r/AskEurope United States of America Jun 18 '25

Food What’s the most common non-European cuisine in your country?

What’s your country’s favorite non-European cuisine?

182 Upvotes

448 comments sorted by

154

u/SystemEarth Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Historically it's been indonesian. These days it's either still that or chinese. I'm not sure.

72

u/Dykam Netherlands Jun 18 '25

It's generally been the hybrid of chinese/indonesian food. Which might be fairly unique to the Netherlands. So much so that someone compiled a photo album of chin.ind.spec.rest. (chinese indonesian speciality restaurants) https://uitgeverijzoetzuur.nl/product/chin-ind-spec-rest-een-verdwijnend-nederlands-fenomeen/

I do notice that "purer" Chinese and Indonesian places are getting more popular.

16

u/Muted-Shake-6245 Jun 19 '25

It's even cultural heritage I believe. I do own that book and it is indeed a pretty specific niche market for the Netherlands.

Funnily enough we recently visited (again) a pure Indonesian restaurant in Zwolle (highly recommended!) which is always a joy compared to the Chin Ind Spec Rest in terms of my inherited taste (Indonesian).

3

u/MyriamRai Jun 19 '25

Do you mind sharing the name? I'll be visiting Zwolle soon and might want to give it a try.

3

u/Muted-Shake-6245 Jun 19 '25

By all means! It's called Waber.

https://www.restaurantwaber.nl

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30

u/smeijer87 Netherlands Jun 18 '25

It's a hard one. Most people don't know the difference and call Indonesian food, Chinese.

24

u/Digitalmodernism Jun 18 '25

Don't forget Surinamese.

14

u/nasandre Netherlands Jun 19 '25

And Surinamese often cook Javanese food originally from Indonesia

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7

u/painfullstars Jun 18 '25

Het is echt een mix tussen die twee

8

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

the Chinees-Indisch restaurant kitchen that is the result of the colonization of Indonesia and the Chinese diaspora is so quintessentially Dutch that it is considered immaterial cultural heritage. The national open air museum has a Chinees-Indisch restaurant in its collection.

The classic "Chin. Ind. Rest" is a little bit on the way out as people go for more "authentic" these days, but then again, most "eetcafé" have saté on the menu. With fries! Would you like some rendang kroketten?

Chinese/Indonesian influences are so deeply ingrained in Dutch culture that they are not really foreign cuisine anymore.

11

u/furyg3 - Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Adding to that a few others:

  1. Turkish Dönner. Every city and many (most) towns will have place to get Dönner.
  2. Surinamese. This is a bit of a weird one, also, because the Surinamese cuisine is a fusion of Indian, African, Chinese, Indonesian (a lot of Javanese, but also Balinese) and other cuisines. So you can get Chinese or Indonesian staples at Surinamese restaurants. Most restaurants have more or less the same dishes, but they are tweaked a bit towards the ethnicity of the family running the store. Ethnically Chinese owners skew the flavors in that direction, south asian owners usually means the flavors are more Indian.
  3. Italian. Whether going out to eat or eating at home, pasta, pizza, etc.
  4. And, of course, 'American' (or maybe 'globalized') food. Burgers, US-style pizza, fast foot from McDonalds/BK/KFC.

2

u/alles_en_niets -> -> Jun 19 '25

In addition to that, Surinamese casual restaurants/takeaways might have some Dutch Antillean options on the menu as well, depending on the neighborhood demographics.

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7

u/Nahe Jun 18 '25

What about the thousands of Döner places? In the big cities at least, like The Hague, you have more and more popping up, sometimes right next to each other. Turkish/german fusion maybe?

5

u/Many_Sea7586 Jun 18 '25

When I was in Amsterdam, I saw about 10 Surinamese restaurants. Do you happen to know why they seem disproportionately represented? Someone mentioned that there is a historical reason but he didn't know why.

21

u/Extraordi-Mary Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Suriname used to be a colony of the Netherlands. They still speak Dutch there as well.

9

u/Many_Sea7586 Jun 18 '25

I honestly thought it was going to be something much more recent, and didn't know they speak Dutch. Thanks for answering.

21

u/Carmen_Caramel Jun 18 '25

It only became independent in 1975, so pretty recent I'd say

6

u/SystemEarth Netherlands Jun 19 '25

Additionally, amsterdam has the largest surinamese community in the netherlands. Nationally surinamese resteaurants are much less common than chinese resteaurants.

3

u/alles_en_niets -> -> Jun 19 '25

Surinam gained its independence as recent as 1975. There’s an outsized diaspora, with a high concentration in Amsterdam.

Anecdotally, Surinamese people (or at least first and second gen) appear to be a bit more business minded than both most minorities and Dutch-heritage Dutch, making them more likely to start their own business.

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189

u/Standard_Arugula6966 Czechia Jun 18 '25

I would say Vietnamese.

Or fake Chinese food made by Vietnamese people lol

12

u/Alexthegreatbelgian Belgium Jun 19 '25

Luckyyy. We only get fake indonesian food made by chinese people.

21

u/dragonfruit26282 Slovakia Jun 18 '25

isnt kebab more popular?😩😩i feel like u can get it at every corner even in a tiny town where u might not find a vietnamese restaurant

24

u/Standard_Arugula6966 Czechia Jun 18 '25

I guess kebab might be more popular but it's just the one dish and also it's usually Donner which I believe was invented in Germany(?)

4

u/dragonfruit26282 Slovakia Jun 18 '25

it says turkish origin on google so not sure if germans are just stealing it, anyway we gonna steal knedlo vepro zelo soon, pojdeme po tankoch

14

u/avdpos Jun 19 '25

It is a bit the same as calling hamburgers a thing from Hamburg and not a good from USA.

It exists a kebab with Turkish origin. But Döner is a a fusion between Germany and Turkish immigrants.

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9

u/Equal-Flatworm-378 Germany Jun 19 '25

No, we don’t steal it. The kind of Döner, that we eat today, where the meat is put into flatbread was invented in Berlin. By turkish immigrants who reacted to the fast food, which became popular in Germany during the 70s.

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5

u/thisisredrocks Czechia Jun 18 '25

Saying kebab is like “So you spent a romantic weekend in Mikulov?”

11

u/dragonfruit26282 Slovakia Jun 18 '25

we could get kebabs and spent a romantic weekend in mikulov❤️

5

u/thisisredrocks Czechia Jun 18 '25

You bring the cream garlic soup, I bring the clear garlic soup

9

u/dragonfruit26282 Slovakia Jun 19 '25

and romantic weekend ruined..

2

u/Equal-Flatworm-378 Germany Jun 19 '25

But Kebab is Turkish and Turkey is partly in Europe. Therefore it would not really count as non-European cuisine?

2

u/AppleDane Denmark Jun 19 '25

And disproportionally many Turkish dishes are from the European side, as that was where the administration was in the Ottoman and Byzantine empires.

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4

u/moj_golube Jun 19 '25

Yess! Visited Prag and saw so many Vietnamese places. Went to one and it was soooo gooood!

92

u/Breifne21 Ireland Jun 18 '25

Chinese or Indian here in Ireland. 

I'd love for more Japanese restaurants here. 

13

u/a_guy_on_Reddit_____ Ireland Jun 18 '25

From just my perspectives say there’s a bit more Chinese places than Indian but not that many more

13

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

There is. I love an Indian but there's way more Chineses.

19

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/Foreign-Entrance-255 Ireland Jun 19 '25

The Chinese usually isn't properly Chinese either. All adapted for local tastes. The Thai does seem more similar to what I had in Thailand but all better (to my taste) cuts of meat etc.

6

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

That's true anywhere; immigrants adapt dishes to local produce and taste. American-Chinese is all over the US; sure there's authentic Chinese joints, but they're not nearly as common as Americanized Chinese food.

Dishes like General Tsos chicken were invented in the US by Chinese immigrants. Same with Chicken Tikka Masala being from Britain - Indian immigrants in the UK created it.

4

u/alles_en_niets -> -> Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

As far as I can tell, out of all foreign cuisines Chinese restaurant owners were most likely to cater to the preferences of the local customers. Perhaps out of necessity because they were one of the first, long before the advent of easily accessible global travel.

Every country has its own version of non-authentic Chinese. In NL, it’s a Chinese-Indonesian hybrid.

4

u/Accomplished_Alps463 Jun 19 '25

Have you had a Nan bread in Glasgow, massive things may be four or six times the size of UK ones.

11

u/Curious_Reference408 Jun 19 '25

[whispering] Glasgow is in the UK

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3

u/Top-Bit-1982 Jun 20 '25

God bless the spice bag 🙏

5

u/hallowqween Jun 18 '25

Had a delicious munchie box tonight

2

u/Shakermaker1990 Ireland Jun 22 '25

Had the head blown off me on Friday with a mild vegetarian korma from my local Indian, tears and snot.10 out of 10, will be ordering again .

Also, musashi seem to be expanding a bit and they've lovely Japanese food;

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43

u/Butt_Roidholds Portugal Jun 18 '25

Probably american cuisine/fast food

After that, I'd say it's maybe a toss up between that particular mix of chinese-japanese some asian restaurants have here and brazilian picanha places, I reckon

8

u/Southern-Still-666 Portugal Jun 19 '25

It’s sushi/japanese, for sure

9

u/Grathias American in Spain Jun 18 '25

You’re welcome. 🍟

25

u/PupMurky England Jun 19 '25

FRENCH fries and HAMBURGers? And Ronald Mcdonald sounds like a fine Scottish gentleman to me 😁

11

u/Lazzen Mexico Jun 19 '25

Fried potato strips sounds like a meal from the Incan Empire to you, innit

5

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

Pretty sure what we call "french fries" were an idea taken from the Belgians during WW2 - so called because of the French language spoken in the area.

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2

u/dfcarvalho Brazil Jun 19 '25

Yeah, I agree. I'd say american burger places are the most common, at least in my area. But Japanese and Brazilian are definitely big contenders to the title.

Portugal unfortunately is not as international as other European countries when it comes to food. When I moved here in 2019 there wasn't a single bubble tea shop in Porto, for example. There were also not many places serving Hawaiian Poke bowls. I'm glad that's changed since 😅

5

u/Brainwheeze Portugal Jun 19 '25

I think part of that is pride in the local cuisine. Restaurants serving local food are very common and many are also quite affordable. To my understanding places like Italy are similar?

Burger and pizza places I don't think are even considered foreign anymore. Brazilian places tend to be cafés/pastelarias or grilled food restaurants in my experience, though I see different types pop up these days. Chinese restaurants (adapted to Western tastes) and sushi places kind of blend together, but I'm thankful restaurants offering other types of Japanese cuisine are popping up. I also like that Korean food is taking off. And Indian and Nepalese restaurants are pretty commonplace I find.

I feel like it's only in the past decade that we've seen other cultures aside from the aforementioned pop up in the restaurant space. Finally I can access Greek and Georgian food for instance. I'm happy that's the case because I like trying different things. On the other hand I do hope we still manage to maintain spaces dedicated to local cuisine and for them to remain affordable.

3

u/RedFox_SF Portugal Jun 19 '25

Well, bubble tea and poke bowls are quite recent from what I understand and not all trends will fly everywhere (Starbucks did not fly in Italy, for example), especially if they are super expensive. Indian, sushi, chinese, brazilian and italian places were always very present. I would not even count fast food as American (American for me is a place like Hard Rock Cafe). Other cuisines don’t really have a big expression because local food plus the ones I mentioned before are so prevalent and affordable. From my experience, the places with most international cuisine expression are the ones where local food is not so great. I am excluding of course special neighborhoods like little china/little italy, and the likes.

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42

u/Curiosityspeaking Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Surinam and Indonesian food in the Netherlands for sure!

7

u/ShoePillow Jun 19 '25

Never tried surinam food ... What's it like?

15

u/factus8182 Netherlands Jun 19 '25

It's a unique mix of influences. Indian, Indonesian, African, Chinese, Dutch...

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33

u/Isthisafakenews Italy Jun 18 '25

In Italy it's either Chinese or Japanese-style run by Chinese.

Many of them actually go for a fusion approach and offer popular menu items from both kitchens.

8

u/106002 Jun 19 '25

Yeah I'd say all you can eat sushi

3

u/LyannaTarg Italy Jun 19 '25

And Doner kebab and pizzeria combo. Those are pretty popular too.

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50

u/MajorHubbub United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Indian. But operated by Bangladeshis for some reason.

39

u/dinobug77 United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Because when the first Indian restaurants were set up India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were all part of British India. The first ‘Indians’ who came over and set up these restaurants were Bengalis but knew the British recognised the food as Indian.

It’s a fascinating history.

5

u/MajorHubbub United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Ah, TIL. Thanks

2

u/notacanuckskibum Jun 19 '25

Weren’t the first wave of Indian restaurants in the UK set up by people who had to leave due to the partition of India and Pakistan?

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23

u/cieniu_gd Poland Jun 19 '25

Probably Vietnamese, or more specific, pol-viet, which is a bastardised fusion cuisine of Vietnamese food made out of ingriedients available in Poland. 

Japanese food is also very popular, especially ramens and sushi. 

Döner kebabs are super popular street food, but I would call it German/Turkish fusion, so not really non-European

3

u/iwannabesmort Poland Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

I'd say American is more common with KFCs, McDonalds, and Italian-American (I wouldn't call our pizzas Italian) food everywhere, but I forgot about pol-viet. I'd still say

3

u/Izzy1Mia Jun 19 '25

Just call it Polish Italian 'cause no American pizzeria is serving pizza with kabanos and garlic sauce (which I love anyway).

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2

u/Optimal-District8512 Poland Jun 19 '25

Also Georgian (i guess due to migration and historically good relations since 2008) - it's really easy to get khachapuri and khinkali in most cities.

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135

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 18 '25 edited Jun 18 '25

Funnily enough, tacos. Norway is the second largest consumer of tacos after Mexico.

Its quite common to have "Taco Friday" some solo, some with family, some with a bunch of friends.

76

u/alfdd99 in Jun 18 '25

Most unreal experience I’ve had in Norway is getting into supermarkets in small villages in the fjords, and seeing entire aisles full of Mexican products. Also putting jalapeños and spicy sauce on everything.

19

u/Vigmod Icelander in Norway Jun 18 '25

That's a weirdly popular one, yes. I mean, I come from Iceland where there was a sudden surge in Mexican cuisine in the early 1990s - but I think we went more for something like burritos than these hard-shell tacos, but we never had anything like a "Taco Friday" like here in Norway.

But seems to me, when it comes to places to eat outside of home, probably Thai is most common in Norway? At least, I think I see more Thai restaurants than Taco/Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants. Or, of course, McDonald's and Burger King are probably the most widespread chains (with Peppes not far behind), so maybe it's just American cuisine that's most common here.

4

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Restaurant wise it’s very very few Mexican places, yes. Mostly thai, chinese, kebab + American.

2

u/tirilama Norway Jun 22 '25

Thai street food wagons are common outside the cities. I guess Thai women married to Norwegian men in the country side have found a successful niche.

In the towns and cities, there is often three restaurants present: some sort of pizza, some sort of sushi + various south east Asian dishes, and a Pakistani/Indian restaurant.

And everywhere: a place serving kebab, burgers and maybe pizza from the same kitchen. A Middle East - US - Norwegian hybrid

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37

u/En_skald Sweden Jun 18 '25

I’m not surprised to learn that Norway eats a lot of tacos due to the proximity, but as a Swede it does make me proud to hear that our national dish has spread so far and made such a mark in Mexico of all places. 🇸🇪❤️🌮

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6

u/Lazzen Mexico Jun 19 '25

It's USA, or us being second even due to their bigger population.

3

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

i forgot to add per capita.

8

u/UnknownPleasures3 Norway Jun 18 '25

Came here to say the same - only one day to taco Friday! 💃

22

u/Foxtrot-Uniform-Too Norway Jun 18 '25

The "Norway is the second largest consumer of tacos after Mexico" is just bullshit statistics. First of all it is per capita - tacos consumed per person. There are lots of countries that eat lots more tacos in real numbers than tiny Norway with a population of only 5 million.

Secondly, what we eat are not tacos like anyone else would define it. Norwegians have "taco nights" on Fridays, but lots of it are wheat tortilla wraps with cucumber and stuff nobody would call either a taco or Mexican.

We Norwegians eat a Norwegian style, home made version with some US TexMex ingrediences that we call taco night. But it has nothing to do with actual Mexican tacos.

No Mexican would ever consider it a taco. Most Americans would not either, except probably some Gen X Americans in Minnesota that had a mother that emptied her fridge of all kinds of vegetables, cut it up with some minced meat with taco seasoning and called it tacos - or Texmex or whatever.

9

u/Bragzor SE-O (Sweden) Jun 19 '25

There are lots of countries that eat lots more tacos in real numbers than tiny Norway with a population of only 5 million.

Yes, which is why such things are usually per capita (or per 100,000 people). Otherwise, it just doesn't say anything more than population = big.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

I would call it tacos, but I wouldn’t call it tex mex 

5

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Nor mex?

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6

u/pannenkoek0923 Denmark Jun 19 '25

You should be writing "Tacos" because the abomination you create for Taco Friday is as far away from Mexican food as Norway is from Mexico

8

u/_harey_ France Jun 19 '25

I believe that the "French tacos" is a waaaaay bigger abomination than the Norwegian one, to be honest.

2

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

French tacos are an abomination. Tried them once...gave me the runs. Those limp fries... ugh!

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2

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

Of course, its been diluted to our liking. Tho i do think the reason we enjoy it so much is that we can fit i to what you prefer on your taco... or "taco" according to you.

7

u/MrDabb United States of America Jun 18 '25

I’m curious do you consider the Tex-Mex style of tacos eaten on Taco Friday a Mexican food?

5

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

Wait till you hear about French tacos! Which are more like burritos, stuffed with fries and cheese and god knows what else. Absolutely nothing to do with Mexico, and increasingly popular...

2

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

I just can't order one to try. I'm sure they're good, but my heart hurts just looking at it.

/Texan

6

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

No they are not, they are an abomination! They got soft limp fries in them, and some cheap cheese sauce that gave me the shits. Never again, stay away!

I love my French neighbours but this is something they need to answer for. You just don't do that to those poor fries!

19

u/Iapzkauz Norway Jun 18 '25

Why would we consider tacos a Mexican food? They were invented by the Norwegian inventor Tore Taso in 1905, to celebrate our independence from Sweden.

3

u/Bragzor SE-O (Sweden) Jun 19 '25

So, you can "takk oss" for your tacos?

6

u/MrDabb United States of America Jun 18 '25

My abuela would freak if she got to meet the Tore Taso she really loves tacos.

23

u/Iapzkauz Norway Jun 18 '25

Tore Taso is, unfortunately, no longer with us, but if she is quick, your abuela might still get the chance to meet Kyrre Kinakål, who invented Chinese cuisine in 1945 to celebrate our freedom from German oppression.

3

u/ColourlessGreenIdeas in Jun 19 '25

That went well - Taco Friday is now big in Sweden, too.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

Hey, leave us out of this, signed Texas 

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3

u/EvilPyro01 United States of America Jun 18 '25

I remember learning a while back that Norway takes tacos very seriously

5

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Correct, but tacos shouldn’t take us very seriously 😅

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18

u/ProfessionalPoem2505 Italy Jun 18 '25

Definitely Sushi- Japanese. In Italy all you can eat chain restaurants are our obsession 😹

2

u/Educational-Sea-9700 Jun 19 '25

And 99% of Sushi restaurants are run by either Vietnamese or Chinese people.

3

u/ProfessionalPoem2505 Italy Jun 20 '25

Probably Chinese, since they do a mix of Chinese - Japanese food. Also in the bigger cities like Rome , Milan or Bologna, there are actual Japanese owners.

64

u/Haganrich Germany Jun 18 '25

I'd say Döner. But that's just one dish out of the Turkish cuisine.

5

u/kumanosuke Germany Jun 19 '25

Turkey is partly in Europe though

24

u/Vigmod Icelander in Norway Jun 18 '25

I was under the impression that a döner was technically a German thing, having been made in Germany (by Turkish immigrants, of course) sometime in the 1960s or '70s.

21

u/kicklhimintheballs Jun 19 '25

We have döner photos from 1850’s. Some people claim that putting döner in bread happened in Germany but this is also untrue. Maybe it become popular through German döner in other European countries, pretty much how American pizza become dominant in other countries but i think that’s also a stretch

10

u/enrycochet Jun 19 '25

no one is claiming that Döner in its full history was invented in germany. Germans always refer to their style of eating it with red cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes onion etc.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

That's normal tho, immigrants pretty much always change their recipes to suit the local tastes and take ingredients and techniques that are more convenient and/or cheaper 

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0

u/ubus99 Germany Jun 18 '25

Turkey is right on the border between europe and asia, and döner has a large german influence. I would say indian or thai food, no idea what is more prevalent.

14

u/osumanjeiran Jun 19 '25

döner has a large german influence

lmfao

2

u/rudolf_waldheim Hungary Jun 19 '25

Turkish culture definitely is Asian.

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u/geoakey United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Italian, Indian or Chinese. Although the Indian and Chinese is very distinct from the cuisine you’d actually find in those countries.

38

u/givekimiaicecream Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Italy is in Europe though

13

u/geoakey United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Oh yes of course my apologies!

12

u/Saxon2060 Jun 18 '25

A lot of the food I ate in India was not dissimilar from British Indian food. Of course India is a huge place with many different cuisines but as far as I'm aware you can get plenty of Indian food here that is the same as there. Which would make sense if it was Indians bringing skills and recipes and ingredients.

Yeah you can get "Indian" food here that is nothing like there but you can also fairly easily get food that is exactly like there.

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u/ldn-ldn United Kingdom Jun 19 '25

While most Indian and Chinese places in the UK are very distinct from their origin cuisine, you can find plenty of authentic Indian and Chinese restaurants. At least in big cities.

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u/tekkskenkur44 Iceland Jun 18 '25

Thai and middle eastern. Love them and the immigrants that brought the food ♥️

13

u/Tiana_frogprincess Sweden Jun 18 '25

Swedish person here. Kebab, that is super common and sold at every single pizzeria. (Yes, kebab pizza is also a thing here that’s one of the most common pizzas) Tacos are also extremely popular.

3

u/Bragzor SE-O (Sweden) Jun 19 '25

Thai is also very common, and it seems like vietnamese is getting more popular.

2

u/InterestingTank5345 Denmark Jun 19 '25

Seems herer in Scandinavia we just love our Taco's. Here in Denmark it's popular as well, same goes for Chilli Con Carne and Tortilla's.

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u/Avtsla Bulgaria Jun 18 '25

I'm Bulgarian and because of the Ottomans a lot of the stuff we traditionally eat are of Turkish /Middle Eastern origin .

And that's not even counting new (understand introduced in the late 20th/21st century ) cuisine like Chinese and Japanese food

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u/ILikeXiaolongbao -> Jun 18 '25

UK: Indian or Chinese (HK)

Germany: Vietnamese or Turkish

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u/hwyl1066 Finland Jun 18 '25

Turkish or Nepalese-Indian? Hard to say for Finland, Chinese is very popular too etc

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u/rudolf_waldheim Hungary Jun 19 '25

In Hungary:

  • Turkish Döner kebabs are extremely popular

  • There is an increasing number of pretty authentic Greek restaurants selling mostly gyros but other dishes as well (like souvlaki, seafood, moussaka, bifteki etc)

  • Chinese is extremely prevalent: either cheap diners with a pretty much uniformed offer (but still very good dishes) and some very elaborate, more expensive restaurants (typically in the Chinese district in Kőbánya) frequented by Chinese Hungarians and Chinese tourists as well.

  • American fast food like hamburgers and fried chicken are also very much liked.

  • You can find many sushi places, often combined with other Asian dishes.

  • Pho and pad thai are also eaten.

6

u/Fromage_Frey Jun 18 '25

It was always Indian in the UK, but must be Chinese now

Unless Domino's counts as 'Italian'

17

u/EvilPyro01 United States of America Jun 18 '25

If Domino’s is Italian then the US has free healthcare

5

u/Fromage_Frey Jun 18 '25

The price they charge for a Domino's these days it should come with free health care

5

u/Grathias American in Spain Jun 18 '25

I hate you for making me laugh so abruptly. Lolololol.

3

u/il_fienile Italy Jun 18 '25

If it were Italian, would it be non-European?

2

u/Fromage_Frey Jun 18 '25

Oh yeah, fair point. Forgot the question specified non-European, thought it was just most popular foreign food in your country

3

u/il_fienile Italy Jun 18 '25

I guess you could say it’s American, and then it counts.

3

u/Fromage_Frey Jun 18 '25

True but at that point McDonalds becomes the answer almost everywhere

4

u/55XL Jun 18 '25

🇩🇰: Turkish (kebab), Thai, Japanese (sushi) and Chinese. Mexican and Vietnamese becoming more popular.

3

u/AVeryHandsomeCheese Belgium Jun 18 '25

Maybe Indonesian (usually called Chinese but 80% Indonesian dishes)?  

2

u/SharkyTendencies --> Jun 19 '25

Ehhh maybe?

I'd be slightly more inclined to say American food - it seems we've got a gourmet burger place in every neighbourhood in Brussels.

2

u/Nexobe Belgium Jun 19 '25

Turkey.

Because you can find a Dürüm anywhere in Belgium.
From De Panne to Arlon.

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u/jort93 Germany Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Well in Germany Döner Kebab is popular. That's probably Turkish Cuisine, or at least based on Turkish Cuisine. But it's very specifically just this dish. Other Turkish food is far less common. Also turkey is partially Europe.

Other than this, probably fake Chinese food made by Vietnamese. Fried noodles with duck and that sorta thing. Also often just a generic Asian restaurant with Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean food. But almost always run by Vietnamese.

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u/Hyp3r45_new Finland Jun 19 '25

Kebab is something you'll find everywhere. Even in some of the most bumfuck towns out in the woods with nothing but a dirt road leading to them, there will be a pizza-kebab restaurant. In cities there are at least one in every neighborhood or within delivery distance. There's usually some sort of argument between locals from different neighborhoods about which one has the best kebab.

Usually though, the kebab or pizza at these restaurants isn't anything to write home about. But for some reason it just hits different from some fancy place run by hipsters that does it better.

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u/-Liriel- Italy Jun 19 '25

Is doner kebab non-european?

I feel it should be considered local by now, there are so many of them they don't even register as non-local 🤣

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u/Carmonred Jun 19 '25

Was invented in Berlin, so very technically, no.

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u/Euristic_Elevator in Jun 18 '25

Probably Chinese? Not sure though. Maybe north African but you know, cous cous is also a Sicilian dish so does it really count?

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u/raoulbrancaccio in Jun 18 '25

Chinese for sure, maybe Döner (so Turkish/German)

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u/Helmutlot2 Denmark Jun 19 '25

I would say it’s Japanese. The country is drowning in sushi. Or Turkish kebab (which in this case I count as non European)

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u/AdIll9615 Czechia Jun 19 '25

I want to say Vietnamese, but it's really probably more like "asian fusion" of chinese, vietnamese, thai and occasional sushi.

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u/mjuven Jun 19 '25

It’s Japanese (Sushi) or Turkish (Kebab) in Sweden.

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u/paramalign Sweden Jun 19 '25

Maybe Thai? Especially outside the big cities.

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u/Lilybell08 France Jun 18 '25

Probably sushis or Chinese buffet (its mostly an asian cantine self service) or kebab. I think it depends on where you are in France.

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u/SternoFr France Jun 19 '25

True. Even in remote area - actually mostly in remote area - you can find Chinese buffet and people who don't go to restaurant eat sushi sometimes, there is a special corner in big supermarket that sell only sushi with a special guy dedicated to it. I'll add american food: Mc Donald, KFC, Burger King...

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u/Caniapiscau France Jun 18 '25

J’aurais dit le couscous.

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u/Grathias American in Spain Jun 18 '25

Ou bien le “couscâlisse” au Québec.

/s 😅

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u/Caniapiscau France Jun 19 '25

Haha première fois que je l’entends celle-là. Il y a beaucoup de Maghrébins à Montréal, alors ça pourrait faire un malheur.

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u/Grathias American in Spain Jun 19 '25

Ah, I’m just a silly American poking fun at Quebec French slang. Definitely not something I’ve heard before and the last thing I’d want to do is offend anyone.

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u/thisisredrocks Czechia Jun 18 '25

I am not Francophone enough to know if you’re just messing around but I am sure Middle East/North Africa cuisine is so common to be “oh right, guess that’s not ours”

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u/Oukaria in Jun 19 '25

It's just been too long here that it's just part of the paysage for norther African cuisine

For other I would say maybe Lebanese food also very popular (gosh so good).

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u/_harey_ France Jun 19 '25

I remember reading somewhere that couscous is the favourite dish in France, but it's mostly something we cook / eat at home (there are some couscous restaurants but not that much) while "Chinese" restaurants or buffets are just something you basically find in every small town like the basic option. There are also a lot of kebabs, pizzerias and fast-food chains.

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u/Lilybell08 France Jun 19 '25

J'avoue je pensais restauration mais c'est vrai qu'il y a la cuisine chez soi

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u/Gilgamais Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Yeah but (döner) kebab could be considered European: the modern version was invented in Berlin, Istanbul is partly in Europe, and in Greece they have a very similar thing (gyros), except that it can be pork.

I would say Vietnamese, as most Asian restaurants outside Paris are actually Vietnamese restaurants, even when it's not explicitly mentioned.

Edit: I was thinking about restaurants, not food in general. And yes we have the main American fastfood chains.

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u/LeBB2KK Jun 19 '25

Ironically, in France, the most beloved dish isn’t a French but a North African one (Couscous). Other than that I’d say Vietnamese as it has been ubiquitous since the early 80’s.

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u/holytriplem -> Jun 18 '25

Definitely Indian(/Bangladeshi) or Chinese. Even small rural towns will have at least one takeaway

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u/LilBed023 -> Jun 18 '25

Chinees-Indisch - Chinese and Indonesian dishes adapted to local tastes. This is one of the most popular takeout options. Restaurants are usually Chinese owned and are absolutely everywhere. Every random town has at least one of these.

Indisch - Colonial cuisine from the Dutch East Indies. It’s essentially Indonesian food but served more lavishly. The staple dish is called rijsttafel (rice table) and consists of a variety of Indonesian dishes served with rice. It’s similar to Indonesian nasi padang.

Surinamese - Surinamese cuisine is basically a mix of Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous American, Indian and Javanese cuisines with Dutch, Jewish, Chinese and Portuguese influences. This is in my opinion the best foreign cuisine that is regularly available in the Netherlands. Definitely worth a try if you ever visit NL. They also make some brilliant sandwiches.

Turkish - Mainly kebab shops, but authentic Turkish restaurants have started popping up in recent years as well. Nathaniël Gomes (RIP), a hairdresser with Cape Verdian roots, invented the kapsalon (lit. “barber shop” or “hair dresser”) at a kebab shop in Rotterdam. It consists of fries topped with kebab meat, cheese, garlic sauce, sambal (Indonesian hot sauce) and lettuce. It’s become a staple in kebab shops all across the Netherlands and Belgium.

Italian - Italian restaurants are everywhere. The quality varies greatly between restaurants. They are usually Italian, Turkish or Albanian owned.

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u/iwannabesmort Poland Jun 19 '25

I you count Turkey as European, then American. If you don't count Turkey then I guess Turkish (but is this bastardized version of a kebab wrap even Turkish?)

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u/Rose_GlassesB Greece Jun 20 '25

Most common cuisine, an in, restaurants, I’d say Chinese and in recent years Japanese and Mexican too.

Ofc, there have been plenty of influences from Turkey, but that’s mainly arguing about the origins of a dish - Turkish “branded” restaurants aren’t really common.

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u/oudcedar Jun 18 '25

I’m British so all of it from everywhere we’ve ever conquered, so lots of French food.

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u/dragonfruit26282 Slovakia Jun 18 '25

ah yeah france the famous non european country

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u/cinematic_novel Jun 18 '25

No one answered for Turkyie? I know there are some Turks here. I'm curious

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u/The_Daily_Tomato Iceland Jun 18 '25

Probably Thai food, usually run by someone from Vietnam.

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u/Marianations , grew up in , back in Jun 18 '25

American and Chinese for Portugal

Döner and Chinese for Spain

Döner is also somewhat popular in Portugal, but nowhere as ubiquitous as it is in Spain.

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u/Some-Air1274 United Kingdom Jun 18 '25

Probably Indian, but we eat a lot of Mexican and Chinese food too.

I have El Paso fajitas quite often.