Posted on May 31, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

Image by ANDY LEDDY via Flickr

There’s nothing worse than feeling absolutely clueless about the best place to eat when you’re on holiday. There’s always that paranoia that you’re going to a) get food poisoning or  b) get ripped off.  Never fear, the Glove Box is here. The following few pointers should help tip you off on where to eat (and where not to eat) the next time you’re away.

Locals Love It

Recently while staying in Cascais, we avoided eating at a particular restaurant purely because it was based in a residential area, right across the street from our rental property and wasn’t in the thick of the town. One evening however, out of curiosity we stopped to read the handwritten menu. You can imagine our surprise when we looked inside and discovered the restaurant was packed to the rafters with locals. It could only be a good sign. Inside, the walls were adorned with awards for the chef. All of a sudden, cars were pulling up outside with whole extended families in tow. We had to laugh. As it happens, the restaurant served some of the best local seafood and traditional dishes in the area and turned out to be one of the cheapest and  best dining experiences of the trip. It was an important lesson. You can’t judge a restaurant by its location. Judge it by its clientele. The more local people, the better.

The signs of locals obviously depend on where you’re holidaying, but if you’re talking about Mediterranean Europe, you won’t find natives sitting down to their evening meal in shorts and t-shirts. Europeans tend to dress for dinner, so lookout for well dressed ladies and gentlemen and possibly their children too.

There Are  No  Promoters

If you’re stopped by a charming, smiling waiter who attempts to guess your name and nationality as you browse the English version of the menu, you know it’s time to walk on by. The same goes for menus decorated with international flags and multiple translations.

It Fills Up  Quick

On your first night, try to find out what time locals usually eat at – this can be quite late in Spain (10pm in some places), 8pm or 9pm in Portugal or 7pm in the US. Once you know, you can head out an hour or so early and wander around to see which places are filling up quickest. Get a seat while you can and mentally note some other popular spots.