8 emerging destinations to get on your radar before everyone else
- Gurdeep Loyal
Published: July 8, 2026 at 3:50 PM
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The new travel destinations to know now
Escape the beaten track and visit these emerging destinations before the crowds discover them. From the scenic setting of Mostar to the cultural capital of Uzbekistan, add these to your travel wishlist.
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For more travel inspiration, check out our list of 9 cities around the world that should be on everyone's bucket list or 10 of the best Mediterranean islands for foodies.
8 emerging destinations to get on your radar before everyone else
Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn’s dynamic culinary scene blends traditional Baltic heartiness with ‘New Nordic’ principles of hyper local sustainability and seasonality – showcasing ingredients like dark leib rye breads, foraged berries (cloudberries, lingonberries, and cranberries), pickled fish (räim Baltic herring and kilu sprats), forest mushrooms (chanterelles and porcini), and game meats (wild boar, elk and deer).
Fotografiska Restaurant is one of the city’s most pioneering and trend-setting spots from prize-winning chef Gerli Travkin, who operates on a strict "blossom-to-root, snout-to-tail" ethos. Inventive dishes include compost-baked potatoes, sunchoke (jerusalem artichoke) three ways, and zero-waste vegetable pasta with Viinamärdi stracciatella cheese and smoked potato butter.
Another fine dining spot that exudes Tallinn’s progressive culinary culture is Korean-Estonian fusion restaurant Sadu from chef Kristjan Jekimov. The menu merges traditional Asian fermentation, seasonal Estonian produce, and punchy street-food favourites, with dishes like kimchi fritters with whipped tofu and herbs, yukhoe beef tartare with umami fermented chilli, and gochujang ice cream with marmalade-miso meringue.
Head to the trendy Kopli district for Karjase Sai bakery within the historic Põhjala Factory cultural hub, famous for its blistered sourdough, Estonian rye bread with hemp seeds and breakfast rolls with Kolotsi farm cheese. In the evening the bakery becomes Barbarea – a bistro and natural wine bar with a focus on organic sharing plates, house sourdough pizzas and handmade pasta.
The most colourful spot for a drink in Tallinn however, is Veino who have over 400 wines available, with friendly sommeliers on hand to guide the perfect selection just for you.
Find out the best restaurants in Tallinn here.
George Town, Penang, Malaysia
George Town’s unique location along the Malay Peninsula serves as the backdrop to the city’s historic architecture, colourful street art and thrilling culinary scene. From bustling hawker centres and traditional kopitiam coffee houses to open-air night markets and sophisticated fine dining restaurants, every cobbled alleyway in the city immerses you in the culture-crossing intricacy of Malaysian food.
The aroma filled Chulia Street Hawker Food is an open-air market filled with street carts serving up dishes like wantan mee springy noodles with char siew, sizzling oyster omelettes, lok lok skewers and curry mee. The crowded stretch of Kimberley Street Food Night Market is just as popular with visitors, whilst locals are drawn to Presgrave Street Hawker Centre which houses the Michelin recognised 888 Hokkien Mee, renowned for their Penang-style spicy prawn noodle soup.
Amidst the maze of heritage houses in George Town, Ome by Spacebar Coffee serves up a ‘Golden Brown’ coffee-soda, while just around the corner DUAN reinterprets local comfort foods like Kaya butter toast, curry noodles, and crispy spiced Nasi Lemak in a strikingly stylish space.
Chef Jayson Tang at gēn is creating the most theatrically refined dishes in the city, with a sophisticated tasting menu of dishes the celebrate the modern Malaysian palate, with flavours like torched ginger blossom, local seafood and wild Malaysian honeys adorning the menu.
Chicago, USA
Chicago is a city filled with unique gourmet neighbourhoods that light up the map like a culinary mosaic from north to south.
The West Loop Fulton Market District is the sleekest and trendiest place to start – home to quirky French-ish bistro Creepies, one of Chicago’s most loved gastronomic gems Avec, and Rose Mary, a Croatian-Italian inspired restaurant from chef Joe Flamm.
Next head south to Pilsen, Chicago’s hub of Mexican cuisine and heritage, where family-run taquerias like Don Pedro Carnitas are a must try. Tick off more cuisines as you travel across the city: there are dimsum parlours galore in Chinatown along Wentworth Avenue, classic Italian-American red-sauce restaurants in Little Italy on Taylor Street, and Andersonville in the north is the place to head for a taste of Swedish roots.
Kasama – a modern Filipino restaurant and bakery in the East Ukrainian Village neighbourhood – was made famous thanks to TV show The Bear and has diners queuing up around the block for their pork adobo and longanisa sausage sandwiches, and ube-huckleberry Basque cheesecake.
Finally, don’t miss Loba Pastry in North Centre who are cooking up some of the best baked goods in the city. They specialise in ‘unfamiliar pastries’ made with classic ingredients and seasonal fruits like pineapple sourdough muffins, curry white chocolate scones and laminated black sesame buns.
Newcastle, UK
The renaissance of Newcastle’s culinary scene has been driven by a new wave of independent chefs, artisan makers, food markets and festivals that have injected an exciting energy into the city.
Cook House from Anna Hedworth is crafting some of Newcastle’s most exciting food, with a bistro menu of thoughtful, hyper-local dishes that highlight micro-seasonal growing, scratch production, in-house fermentation, and fire cooking.
For brunch, head to Tiny Tiny, an independent café that roasts speciality coffee on site and has an inventive global menu that includes Moroccan avocado on toast, Mexican bean rancheros and traditional stottie cakes with Gloucestershire old spot sausage rings.
The grade I listed pavilion of Grainger Market is the beating heart of Newcastle’s culinary landscape, blending heritage butchers and greengrocers, with vibrant global street food stalls and local Geordie patisserie. Hip natural wine bar Assemble specialises in low intervention wines and craft beers – from Austrian Pet-Nats, skin-contact orange wines, and chilled reds, paired with Asian inspired small plates from SOKU Kitchen.
On the historic Quayside, House of Tides is the city’s beacon of Michelin-starred culinary excellence – chef Kenny Atkinson delivering a seasonal and sustainable contemporary British tasting menu in a restored 16th-century merchant’s house.
Lastly in the suburban Heaton area, Rebel honours the best of farming and foraging of the North East produce with an emphasis on natural British wines, zero-waste and overlooked ingredients.
Cook House, Newcastle
Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Mostar is a city where Mediterranean and Central European influences come together with warm Balkan hospitality, in a setting of enchanting Ottoman architecture and emerald-green views across the Neretva River.
Start at one of the city’s traditional aščiure eateries for a taste of local cuisine. Try Šadrvan located in the heart of Mostar's historic centre and famous for its homestyle cuisine such as crunchy Bosnian schnitzel, traditional ćevapi grilled sausages, and savoury burek pastries.
The ultra-modern TABOO, with its sleek industrial interior, serves-up Balkan flavours with an international twist – try their signature Biftek u Maslinovom Ulju which is doused in rich aceto balsamic and toasted sesame seeds, then follow up with their reimagining of a traditional regional plum cake.
One of the most unique spots to grab a coffee in Mostar is Muslibegovic House, a restored 18th-century mansion housing a museum and guesthouse, with lush courtyards and elaborate stained glass windows.
To take in Mostar’s famous river views, head to Terrace Lagero – an upscale grill with a stylish outdoor terrace overlooking the iconic Stari Most old bridge. Their menu showcases traditional, hearty Bosnian flavours like juicy Balkan kebabs with grilled flatbreads and stuffed zucchini, alongside dishes centered on the freshest local catch like organic trout. Save room for the smokvara (a rich regional fig cake) and the hurmašica (a succulent, syrup-drenched sweet biscuit), served up with strong Bosnian coffee bubbling in a copper džezva pot with sugar cubes and Turkish delight on the side.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The cultural capital of Uzbekistan, Samarkand is a city rich in history – a crossroads along the silk roads where Persian, Turkic, Russian and Chinese culinary influences all converge. It’s celebrated for its striking Islamic architecture, beautiful mosaics and unique cuisine.
Siyob Bozori – or Siab Bizaar – is a great place to start. You’ll find countless stalls selling local delights like dried apricots, pistachio halvas, spices and fragrant Uzbek pastries like samsa, spiced triangle pastries stuffed with meat or pumpkin. Uzbekistan’s national dish plov is a must try – a one pot pilaf rice dish with additions like lamb, carrots, cumin, coriander and whole heads of garlic. Samarqand Osh Markazi is a popular communal restaurant famous for their cauldrons of plov rice garnished with lamb, raisins, barbarys, red chilli, quail egg, and chickpeas.
For the city’s best kebabs, head to Ikrom Shashlik, which serves coal-charred skewers with fresh tomato and onion salads, and tangy strained yogurt dip. Other local dishes to try are manti (Uzbez steamed dumplings) filled with lamb and herbs served on smetana sour cream*,* and laghman, a hand-pulled Uyghur noodle dish in fragrant broth, beef and vegetables, both of which you can try at the atmospheric Old City Restaurant.
Lagos, Nigeria
The high-energy ethos of mixing proud cultural tradition with daring innovation is partly what has fuelled Lagos’ culinary revival into the modern "New Nigerian" gastronomy movement.
Global flavours meet West African luxury in Victoria Island, where NOK by Alara is at the forefront of the neighbourhood’s dining scene. Housed in a stylish architectural space, the menu from chef Pierre Thiam offers elegant contemporary reimagining of heritage dishes like Senegalese Lamb Mafé peanut stew with lamb, seafood okro soup and jerk chicken with Ghanian rice and beans.
In Lekki, Slow is a farm-to-table ‘tropical brasserie’ and cocktail bar who grow their own vegetables and herbs. The menu blends Latin American flavours with West African influences, cooked up into dishes like 10-hour braised brisket tacos with pili pili sauce, and charred seabream with ginger relish and chimichurri.
No trip to Lagos is complete without sampling road-side suya skewers grilled over open fire. Glover Court Suya is one of the most iconic, famous for their succulent beef and guinea fowl skewers dusted with extra Yaji suya-pepper and paired with fluffy masa rice cakes.
Finally, for a mix of food and art, head to Terra Kulture where the menu is a proud celebration of the art of Nigerian cuisine. The menu features dishes like catfish pepper soup, marinated grilled prawns with ginger fried plantain, and beef efo riro ‘stirred greens’ stew.
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
The island of Hokkaido is known for its agricultural richness – in particular it’s prized dairy and the cold-water seafood within its nutrient-rich waters, including plump sea urchin, hairy crabs and lobsters of unrivalled quality. This richness of pristine ingredients makes Sapporo – the island’s capital – a Japanese culinary destination like no other, defined by hearty, comforting dishes and rich, bold flavours.
Sapporo is the home of miso ramen, making Susukin’s famous narrow ‘ramen alley’, Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, a great place to start. Teshikaga Ramen is one of its most highly regarded restaurants, known for its intense broth and flame grilled bbq pork add ins; while Sapporo Ramen Haruka is famous for it’s cheese miso ramen with hot pork broth.
Nijo Market has served as the city’s central seafood kitchen since the early Meiji Period and houses dozens of market eateries serving up bowls of kaisendon sashimi over rice, charcoal grilled hokke mackerel, freshly fried tamagoyaki omlettes, and Hokkaido scallops grilled in their shells with soy.
Agriscape is one of the city’s most unique restaurants, a farm-to-table restaurant in the scenic Kobetsuzawa valley. They grow over 150 varieties of seasonal vegetables and herbs on-site, whilst also raising their own black pigs, chickens and sheep. The tasting menu includes inventive dishes like caramelised Sapporo Ki heirloom onions, estate charcuterie platters and home reared pork loin.
The only way to finish a day of culinary exploration in Sapporo is with a shaim parfait (night parfait) ice cream – crafted from local, ultra-high-fat cream. The minimalist Parfait, Coffee, Liquor, Sato is one of the best, whose carefully curated menu features combinations like salted caramel with pistachio, dark chocolate with mango, and plum with hojicha.
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Authors
Gurdeep Loyal
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