traveler, then you should know where to go to make your stomach enjoy to the fullest. We offer you a list of places to visit and try out the finest meals and bites without overpaying and wasting your precious time waiting for a place in luxurious restaurants. Check out the list of Europe’s best street food!

1) Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo

You surely did not expect such a small, relatively unknown country as a destination on our list. When in country’s capital, do not miss out on trying cevapi, the most famous Bosnian meal, which is actually minced meat formed into small sausages and served in a flatbread with onions and ajvar (a delicious traditional sauce which is a must-try!) on the side. Each serving contains 10 cevapi and you can find for ~3€, which is a small price for a pretty filling meal. Next thing to enjoy in is burek, an amazing sort of pie made with filo pastry. It can be filled with cheese, minced meat, potato or spinach. It can be eaten at any time of the day, but people usually eat it for breakfast. Roasted chestnuts are another thing you have to try. You will find vendors selling them on every corner, especially on Bascarsija. For a small price of 1,5€ you will get a handful of chestnuts roasted in a pan over a fire and enjoy a tasty snack. When it comes to desserts, many of you have already heard of baklava, a yummy cake of Turkish origin made of flaky pastry and pieces of nuts and honey. You can buy baklava in every bakery and enjoy it any time.

2) Spain – Madrid

This country was a birthplace of many world-famous meals like paella and churros. Apart from being Spain’s capital, Madrid is a center of street food from every region of the country. If you happen to be there in winter, then it is cocido time. It is a traditional Spanish stew usually made of a vegetables, chorizo sausage, pork and chickpeas. To get such a unique taste, the stew is simmered 4 hours prior to the serving. Huevos rotos or ‘broken eggs’ is a popular dish served as a plate of fried potato strips with an egg on top, which is typically broken with a bread. For the bravest of you, we recommend you to try Oreja a la Plancha, which includes eating pig ear. It is served as a large portion spiced with salt, paprika and lemon, with pieces of bacon and mushrooms on side. Visiting Spain would not be complete without having at least one tortilla or Spanish omelette, so be brave enough to try the craziest combinations of vegetables and meat since Madrid really has them all.

3) Poland – Krakow

Poland is known as a cheap, yet delicious country which has so much to offer and wherever you go, you will get your money’s worth since both food and drink are very affordable. To start with Krakow, we will point out Maczanka, a famous sandwich made of a slice of pork loin served on a roll and covered with a rich gravy. It’s a messy, but yummy business. One simpler delicacy is kumpir, a huge baked potato split in the middle and filled with stuffing you choosed. You can order it with cheese and chives or even fried eggs and bacon. Don’t leave Krakow without tasting Oscypek cheese, one of the most favourite local delicacies. Some people it only the salty version of the sheep’s milk cheese, but other eat the grilled version stuffed with cranberries. According to most of the tourists, it is their favourite thing to try while in Poland’s second largest city.

4) Turkey – Istanbul

One of the world’s largest city is a cradle of many cultures. Many of local dishes have a long tradition and became symbols of local cuisine. One of the most popular things to try out is Dilli Kaşarlı Tost, basically a grilled cheese sandwich with slices of beef tongue. It is one of the Turkish ‘drunk food’ meals, often consumated after the night out when most of the bars are closed. Gözleme originated from Anatolia and today is one of the essentials of Istanbul’s fast food. They are delicious hand-rolled crepes which are best to order when filled and grilled. The thin dough is rolled around the fillings you choose, e.g. cheese, potatoes, meat or onions and then prepared with butter as it cooks. Most of you have heard of döner, made of thinly sliced meat served in a flatbread or stuffed into a crusty roll. It comes with sauces, salads of your choice and even with french fries. We have to mention dondurma as well, a traditional Turkish ice cream made of natural ingredients and today sold mostly in historic parts of the city. It comes in many flavours, like kaymak or pistachio.

5) Bulgaria – Sofia

Bulgaria is not the most popular tourist destination, but those who did go there, claim that the food was amazing. Modern Bulgarian cuisine includes lots of salads and some more salads. The most popular ones are shopska (cucumbers, tomatoes, white cheese and onions) and snejanka with yogurt. Soups are also very in a high demand, from bob chorba, a bean soup, to shkembe chorba, made of pork or veal tripe, milk and garlic. Don’t forget to try Kiopoolu, a traditional dish made of roasted peppers, garlic, aubergine and tomatoes. One portion costs only 1,50€. However, the most popular ‘snack’ among tourists is kebapche, very similar to Bosnian cevapi, usually served in a portion of three kebapcheta, with a side dish like french fries with grated cheese on top.

6) Germany – Munich

The capital of Bavaria is a little piece of heaven for every meat lover, served usually in form of a sausage. The best way to start your day there is with a boiled Weißwurst (white sausage), bread and sweet mustard, with a big glass of Weißbier on the side. You can even have your meat dose in a salad called the Wurstsalat. For those of you who came there and expected less meat, you can have a famous big pretzel covered in salt for breakfast. After some meat, try Rumfordsuppe, a soup made from vegetables and barley. Another delicious Bavarian dish is Bayerische Kartoffel, a potato served with chives and creme fraiche. Also, do not leave Munich without tasting Spaetzle, which are basically noodles, often served with cheese or even bacon.

7) Italy – Rome

All roads lead to Rome and Italian cuisine. If you are lucky enough to visit Rome, the cradle of civilization, here is the list of the food you absolutely have to have a bite of. Polpette di bollito are small, circle-shaped pieces of food made of simmered pulled beef. The ‘disks’ are shaped, breaded and then fried. They are eaten as a snack for 2€ a piece. Next thing to try are supplì, fried rice balls of French origin. They are one of the most authentic Roman street foods. Some newer versions of the dish include pasta instead of rice, but the main flavouring remains meat sauce. Another famous snack are Roman panini, or sandwiches, spread all over the town, varying from the simpler versions like prosciutto and mozzarella to so-called ‘panini gourmet’. Trapizzino is a typical Rome’s fast food snack, a triangular sandwich which combines the best of pizza, calzone and tramezzino. Although it is a recipe only few years old, it gained huge popularity both among locals and tourists. It usually costs 2€ – 4€, depending on the size.

8) Greece – Athens

This historic capital of Greece offers so many traditional local dishes to its visitors. Almost everyone today has already tried or at least heard of the worldwide famous gyros, made of meat, usually pork or chicken, served in a flatbread like pita with tomato, onion, mustard and tzatziki sauce. While in Athens, trying souvlaki is also a must, a dish made of small pieces of pork meat and some vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually served with grilled bread on the side. Koulouri is another popular local snack. It is a round bread, usually encrusted with seeds of sesame or flax. There are so many Greek delicacies to try there so we will just enumerate you few more. Saganaki or fried cheese, a tasty dessert made of filo pastry with honey Feta Me Meli, Mousakka consisting of meat and vegetables in bechamel sauce and grilled cheese…

9) Czech Republic – Prague

First associations to Prague are usually architecture and super-cheap beer. But you should know what to eat there to fill your stomach and not to empty your wallet. Palačinky are similar to French crepes, but they are much thinner and prepared with a different method. You can choose the filling, from jam, chocolate and hazelnuts to even meat and spinach. Trdelnik is something unavoidable while in Prague. This dessert made of pastry dough around a wooden stick baking it over an open flame is served warm and topped with sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Although it originated in Hungary, gulaš is now part of Czech tradition. It is prepared with less vegetable and more beef meat, even though sometimes you can have it with chicken or pork. Knedliky are dumplings served with a meat dish or sometimes with gulaš. When it is prepared with fruit or jam, it can be a delicious dessert. Also, make sure to try langose, which look a bit like pizza, but are in fact a deep fried bread with a tomato sauce, garlic and mozzarella on top.

10) France – Nice

France is well-known for its cuisine, and Nice makes a perfect place to try them out while resting at Côte d’Azur. Try the grilled chickpea flour and olive oil pancake known as socca. In Nice you can even find socca beer and socca chips with traces of the original recipe. Pan Bagnat literally means bathed bread (in olive oil, of course). The locals put all seasonal products inside the bread making a huge burger out of it. Pissaladière is a salty-sweet delicacy, a flat tart topped with olives from Nice, caramelized onions and anchovies. And do not think about leaving Nice without having a bite of farcis, vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes hollowed out and stuffed with meat, garlic and bread crumbs. The vegetables are baked and then served hot or cold.