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If you ask me, the best part of any trip is the excuse to eat your way through a new city. Sure, you’ll have a splendid time dining at fancy five-star restaurants and cult cafés, but I’ve always had my most memorable meals at the local markets. These gastronomic meccas bring together the region's top street eats in a super affordable, high-energy setting – and we know the best ones to visit. If your tummy's starting to rumble, you’ll want to grab some snacks before reading on.
As part of their quest to find the world’s highest-rated food markets, researchers at AllClear analysed almost 400,000 online reviews across the 100 most popular spots. While North America and Europe dominated the top 20, two Australian food markets ranked among the global top five.
In major news for one of Australia’s most underrated capitals, the Adelaide Central Market has officially landed on the podium in third place. It ranked just behind Philadelphia’s historic Reading Terminal Market and the world-famous Borough Market in London, with a massive 94.2 per cent of four- or five-star reviews.
One of the largest undercover fresh food meccas in the Southern Hemisphere, the Adelaide Central Market buzzes with more than 70 traders from 40 nationalities under the one roof. Visitors frequently describe it as “food heaven”, and we couldn’t agree more. Reviews particularly rave about the freshly shucked oysters from Angelakis Bros, artisan dairy from the Smelly Cheese Co and spicy laksa from Asian Gourmet. We also love Saudade for flaky Portuguese tarts, The Market Bread Bar for crusty sourdough and cakes, and Lucia’s for beautiful pasta and paninis.
Adelaide Central Market wasn’t the only Aussie icon to make the leaderboard. Tying for fourth place with Valencia’s Mercado Central was the South Melbourne Market, both recording a huge 93.4 per cent of four- or five-star reviews. Having served the city for more than 150 years, this market is as much a tourist destination as it is a source of fresh food. Wanna know what’s good? Reviewers love the oyster bar at Aptus Seafood, the pandan croissants at Agathé Pâtisserie and the cricket ball-sized dumplings at South Melbourne Dim Sims.
Hungry for more? You can explore the full ranking below.
The world’s 20 highest-rated food markets
1. Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
2. Borough Market, London
3. Adelaide Central Market, Adelaide
=4. Mercado Central, Valencia
=4. South Melbourne Market, Melbourne
6. Torvehallerne, Copenhagen
7. Marché Bastille, Paris
8. Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver
9. Chelsea Market, New York City
10. Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco
11. Milwaukee Public Market, Milwaukee
12. La Boqueria, Barcelona
13. Marché Atwater, Montreal
14. Pike Place Market, Seattle
15. Viktualienmarkt, Munich
=16. Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok
=16. Mathallen Oslo
18. Municipal Market of São Paulo
19. St. Lawrence Market, Toronto
20. Foodhallen, Amsterdam