The Food Guys Podcast · Dub & Nectorious Papi

The TOP Cuisines in THE WORLD for 2025! (Which is best in Australia?!)

·36 min·3 clips

Italy takes #1 from Greece, with 4.64 versus 4.6 on Taste Atlas.

The episode opens on Taste Atlas's 2025 list of the world's best cuisines. The hosts immediately start comparing this year's shape to last year's, pointing out that some countries are new to the list while others return, and using the ranking as a springboard for broader food talk. They are already thinking about Australia. A lot of the chat circles around how more cuisines are now showing up in casual Melbourne restaurants, not just the higher-end rooms where they used to be parked. They hate the word viral. The conversation treats it as overused and too easily tied to Dubai, which leads into a bigger point about how food trends get flattened when people chase a label instead of the food itself. China gets a strong run. The hosts talk about Chinese food as a long-standing part of Australian culture, and they argue that it has probably been one of the world's default takeaway favorites for years. They also look beyond China. Thailand and Japan come up as part of the wider Asian story, with the point that Chinese restaurants once paved the way for more cuisines to find a place in everyday dining. Melbourne keeps coming back up. They describe seeing more Egyptian and other cuisine spots operating at a casual level, which to them signals a city where people are trying more things without needing a white-tablecloth setup. The list itself still looks familiar. Nine of last year's top ten return, and only one new name enters the group, which makes the ranking feel less like a shock and more like a snapshot of what people already trust. They also stop for a correction. That includes an apology after a recent comment was called out, with the hosts saying they do not want to dismiss an entire continent or the people cooking within it. A fine-dining memory appears too. The pair drift into a story about a meal with an over-the-top view, professional photos, and the silly reality of trying to keep a screenshot of the experience. By the end, the argument gets clearer. They want more Asian influence in the top tier, while also saying Greek and Italian do not really need the same hype because everyone already knows they are good.

As heard by us

A grounded food conversation that treats cuisine as lived culture, not just a list.

It turns Taste Atlas's 2025 list into a relaxed food-culture conversation, with Chinese food in Australia and the rise of more casual restaurants in Melbourne carrying most of the weight.

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Why you'd press play

You want a fast, opinionated take on Taste Atlas's 2025 global cuisine rankings and the Australian food conversation around them.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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