La Merenda, Nice, France
Cash only, no phone, closed every weekend, tiny and quirky, La Merenda in Nice's Old Town is one of a kind. Dominique Le Stanc, who previously ran the star-studded Le Chantecler (in the Negresco Hotel on the sea front) took it over in the mid-1990s as a going concern that had been serving simple Niçoise cuisine for some 20 years. He changed very little. He does the cooking single-handedly in the simple, open kitchen at the back. The menu, scrawled on a blackboard, is a short selection of local classics which, depending on the time of year, might include pâtes au pistou, tripes à la Niçoise and tarte aux blettes.
• 4 rue Raoul Bosio, lamerenda.net, open five days a week, for lunch and dinner, reservations accepted, mains from €12
Recommended by: Mauro Colagreco, who opened the Mirazur along the coast in Menton (30 avenue Aristide Briand) in 2006.
00100 Pizza, Rome, Italy
From the crew behind Sforno, which many pizza pundits swear is Rome's best, comes this much more basic slice-punting outpost near Piazza di Santa Maria Liberatrice, in Testaccio. It's cutely named after its Roman postcode combined with the grade of semolina flour used in the various pizzas, focacce pugliesi and trademark tramezzini (little triangular sandwiches). The latter play to the local love of offal in combinations such as tripe, tomato and mint; braised oxtail, celery and carrots; and tongue with parsley and garlic. There are a handful of places to perch inside the shop but it's primarily a takeaway.
• Via Giovanni Branca 88, 00100pizza.com, open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, no reservations, cash only, pizzas sold by weight, from €13 a kg
Recommended by: Craig Stoll, owner of four Italian restaurants in San Francisco: Delfina (3621 18th Street), two Pizzeria Delfinas and Locanda.
The Coffee Collective, Copenhagen
The Danes take their coffee very seriously and the Coffee Collective in Nørrebro is widely regarded as Copenhagen's best caffeine dispensary – no small compliment in a city where the competition and the coffee are so strong. A micro-roastery is run by an expert team of award-winning Danes – roasters, buyers and baristas – and the beans are sourced directly from farmers around the world, with sustainability and fair trade, as well as quality, at the top of the agenda. If you are a coffee geek you'll be in heaven here: you'll have to try very hard to find a better crema on your espresso.
• Jægersborggade 10, Nørrebro, coffeecollective.dk, open seven days a week for brunch and Monday-Friday for dinner, no reservations, credit cards accepted
Recommended by: Rene Redzepi, chef and co-owner of Noma (Strandgade 93, Copenhagen).
Bodega Donostiarra, San Sebastián, Spain
Enjoy a traditional San Sebastián bar experience while avoiding the heaving streets of the old town at old-timer Bodega Donostiarra, established in 1928 in the Gros district. Behind the undistinguished blue frontage and frosted glass windows is a real locals' local, though it sees a huge influx of outsiders during the International Film Festival at the nearby Kursaal. A mouth-watering menu of pintxos (Basque tapas) and meaty grills, including the 800g (28oz) chuleta steak, goes down well with a txikito or two of wine. Don't miss the tuna, anchovy and guindilla (chilli pepper) pintxo, a celebration of the region's traditional canned seafood.
• Calle Peña y Goñi 13, +34 94 301 1380, bodegadonostiarra.com, open Mon-Sat for breakfast and lunch, reservations and credit cards accepted, dinner about €40 a head
Recommended by: Andoni Luis Aduriz who opened the award-winning Mugaritz at the age of 26 (Otazulueta Baserria Aludura Aldea 20, Errenteria).
Tapas 24, Barcelona
The Eixample tapas bar from chef Carles Abellan, who did 16 years under you-know-who of El Bulli fame, and also runs the long-running and more experimental Comerç24, and Bravo24 in the W Hotel. In Tapas24, a small brightly lit basement, the short menu of crowd-pleasing snacks is designed as a cutlery wrapper and scrawled across mirrors and blackboards. These include classic salt cod croquetes, Catalan favourites such as tripe stew, and the trendy fast-food hits that are the Bikini – a ham and cheese toastie (griddled sandwich) flecked with black truffle – and the McFoie Burger – a beef and foie gras paté in a crispy bun.
• Carrer de la Diputació 269, L'Eixample, +34 934 880977, projectes24.com, open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, reservations and credit cards accepted, tapas from €2.50
Recommended by: Albert Adrià, younger brother of Ferran, and the chef behind Tickets (Avinguda Parallel 164, Barcelona).
Chez Georges, Paris
Paris is full of establishments that go by the name of Chez Georges. While the Latin Quarter's Chez Georges old-school cellar bar is certainly worth stopping by for a verre or deux, chances are if anyone recommends a Chez Georges they're talking about this Bourse bistro. Opened by Georges Brouillet back in 1964, it gives the impression that very little has changed since – from the menu crammed with comforting bourgeois classics to its well-heeled regulars. Although, admittedly, the latter now have to grudgingly share the invariably packed, long narrow room with camera-happy tourists.
• 1 rue du Mail, +33 1 4260 0711, opening hours, five days for lunch and dinner, reservations and credit cards accepted, mains from €23
Recommended by: Fergus Henderson, owner of London's St John bar and restaurant (26 St John Street) and the chef behind the St John Hotel.
Kizilkayalar, Istanbul
Kizilkayalar first managed to distinguish itself from Istanbul's vast sea of fast-food stands in the late 1970s, when some bright spark, noting that the doner market was somewhat flooded, came up with the concept of the islak (wet) burger. Its sweetly pungent smell first hits you as you wait outside. The burgers are doused in an oily tomato sauce, containing relationship-ending quantities of garlic, then steamed for several hours inside a sticky bun to produce the world's slipperiest slider. Order two right from the start, as putting your hand back into your pocket after your first is a very messy business.
• Siraselviler Caddessi 6, Taksim, Beyoglu, kizilkayalar.com.tr, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no reservations, cash only, burgers about 80p each
Recommended by: Semsa Denizsel of Kantin in Istanbul (Akkavak Sokagi 30).
Curry 36, Berlin
In a city with countless stalls and even a museum dedicated to the Berlin-born cult of the currywurst – sliced pork sausage coated with spicy ketchup – this imbiss (snack stall) opened in 1980, has somehow managed to gain favour over much of the competition. Perhaps it's the convenient location near Mehringdamm station or the long hours they keep – the late-night queues include a diverse mix of tourists, taxi drivers and loyal locals. You'll always be asked mit oder ohne?, with or without, referring to your sausage and its skin. Undecided? Order a mixed double to get one of each.
• Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg, +49 30 251 7368, curry36.de, open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no reservations, cash only, currywurst from €1.40
Recommended by: Hendrik Otto, who has overseen Vitrum (Potsdamer Platz 3, Berlin) in Berlin's Ritz Carlton since 2008.
Ostermalms Korvspecilist, Stockholm
Some Swedes would argue that the world's best hot dog stand is in Stockholm. Known to locals as Bruno's, after its German-born owner Bruno Fortkord, it's near the city's famous Östermalms Saluhall indoor food market. Select your sausage from a list that takes in Argentinian chorizo, Tunisian merguez, Hungarian kabonos and Slovenian kransky, before heading to the heartland of the wurst, with Switzerland, Austria and Germany represented. Vegetarians get grilled halloumi. All are cooked to order and stuffed inside a grilled baguette with sauerkraut and your mustard of choice. Forget ketchup – Bruno makes his own spicy tomato sauce.
• Nybrogatan 57, Östermalm, ostermalmskorvspecialist.se, open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, no reservations, cash only, hot dogs from about £3
Recommended by: Magnus Nilsson, who opened the tiny 12-seat, Fäviken Magasinet in Sweden (Fäviken 216, Järpen).
De Kas, Amsterdam
Chef Gert Jan Hageman saved this municipal nursery on the southern edge of Amsterdam from the wrecking ball and soulless redevelopment and opened his restaurant in 2001. The restored 1926 hothouse, complete with brick chimney, is now a spacious modern dining room filled with natural light. Given the setting, Hagemen decided the best way forward was to become a grower, with vegetables and herbs for the seriously seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired menu either grown on site or on his own land 10km away. Book the chef's table for a tasting menu that makes the most of all those fresh vegetables and herbs.
• Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3, Watergraafsmeer, +31 20 462 4562, restaurantdekas.nl, opening hours, five days for lunch and six days for dinner, reservations and credit cards accepted, main courses from €20
Recommended by: Jonnie Boer, acclaimed Dutch chef with a collection of restaurants built around his flagship, De Librije (Broerenkerkplein 13-15, Zwolle).
