What Country Has The Worst Food?
When I travel, I tend to craft my itinerary around food. Most of my research is dedicated to food instead of learning the cultural background. I really don’t care about the historical significance of some ancient temple, I just want to know where to eat.
But that task becomes increasingly difficult when traveling to a country with horrible cuisine.
So if food is the primary factor in determining where you should travel next, cross these countries off your list. A new survey taken by over 2,000 people with traumatized taste buds resulted in this list of 9 countries with the worst cuisine in the world. They are…
#9. Netherlands — 1.7%
Can’t argue here. Pea soup, deep fried sausage and pickled raw herring are staples of the Dutch diet. Even though I think the desserts make up for it, their lousy cuisine is a cruel roadblock on the way to Sugarville.
#8. Philippines — 1.8%
When stew is the most popular food on the menu, you know you’re in for crappy eats. Here’s a brief example: at work, if Tuesday is chicken taco day, Wednesday will be chicken tortilla soup day. That’s because stews are a lazy way to use leftover food. However, stews are also an uninventive way to throw a bunch of shit into a cauldron and feed a family of ten with total disregard for their sense of taste. Just because you’re full doesn’t mean you’re happy.
#7. Ireland — 1.9%
Know why the Irish drink a lot? Because they don’t care about flavor when they’re drunk. Good thing, too, because all they have available is meat, potatoes and cabbage.
#6. Australia — 2.2%
I’m pretty sure Vegemite is entirely responsible for this figure.
#5. Germany — 2.7%
I stand by my hypothesis that any nation with a significant beer culture has terrible cuisine. Whether that’s because they spent more time crafting beer than food recipes, or because beer makes people crave terribly unhealthy bar food, no one will ever know. You can expect cold weather diet staples in Germany — pork, potatoes and cabbage — and nothing more.
#4. Russian Federation — 3%
Russia is one of the coldest place on earth, yet it’s inexplicably the home of cold pizza and cold soup. Why the hell would you want to eat cold soup made of raw vegetables when it’s minus-30 outside? No wonder they love vodka. I’d drink my days away too if my diet consisted of cold soup and jellied meat.
#3. China — 3.8%
We’ve all been to enough hole-in-the-wall strip-mall joints vaguely titled “Chinese Food” to know that Chinese food COULD be good if it wanted to, but usually isn’t. More disturbing is that Chinese food has an uncanny ability to make you MORE hungry after eating it. There’s no logical reason why someone who just ingested two pounds of heavy fried rice, chicken drenched in an alarmingly bright colored sauce and oily vegetables striped of all nutritional value can miraculously desire more food.
#2. United States — 10%
Everyone loves burgers and hot dogs, but when that’s considered national cuisine, you know you’ve got problems. There’s no excuse for meat loaf, and even though fried chicken can be deliriously delicious, it’s contributed to making Americans the fattest nation on the planet. Nothing is considered worthy of eating in the U.S. until it’s been deep fried, blanketed with cheese or covered in some kind of sugary sauce. Come on, this country considers French fries a vegetable.
#1. United Kingdom — 24.6%
If you didn’t see this coming, you might be legally blind. British food is undeniably and unquestionably horrific, which is why it’s far and away THE WORST CUISINE ON THE PLANET. It’s like a crime scene on a plate. From the terribly unappetizing names — they have a dish called spotted dick for crying out loud! — to the horrible ingredients — cow’s blood and pig trotters? — everything about British food is just awful. It’s not just tasteless and scary (they eat jellied eals; why the hell would you jelly something that’s already slimy?), it’s also confusing: they have dishes called pudding that in no way, shape or form resemble pudding. And come on, haggis alone is enough to warrant the top spot. About the only good thing is fish and chips, but unfortunately it’s all downhill from there. That’s sayin’ something.
What do you think? Do you agree with the list? What country do you think has the worst cuisine?
Jetpacker 
Anon 
ROBIN 
Weves 
Robbie 
Julie 
Deanna 
darko 
Constanza 
Alex 
I’m loving the fact that your lists about “the best” foods, etc. Agree with most of the list, but I have a soft spot for all Asian foods… although insects and dogs are out!
@Cam: If by Asian food you mean Thai, then yes, I totally agree.
I want to live in Thailand for a month just to eat (and terrorize my taste buds).
True, heavy foods suck when it’s nice weather. But when you’re all bundled up, nothing beats a good Irish stew in a rye bread bowl with a pint of Guinness. Same goes for German food–a good sausage and potatoes with a pint is perfect when it’s freezing out. British food does suck though. I definitely agree with that one.
@Christine: I love fish and chips, but when that’s about ALL that’s good to eat, it kinda ruins the travel experience.
I’ll admit that I’m just okay with London as a travel destination, and a lot of that has to do with the crappy food. At least the culinary landscape is dominated by Indian food, which is almost always good — even at fast food joints!
China? Really? I might be biased but China has some amazing cuisines. You must not be eating in the right places. Lol I think Chinese food outside of China are catered to the local taste buds so it’s not as authentic as the food they actually serve in China.
@Monica: I bet Chinese food is really good IN China, but it’s hard to find good Chinese food in America.
It’s kinda like getting a taco at Taco Bell and saying you’ve eaten Mexican food. Not even close! It’s so Americanized; it doesn’t even resemble authentic Mexican cuisine.
Until I go to China, I’ll have to agree that the food isn’t spectacular. Usually it’s drenched in a sauce that’s either too salty or too sweet.
Shaun and I went to London on a meager budget. Because we really didn’t have money to be going to fancy restaurants, we found ourselves roaming the streets for food, always hungry lol. Needless to say we did fill up on fish and chips a few times.
@Erica: I ate the same thing almost every meal in the Czech Republic: pork and dumplings. Even though it was really dense, it warmed me up and it was hearty enough to keep me sustained for hours.
But what happens come summer time and all that’s available is still the typical cold weather food?
Oi! Were not that bad … Well, okay, some of our stuff is a little weird, but hey, you can’t knock Sunday dinner or Eton mess. And as a Brit, I have never known anyone to eat jellied eels or pig trotters, ever.
I have no clue what Eton mess is, but you’ve gotta admit, even if it is good, it SOUNDS like it would be revolting. I don’t particularly like eating food that looks OR sounds messy.
Sunday dinner on the other hand… that sounds elegant. Not descriptive at all — what’s in the dinner? — but elegant nonetheless. Sounds like something the Queen would eat. And if it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for anybody.
One thought who are these 2000 people and where are they from? There were 2000 kids in my High school. And every weekend I watch Football with a crowd of 45000. Small number to judge the worlds cuisine when we have a population of 6.5 billion+
Chinese food in the states is not at all authentic, everythigns named Panda express or panda inn and it’s very limited and seems to be orange chicken, poo poo plater and I’ve not seen that many chinese restraunts,English Chinese is a bit more authentic it’s cooked by real chinese people for starters, they’ve have been here since the days of the opium trade.. but it too has been catered to English taste-buds here and consists of dishes from all over asia including viatnam the home of spring rolls, Real chinese food is actually very healthy and not artificial at all, much simpler than what we’re all used too. But sweet and sour chicken is the same in china and here I’ve had it over there along with steamed rice, and wontons. Delicous these 2000 people must be from a small village in France and hate all the worlds food but theres…
Russian food, I don’t know great amounts about but I like Kievs and with every country they have reasons for their dishes.
Stews are worldwide as it’s a way of preserving all the nutrience in food, you don’t lose it all as the liquid keeps the vitamins etc and it can be very tasty, I don’t know what stews you’ve been eating but I seem to remember the British Navy set up the EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY to ensure the western world had a vast variety of spices to flavour such dishes.
And If you can find me one person that eats pigs trotters in Great Britain since the Medieval times. I’ll eat some jellied eals, which most people don’t like but it’s just one of those dishes some people will eat, no one makes the jellie when the eals are boiled they naturally secrete it… Other countries not on the worst food list eat Testicals,Frogs legs and snails and baby animals…cough cough frenchies!
Different parts of the worlds have dishes that seem odd because their food is regional and they have to make do with local ingredients.
As for germany it is fatning, come on they invented the Hamburger and Frankfurtur, but delicous, Mushroom strongonoff anyone or Strudel? It’s the high calories to survive the cold winters, and they are probably the most organised, efficent and hardest working nation in the world, buy a bosch washing machine it will out last you.
But they have no sense of humour or famous comedians for that matter. I don’t think the “Don’t mention ze War” Sketch in Fawlty towers went down too well in Germany…
For me French Cuisine is complex, snobbish flim flam containing things that even the poorest people wouldn’t fancy eating..Yes when your rich why not enjoy some Frog legs, blue blooded anpibians that secrete mucus yum…and snails soaked in milk mmmmhhh no thanks. I only really like their croissants and bread and maybe they’re ratatouille as it’s a peasants dish and more to my taste.
Italians got to be one of the best Cuisines.
I think this is ridiculous.
It’s not been noted that (desite Japan having the most michelin decorated resturamts) the UK has some of the most recognised and best resturants in the world. It’s resturants are not only top-ranking in the world (see for example the Fat Duck and Nobu) but it is the most metropolitan and safest place to eat in the world.
Our temporate climite insures that we have less vermin and insect infestations, our wealth ensures quality for the most part, our manners ensure hygene and our diversity inspires variety.
Have you not eaten in Turkey…Egypt…Saudi Arabia, place were you would get sheep eyes as a delicacy as opposed to “haggis” which is considered a joke anyway.
Also do not confuse British with “English”, the English diet is far superior to the Welsh and Scotish (health statistics prove this) and further to this do not confuse the cusine of the south and the north! They are as different as French and German!
@Weves: This has more to do with which country has poor food native to that particular country. When you think of good food, you probably think of Japan, France, Spain and Italy. You can find those types of foods in virtually any country. Like you said, Nobu is world renowned — there are 10 Nobu restaurants in the U.S. and 22 in the world, including London — but it’s Japanese food, NOT English food.
So while the UK may be home to many famous restaurants, they all don’t specialize in traditional British food.
Japan has sushi and ramen. Italy has pasta and pizza. England has… fish and chips. That’s a pretty big drop off. And because fish and chips is the signature dish of England, it doesn’t have a very good international reputation. I mean, if I’m in the mood for something non-American (which I often am because American food isn’t that good), I’ll look for a Thai or Mexican place. I’ve never searched for a British restaurant — ever. I think the only place I could even get British food around here would be at a pub, and pretty much all you can get there is fish and chips. I don’t imagine many people craving British food.
Even people who visit England tend to eat at Indian or Asian restaurants because that’s what’s good and popular. What you would consider traditional English food doesn’t have a large fanbase (I’m not sure if it does in England?). The guidebooks we got for London don’t even recommend any British restaurants.
I’d also contest that the UK is the safest place to eat in the world. Japan is even more metropolitan and has a shockingly low crime rate. London has its fair share of homicides, but Tokyo is arguably the safest big city in the world.
@Robin: All surveys are just a small snapshot of the public’s opinion. Travelers are more likely to go to England than Uganda or Nicaragua, so perhaps there are countries out there that have worse tasting food than England, but not as many people get to experience it (which might be a good thing). While not the most accurate, I’d certainly say this survey properly sums up the opinions of travelers’ pretty well. I haven’t met anyone yet that likes traditional English food, though I have met plenty of people who enjoy eating IN England, though it’s always Asian or Indian food. In fact, our favorite restaurant in the entire world is in London — The Punjab Restaurant!
Look at it this way… travelers may consider British food the worst in the world, but it’s also one of the most visited countries in the world. That says a lot about the people, the history and the attractions. So does that make up for the bad food?
The national dish of the United Kingdom, that includes, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Is Chicken Tikka Masala which although thought to be Indian, it was invented in Scotland and is in fact is a British dish, we started the spice trade and because of it you find spices native to India used in south America cooking and vice versa…
Most the dishes you ate in the punjab aren’t native to india, they don’t have bombay potatos, they’re all twists on Indian food using English Ingrediants and started in the victorian times during the Raj, by Indian Immigrants and are very much part of our cuine, so much so on Nintendo cooking guide under the UK it offers Inidan and Chinese dishes.
Second most popular food has to be the Humble Sandwich, invented by the Earl of Sandwich who wanted something to eat whilst playing cards without getting his hands messy so told the servent to stick a bit of meat between two slices of bread… and the world seems to love a good sandwich, almost everyone eats it daily for lunch in the UK. If we base the world popularity and copy of the sandwich it’d make English food one of the most popular.
As for Fish and chips, yes it’s delicious but once in a blue moon. And best when bought down by the coast, freshly caught and fried in animal fat, not sunflower oil as it’s done in London.
I think most the world likes English food without realising it, If you like sponge cake then you like English food.
Without our food the world would have no convenient Lunchtime snack and wedding cakes would really suck.
I’d still like to know who these 2000 people are, as considering there are 195 countries. That’s only 10 people per a country and unfairly Britain which isn’t even a country is ranked worst…shows what they know. England, Wales and Scotland are countries.
It’s like saying European food is the worst since Germany wasn’t popular and nor was Russia or The Dutch, because they share the same continent as France or Italy it brings them all down.
I think England got a bad mark based on repuatation not actual taste, I bet people hear of Jellied eals and think that’s all we eat. French people eat Snails and frogs and they’re ranked one of the best?
Anyway good debating over this with you we can agree to disagree on the matter and I only hope you will oneday revisit England and track down the Illusive English food.
http://www.rules.co.uk/ try this place… this is the real English food and I think it may compete with the French Gourmet cuisine… It was my nans favorite restraunt.
But the nice Punjab managers said the recipes were passed down for generations! How could we not trust nice old Indian men?
Chicken tikka masala is pretty awesome, and I noticed that that was the dish most commonly ordered by natives when we were in London.
I’m not sure if England was considered the worst based on reputation and not taste, but it certainly may have influenced traveler’s taste buds before they arrived. Honestly, we didn’t know much about British food until we were actually in London, and after a few disappointing experiences, we started to hear about how bad the food was from others — even a few locals!
I would hope people are wise enough to know that jellied eels and fish and chips isn’t all Brits eat, just as I would hope people are wise enough to know that the French don’t eat snails and frog legs everyday. I mean, for a country that has a crepe stand on every corner, why eat frogs everyday!?
One day we’ll surely be back in London, and we’ll try for a third time to find a restaurant serving proper and delicious English food. Third time’s a charm, right?
Yeah I’d have to agree that whomever these 2000 people interviewed for the survey, they were obviously very ignorant of the best foods these countries have to offer.
Count me as the only person ever to crave English cuisine. Ironically I craved it while in London. London is packed with restaurants that want to cater to international travelers and unfortunately I found trying to find authentic English food very difficult.
In defense of Fish’n Chips, It tastes great, any time of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner). But the English don’t eat it everyday. It’s the same as fried chicken. Tasty and filling, but very unhealthy.
So what kind of English food did you crave?
Next time we’re on London, we’ll have to look out for it. But like you said, it’s not easy finding traditional English food. Which leads us to believe it’s not popular with locals either.
Hey, you don’t have to defend fish ‘n chips. Everyone knows fish ‘n chips is awesome. It’s like a hamburger: even a bad one is good. I’ve never stopped eating a hamburger I didn’t like!
“#9. Netherlands — 1.7%
Can’t argue here. Pea soup, deep fried sausage and pickled raw herring are staples of the Danish diet. Even though I think the desserts make up for it, their lousy cuisine is a cruel roadblock on the way to Sugarville.”
So do the Dutch really eat that much Danish food? Are the Dutch people so high on pot that they don’t know they’re eating Danish food? Seriously, I’d have no desire to eat that crap even if it were my own nation’s food, let alone that of some neighboring country!
Why must you focus only on the bad of America.
For all we know some of the foods that are known to have orgined from certain countries could not have. America is a country that hAs not existed as long as other so how could we have invented something original.I agree American food is fatting but I thought we were talking about who has the best cuisine not who has the unhealthiest. Even you said friend chicken is delicious. Do not judge us on our fast food chains. Yes fast food has developed from America but we have regular restaurants that serve healthy food. I think America doesn’t deserve to be one of the world because at least our food is editable. America take something that’s good nd puts it’s own twist. We should be noted for our creativity! We have many cuisines . Personally southern food or new England food is the best. I am from Louisiana and we have a creation cuisine called Cajun cooking. Cajun cooking contains a staple like rice and meAt usually chicken and adding greens herbs and hot spices. If
We ARE American, so we know all about the various forms of American cuisine. Yes, it’s creative to take dishes from other countries and put your own spin on it (like Chicago and New York style pizzas).
And yes, SOME of it is good. But when you compare American food — whether it be gumbo, fried chicken, clam chowder or green chile burgers — to Thai or Italian or Spanish or Mexican cuisine, it doesn’t compare.
And a lot of that does have to do with the fact that American food is so unhealthy. We don’t feel bogged down and tired and thirsty after eating Thai food like we do American. And European travelers probably aren’t used to that kind of miserable feeling when they come to America and eat, which is likely why some of them voted American food the worst.
Like we said, we like fried chicken… but we only want to eat it once every few months. Thai food? We could eat that everyday.
how about India, Pakistan & Arabi countries? did you tried it? dont finalize youe worst food if you didnt try to eat to the countries ive mentioned above…
Rubbish. The UK has restaurants from all over the world and the range of options is amazing. Even in supermarkets like M&S and Waitrose the food to go is delicious at affordable prices.
Hahaha! I thought the UK would feature, but #1!!! There’s loads of good food in the UK and especially in London. OK, a lot of the dishes you’ve mentioned are pretty stereotypical and can be awful if done badly, but there’s so much more to UK food, or more aptly food in the UK than pub grub and fast food like fish & chips.
@Erica and others coming to London on a budget; there’s a massive amount of quality cheap eats here, the key is to really get out of the central London zone and visit areas like East London. Even in central London there’s some great places in Soho that won’t break the bank.
I’ve been planning to start another blog about food and travel to run parallel to my other one, I think I might just kick off with a UK food post then!!
Is the food that’s good in the UK from other countries!?
We’ll read your post on UK food, but we can’t promise we’ll be swayed… or that we won’t get that sad ticklish feeling in our stomachs. But we’ll try. We WANT to like more than fish and chips. It just hasn’t happened yet.
Saying the UK has the worst food I have never even met someone who eats spotted dick, haggis, pig trotters or jellied eels and I have done quite a lot in my country in a short life!