The World’s Best Food Halls (Dig In!)

It’s a trend that just won’t quit: one-stop dining destinations that bring together the best food stalls and restaurants under one roof. The hardest part? Deciding what to eat.

Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market, Atlanta

Atlanta has not one but two new food halls. The first, Krog Street Market, is set in a warehouse built in the 1920s. Big name local chefs like Top Chef‘s Eli Kirshtein (The Luminary), Ford Fry (Superica), and James Beard Award—nominee Todd Ginsberg (Yalla) have all set up shop. Meanwhile, Ponce City Market is breathing new life into a 1926 Sears. What to expect: a casual seafood spot from Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia fame, the new Mexican food concept Minero from Sean Brock, and a sceney cocktail bar called the Mercury.

Avanti F&B, Denver

The 1898 Avanti Print and Graphics building is now home to seven restaurants, including three food trucks turned brick-and-mortars: Quiero Arepas, Brava! pizzeria, and the fast-casual Poco Torteria, from the owner of Pinche Tacos. The best part? Lunch entrees are all $9 or less, and dinner plates top out at $15. It’s all set in the trendy Lower Highlands neighborhood, or LoHi as locals call it.

City Kitchen at Row NYC, New York City

NYC has an insatiable appetite for food halls. The latest addition? City Kitchen, which joins Gotham West, Berg’n, and Urban Space Vanderbilt, among others. It’s an oasis of deliciousness amid the craziness of Times Square, with an outpost of Luke’s Lobster, Brooklyn’s Dough (don’t miss the chocolate salted caramel donut) and Kuro Obi ramen, to name a few.

China Live, San Francisco

This multilevel Chinese food emporium, designed by the all-star firm AvroKO, is set to open in late fall in Chinatown. Celebrated chef Cecilia Chiang, known as “the matriarch of Chinese cuisine in America,” was tapped to help run the 30,000-square-foot project, which will include a market, a cafe and the fine dining restaurant Eight Tables.

Grand Central Market, Los Angeles

The high-ceilinged downtown market first opened in 1917, but it only recently received a face-lift, and new stalls continue to open. A few fresh additions: a pasta bar and attached retail space from chef Bruce Kalman of Pasadena’s Union restaurant, and Mark Peel’s seafood spot Bombo. Make sure to save room for chocolate almond brittle ice cream from Santa Barbara-based McConnell’s.

St. Roch, New Orleans

Another historic market has been reborn. The open-air St. Roch, which was built in 1875 and shuttered after Hurricane Katrina, is back in business. There’s Shank Charcuterie for meats and cheeses; Elysian Seafood, a combo retail space and small plates restaurant; and the Korean-meets-Creole spot Koreole.

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Markthal, Rotterdam

Markthal may be the Netherlands’ largest indoor market—with about 20 shops/restaurants and 90 different vendors—but it’s more than just a place to go to for a bite. There’s a Chinese bakery, a Sicilian pasta bar and other internationally inspired spots. It’s also home to what’s been called the “Sistine Chapel of Rotterdam,” thanks to the psychedelic artwork of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs by Arno Coenen that covers the entire ceiling and walls.

Les Halles de la Major, Marseilles

Marseilles is a city on the way up—and this new food hall proves it. The place is a showcase of local seafood, from oysters to sea urchin to octopus. Pick up some fresh ceviche to eat at one of the picnic tables outside.

Food Garden, Tijuana

This is not your average mall food court. Set in the open-air shopping center Plaza Rio, the 11,000-square-foot space unites some of the region’s best chefs, including Javier Plascencia, the man who put Tijuana on the culinary map. At Food Garden he runs an oyster and ceviche bar, while chef Martin San Roman turns out crispy chickens at his popular rotisserie.

Copenhagen Street Food, Copenhagen

Can’t make it to Korea, or Turkey, or Morocco? Just visit this collection of 20-plus vendors—just a six-minute walk from world famous Noma—which brings together a world of down-to-earth dishes typically served at street stalls. If you’d rather focus on drinking, there’s the sailor-themed bar Stormly (which features organic Danish beer and rum) and the Bucket Bar, which serves bottled cocktails in a bucket of ice.

More from Jetsetter.com:

• We speak to chef Alfred Portale
• Check out the World’s Craziest Tasting Menus
• Sample the Best Beach Food Around the World

—Brooke Porter

This article was originally published by Jetsetter.com under the headline The World’s Best Food Halls (Dig In!). It is reprinted here with permission.