The world’s 100 best dishes have been crowned for 2025 – and none are from the UK

If you’ve been paying attention to the culinary world in recent days, you might’ve already seen that TasteAtlas, international experts on all things food, named both Scottish and English amongst the 100 best cuisines in the world, and that London was also mentioned as one of the best cities for food on Earth. Not too shabby for a little island with soil that’s mostly good for carrots and potatoes.

Despite our successes, Britain haven’t made the cut for TasteAtlas’ list of the world’s 100 best dishes. Yep, the site has curated a list of the best foods on this planet, and somehow fish and chips wasn’t mentioned. Talk about a snub.

But what could possibly be better than a roast dinner or shortbread? Well, the people at TasteAtlas believe that nothing is better than a lechona.

If you’re British you’ve probably never even heard of this pork delicacy, but it’s widely consumed for special occasions in its home nation of Colombia as one can feed a lot of people. As in, up to 100 people, if you need it to stretch. It is essentially a pig, roasted and stuffed with various vegetables like onions and peas, and a bunch of fresh herbs. Admittedly, it does sound pretty tasty.

In second place was a traditional Neapolitan pizza, which is also hard to disagree with. Pizza is probably one of the most popular foods on earth, and for good reason. This specific kind is generally just topped with mozzarella, tomato, and basil, on a thin, doughy base, without any bells or whistles, according to TasteAtlas. Clean, classic – delicious.

The picanha, known as a rump cap in the UK, took the bronze. This cut of beef comes from just above the cow’s, well, rear, and doesn’t have much fat in it, making it a very sought after piece of meat. It’s especially beloved in Brazil, where it’s a staple barbecue meat.

You can have a look at TasteAtlas’ full list of the world’s 100 best dishes here. Even though a couple of our classics deserved recognition, it’s a pretty solid list. You never know, you might even find your new favourite meal tucked away in there.

Eating in the UK

TasteAtlas may not think we’ve got the best food on Earth, but we here at Time Out do. You’ll want to know where to get your hands on some. We’ve uncovered some secret foodie locations that you might not have thought of, and we have lists of the best restaurants in the country, as well as our picks for the most romantic places to eat in Britain.

Did you see that on New Year’s Day British heritage railways will sound their whistles at the same time? 

Plus: Why is there a Guinness shortage in the UK?

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