In the food and cuisine category of the Readers’ Choice Awards, Condé Nast Traveller invited its readers to vote for destinations offering dishes that truly delight the senses.
The results revealed a striking level of consensus, with most of the honoured cuisines receiving over 94% approval from voters.
The magazine noted that the world’s most beloved culinary destinations span every continent, proving there is no single recipe or standard for great food.
From vibrant breakfasts to distinctive street eats and elegant dinners, cuisine remains an essential part of every travel experience.
According to the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, no matter how wonderful a journey may be, it cannot be truly complete without the experience of local flavours and cuisine. Each dish is not only defined by its taste but also carries within it the stories of its land of origin and its people, reflected in every ingredient and recipe handed down through generations.
Scoring 96.67 points and ranking fourth globally, Viet Nam’s cuisine earned praise for its fresh, diverse, and richly flavoured ingredients.
Condé Nast Traveller’s experts wrote: “We’ve all seen Viet Nam’s lush green rice paddies — so it’s no surprise that the country’s ingredients are incredibly fresh. Rice is transformed in countless ways: steaming bowls of white rice, soft rice noodles, silky pho, and delicate rice paper rolls. Everything is perfectly balanced with herbs, vegetables, fresh meat and signature spices.”
Viet Nam’s cuisine offers travellers authentic and fulfilling experiences, with each dish telling its own story of the nation’s culture, land, and people.
Condé Nast Traveller added that visitors to Viet Nam will fall in love with its food — from street vendors and floating markets in the Mekong Delta, to hidden local eateries and fine-dining restaurants in the heart of modern cities.
Alongside Viet Nam, the top 15 culinary destinations in the world, as voted by readers, include Thailand, Italy, Japan, Spain, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Greece, South Africa, Peru, the Maldives, Colombia, Morocco, France, and Turkey.
