Mama Life - Collaborative Post
Although trips have been limited this year, there's still every reason to get planning for future trips away looking to 2021! When we go away or go to visit friends and family in a different part of the country, finding good food places is always high on our agenda.
Discovering little hidden gems in big cities or a cafe with a 'to die for' breakfast in a small village is exciting and always holds a memory from places we've visited. Even with kids in tow, they're little foodies too and get as excited about trying new things as we do! Every town and city will have its hidden gems when it comes to food, but finding them isn't always straight forward. There are plenty of ways to seek out good food in new places though, so here's some tips that might help...
Look to social media
Social media has its flaws but it's a great tool to discover new places. Places like Facebook and Twitter will give you the chance to reach out to people directly to see where they'd recommend in certain places, but if you want a visual kick, then Instagram is the place to go, by searching hashtags on your location, you'll soon be able to find pictures of drool worthy food! Most small businesses rely on social media to be discovered as it's a cheap and successful way to market their services, so you'll find lots of the greatest little bakeries, cafes and pubs this way with lots of real life reviews to read through too.
Check out some blogs
Like us or loath us, bloggers are quote handy when it comes to things like restaurant reviews and sharing heaps of photos of the places we visit, food we eat and places to stay. Depending on the type of dining expereicnce you're looking for, there will be a blog that fits the bill. Family bloggers may share more kid friendly places, restaurants with entertainment, kids play areas or soft play. General food blogs will give a broader range of places, as well as high end food reviewers that will have the down low on the best private dining restaurants and those places that blow your foodie mind.
Online food guides, apps & review sites
Looking to dedicated online food guides is a great way to find out more about where you're going and where's great to eat. With these kind of sites you'll be able to filter your needs too, by searching only for family friendly places, specialist food places or foods from a certain country or region. There are even dedicated apps to help you find what's around locally, with a quick entering of a post code you will soon have plenty of suggestions to hand. Other big review sites are available too with thousands of short, snappy, real life reviews to give you a nudge in the right direction.
Ask the locals
This is an obvious one, but quite often the people running the places you're staying are happy to take the time to recommend good places and give directions too. We recently stayed in an air b&b and the host told us all about which places to avoid, where the best chippy was, where has the best local delicacies, where to go if we want to stay for drinks after, places that are kid friendly etc etc. You could also ask people you meet, retail workers or taxi drivers for their favourite suggestions.
Look down the back streets
When visiting a major city or town, the best eateries can usually be found tucked away down alleys and back streets, little family run gems or boutique little bars that the locals love, but aren't always easy to spot. If you feel like exploring, just have a good wander and see what you discover!
