America vs. the Rest of the World: Where Are Restaurants Better?
Let's compare, shall we?
For the audio version of this article, read by the author, go here.
I promise this isn’t yet another article saying how it costs, like, three dollars to eat out while traveling the world as a digital nomad.
Well, it’s not only that.
A week ago, Michael wrote about how “shopping” is often very different outside of America.
Eating out in restaurants is very different too.
Yes, I’m making generalizations. “Outside of America” is a lot of very different places!
And yet, restaurants outside of America are often different from America’s eateries in very specific, very similar ways.
Anyway, it’s my article, and I’ll write it if I want to.
What follows is my comparison of restaurants in my home-country of America versus the rest of the world, with ratings in five categories.
Then, I’ll make an overall judgment as to where I think restaurants are better.
The Food
What’s the most important part of the restaurant experience? You might say the food. And I know you’re thinking, Oh, Brent is obviously going to say that food is much better in restaurants outside of America!
And, er, I do think that. We’d been living in Thailand for a month, eating out almost daily, before we finally had a bad meal. The best bread I’ve still ever eaten is lavash bread fresh from a conical clay “tonir” oven in Armenia.
But I’d also like to think I’m fair-minded, and when it comes to “food,” American restaurants have a very clear edge in one area: while most countries do their traditional cuisines incredibly well, no country I’ve ever lived in has America’s incredible variety of cuisines (although that could change if Trump kicks out all the immigrants).
Also, part of the reason why so much of the food in other countries is so good is that it is traditional cuisine. But that means local chefs can be hidebound and ridiculously conservative. I once saw an Italian react furiously to the idea that tiramisu could ever be made with anything other than mascarpone cheese.
Americans, meanwhile, are endlessly willing to innovate. Sure, sometimes the result is deep-fried Twinkies, but sometimes it’s deep-dish pizza or jambalaya.
My Verdict: An unexpected tie.
Hospitality
Incidentally, I’m not entirely sure that the food is the most important part of the restaurant experience. Just as important is the ambiance and the whole “hospitality” of the venue.
When you eat out at a restaurant in America, you’ll probably be welcomed fairly warmly by your server, who might even introduce themself by name, and they’ll also probably be attentive throughout the meal. Ice water is free.
On the other hand, once you stop ordering food, you’ll be delivered your check, indicating it’s time for you to leave. And if you don’t go, you’ll get an increasingly impatient or cold shoulder from the server, especially if the restaurant is crowded.
And because American waiters work for tips, you might feel pressure from the server to order more expensive items, with subtle “upselling” going on. You’ll also feel pressure to leave a large tip — with some restaurants even going to ridiculous lengths to shame you out of more money, setting the lowest “suggested” tip on the credit card machine at 20% or even 25%.
Meanwhile, when you eat at a restaurant outside of America, tips are way less important, and as a result, service will probably be functional if a little less attentive. I’ve literally never had a server introduce themself by name, and water generally isn’t free — although a bottle usually only costs about a buck.
But I’ve also never felt even a hint of pressure to leave a restaurant before I’m ready — not even after some epic, four-hour dinners with friends; to get the check, you generally have to request it with a small wave to the server. And I’ve also never felt the slightest pressure to order something more expensive — or even necessarily leave any tip, much less one larger than I may have planned.
What are all these differences about? Frankly, I think it’s a question of cultural values. In America, the most important thing is making money and the bottom line; outside of America, it’s more about quality of life.
My Verdict: Save your insincere familiarity, I much prefer the genuine hospitality of restaurants outside of America.
Accessibility
I’ve never eaten at a restaurant anywhere that doesn’t have some kind of restroom — although I’ve seen some absolute doozies, buried deep in the bowels of musty old buildings or high up in creaky attics.
On one hand, this all makes sense — buildings tend to be older outside of America — and I definitely enjoy the adventure of finding these oh-so-quirky bathrooms.
On the other hand, I also always think, “Man, my elderly and disabled friends could never eat in this restaurant.”
Likewise, when it comes to dietary intolerances or allergies, there’s often more awareness than I expected outside of America — sometimes even in surprising places, like Italy, where it’s fairly easy to find gluten-free pizzas and pastas, and cheese alternatives for the lactose-intolerant.
At the same time, the awareness is nothing like it is in America. This is also a question of fundamental values, and it’s one place where America truly excels (at least for the time being — Trump wants to change this too).
My Verdict: America by a mile.
Price
Yes, yes, Americans are completely sick of hearing how much cheaper it is to eat out as a digital nomad.
Also, it’s always important to note that what’s “cheap” for me, an American, isn’t necessarily inexpensive for the locals, who tend to have much lower wages.
But hey, here in Mexico, Michael and I had a nice dinner out with two friends last Saturday night at a mid-range restaurant with a charming little courtyard, and it was just over a thousand pesos — $52 USD, or $13 a person, including alcohol and a tip.
It’s always possible to spend more, of course — and in “tourist” areas, the prices will always be higher. And in more developed countries, prices are higher still.
That said, a Dutch woman and a Canadian man have recently said to me, on two separate occasions, “The prices at American restaurants have become outrageous!”
And it isn’t just about recent inflation. When Michael and I spent four months living all over the UK last year, restaurant prices seemed considerably cheaper than those in the United States. Same for “expensive” Norway where we spent a month.
Lately, alcoholic drinks in America seem especially outrageous.
Prices in American restaurants are also opaque in a way that I find absolutely maddening.
Outside of America, the prices on the menu always include any local taxes, and that’s what you end up paying — plus a tip that ranges somewhere between “no tip is expected” and “ten percent,” maybe “fifteen percent” if the service is truly outstanding. At higher-end restaurants, you might also see a standard “service charge” of ten percent, with no additional gratuity expected.
(Americans abroad often refuse to follow local mores on tips — much to the annoyance of locals, who say Americans’ stubborn generosity screws things up for them. But then again, while in America, many foreigners also refuse to follow America’s tipping codes, which are insane but still the standard practice.)
Anyway, in America, the prices you see on the menu are always just the start. In most U.S. states, you must then add sales tax and then, yeah, that ever-expanding tip — for a total additional cost of thirty percent or more.
And, as I said, there’s also way less upselling outside of America — as in, none, ever.
My Verdict: Outside of America by six million kilometers.
“Fast Food”
There are different kinds of restaurants, of course: high-end, mid-range, and casual eats — “fast food” in America.
I’m reluctant to weigh in on the perennial debate about the quality of “fast food” in America.
But just because I’m reluctant doesn’t mean I won’t weigh in!
I won’t say exactly what I think of America’s fast food because I might offend readers who enjoy it.
Instead, I’ll say that street food, more or less the foreign equivalent to fast food, is often fantastic — prepared with care, from local ingredients, using time-honored practices.
Plus, the food is more locally sourced. When our favorite “roasted chicken” place in Bulgaria ran out of chickens, they’d tell us to come back in a few hours so they could literally go out back and kill some more chickens from the coop.
Street food is also much more social than fast food. In many Asian countries, it’s often cheaper to eat street food than to prepare meals yourself, which is why the kitchens in many apartments are so small. Instead, people share their meals with family members and neighbors, strengthening social bonds.
Oh, and street food is also far less likely to be ultra-processed, which means it’s healthier.
That said, it’s true that the sanitation standards of street food are different than what many Americans expect, and there’s a higher chance of food poisoning — although I’d argue the risk is exaggerated.
My Verdict: The locally-sourced chickens have it!
My Overall Ruling
Okay, yeah, you knew I was going to pick restaurants outside of America, right?
But hopefully, I pleasantly surprised you by pointing out some real advantages to American eateries, especially if you’re elderly or disabled.
But, yes, I much prefer the dining experience outside of America. Sure, maybe it’s partly the novelty — and partly my plain old American privilege, where I can enjoy the best of both worlds.
At the same time, I like what I like, and sharing my opinion is exactly what you’re paying me for.
See also…
Want to Lose Fifty Pounds by Doing Absolutely Nothing? Leave America.
Why Are Breakfast Buffets in America So Unbelievably Bad?
America Needs to Stop Its Insane Tipping Practices
It’s a Lot Easier to Make Friends Outside of America
Brent Hartinger is a screenwriter and author. Check out my new newsletter about my books and movies at BrentHartinger.com.
Great article, Brent. You hit all the top points. The food scene outside the USA is so much more authentic and generally cheaper and more satisfying to me. In America, you are likely to get a Sysco-based meal - Sysco being one of the biggest food service companies in the country. In places I visited recently in Greece, Turkey, North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia. almost all the food I ate tasted homemade and was far cheaper than any American equivalent. I really miss it! Now that I'm back home in Maine, my body is struggling to adapt to the food here.
Having just returned from our trip, I agree with all your points. The “fast food” cicchetti in Venice was to die for. And stupidly cheap, too. A Cynar spritz for 4€ at happy hour? Yes, please. That’d be, like, $14 where we live in the States.