Some of the best meals aren’t in restaurants at all. They’re in community centres, church basements, or unmarked back rooms of grocery stores.
Hidden kitchens often serve food rooted in tradition — dumplings folded by hand, curries cooked from memory, barbecue smoked in a backyard pit. The atmosphere is casual, the prices modest, and the flavours unforgettable.
Finding them takes curiosity: follow the locals, look for handwritten signs, and don’t be afraid to wander into unfamiliar spaces. Every city has its hidden kitchens — you just have to know where to look.