York rated better than Bologna, London and Edinburgh in food poll

The city was named the best in the UK and the fifth best in Europe, in website TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Food and Wine Awards. Florence took first place, followed by Paris, Rome and Sorrento.

The awards, decided a poll of world travellers, were dominated by Italian cities, although York beat Siena and Bologna, sixth and seventh, as well as Barcelona at ninth. Edinburgh was tenth, but London failed to make the top ten altogether.

TripAdvisor said York’s annual food and drink festival, which attracted about 500,000 visitors this year, cemented the city as a “true foodie capital”, along with the surrounding countryside and farmland providing high quality produce, such as cheeses, smoked hams and Yorkshire pudding.

According to TripAdvisor travellers, York’s three favourite restaurants are French restaurant Rustique, in Castlegate; and Il Paradiso del Cibo and Khao San Road, both in Walmgate.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of Visit York, said the news was a tribute to York and Yorkshire’s great food producers and chefs. She said: “York really is a foodie heaven with so many quality local producers, award-winning restaurants and speciality markets.”

Michael Hjort, organiser of York Food Festival, said: “It is testament to the great variety and quality of dining across the city. It’s amazing how the dining atmosphere has expanded and become more diverse in the last decade and in running the food festival we have been delighted to be part of enabling that to develop.”

He said that TripAdvisor enabled the public, mainly visitors to the city, to have a voice.

He said “It allows some quirky organisations to rise to the top of the pile and it demonstrates the value of high-quality customer service in particular. It’s not just about the food, but how important a great welcome is to visitors.”