Get your fill of the most exciting and delicious European street food. Visiting a restaurant is always a good idea if you want a several-course traditional meal, but street food has a certain charm that somehow makes you feel closer to the country itself…
While Europe has a number of distinct and highly-popular cuisines, posh restaurants, local cafes, and expansive menus dedicated to top-tier recipes, sometimes you wish for something a little simpler, right? Especially when exploring. Right there and then, your best option is street food!
And it is not like European street food is a last resort sort of thing. Gaining more and more popularity, the industry is adding more flavors, more surprises, and a lot more vendors than ever before. So, keep on reading to find out the best street food you can find while walking around and getting to know European cities.
1 Bifana, Portugal
Mainly, all tours to Portugal include some kind of deliberate run-in with the cuisine. Known for refreshing and delicious flavors, the country proudly presents the same qualities in its seemingly simple street food.
Bifana is what you would call your perfect sandwich. An ideal snack or even a meal for when you are exhausted after touring and need refreshment, it energizes you to go further and introduces you to old, traditional food.
Made with thin slices of pork that are marinated and simmered in a sauce of white wine, garlic, and paprika, Bifana can be a thoroughly satisfying dinner, even! Served on soft rolls with mustard and piri-piri sauce, it has a pleasant aftertaste and is often considered the perfect comfort food.
2 Viennese Apfelstrudel, Austria
What was once a food of aristocrats and too expensive for middle-class workers is now the most popular dessert you can get while roaming the Austrian streets.
Viennese Apfelstrudel is undoubtedly the best-known Austrian dish, its recipe dating back to the 1500s. Like pizza in Italy, it is the country’s national dish and an instant sign that you are, in fact, in Austria.
The pastry is savoury and delicious, with a warm and sweet apple filling inside. The apples are cooked with cinnamon, sugar, and breadcrumbs, giving them the perfect crunch and flavour that will certainly calm your inner sweet tooth. The dough is quite simple, made of flour, oil, and salt, but its simplicity perfectly accompanies the apples and leaves you wanting more.
You can find all kinds of variations of the dessert. Some add a bunch of raisins, sweet sauces, or ice cream, so you will definitely find something for yourself.
3 Langos, Hungary
Keep on exploring Europe’s gastronomy by taking the Vienna to Budapest train. You have more stuff to try!
A typical Hungarian food that every local knows how to prepare, Langos is a deep-fried flatbread that has many variations in terms of topping, sauces, and sides. The dough itself is basically the same as your regular pizza dough, but the main difference is deep frying it. Afterward, you can ask for all sorts of fillings or toppings, including yogurt, mashed potatoes, cheese, sausages, sour cream, and many more.
This effortless yet multidimensional Hungarian meal is as common as water. Meaning, every street food truck you stop by will have something to offer; only you might have to look for the desired toppings. Nevertheless, Langos is so popular you will not have to look for long!
4 Pretzels, Germany
There is perfection in simplicity. Oddly enough, we are referring to German pretzels! While in many other European countries, Pretzels are usually served sweet, with sauces, syrups, or fruit, traditional German ones are more salty than sweet. Made up of simple yeast, water, salt, flour, and a pinch of sugar, it certainly lacks the flavor that would put it next to all desserts but is rather lovely with a bratwurst or a cold beer.
The snack is so popular all over Germany they even have their own specific dip that is used every time before cooking one. It gives the Pretzels an additional spice and color that will lure you in and make you stop for it every time you see a food truck!
5 Waffles, Belgium
Yes, yes! Everyone in the world loves waffles, and nowadays, everyone makes them. However, as close as they come, no one can prepare a waffle as well as the Belgians. And it will only take you one stop on the street to find that out!
The Waffles are often served as breakfast at most Belgian restaurants, making it all aesthetically pleasing with whipped cream, strawberries, and sugar powder. However, since we are talking street food, you can get one in the middle of the night if you wish.
The flavour is sweet and savoury, often paired up with chocolate spread and fruit. You can eat it as a snack, dessert, and even a full meal if you like sugary things. There are more than enough lovely street food trucks in Belgium that are prepared to introduce you to the original Waffle.
Get your fill of the most exciting and delicious European street food. Visiting a restaurant is always a good idea if you want a several-course traditional meal, but street food has a certain charm that somehow makes you feel closer to the country itself. Grab some cash, and let’s go!
