Tucked away on a little street in Ottensen, Hamburg you will find a cosy and personal Portuguese restaurant which is different from the somewhat soulless and touristy Portuguese restaurants in the so called portugese quarter of Neustadt.

The restaurant Ribatejo (translated: on the shores of the river Tejo) in Ottensen is far more atmospheric and attracts a mixed crowd of youngsters, couples and elderly people. There are many regular guests – always a good sign that customers like to come back again and again.

Here you can either just enjoy a decent wine (really tasty Rose wine for example!!) or you can enjoy Tapas or other traditional dishes The tiny and somewhat open kitchen is set pretty much in the middle of the place. So sit down on a wooden bench, relax and sip your wine while watching your meal getting prepared!

Compared to many other portuguese restaurants and bars, this place has a really nice atmosphere: Nice lighting, a tasteful interior and bar/counter, old cobble stone (!) on the floor (as it used to be the entrance of a backyard for carriages). In summer there are two little benches outside of the bar – sit down and watch the quiet life of Ottensen floating by like the river Tejo. This place can only make you feel very comfortable!

By Linda Nepicks from SpottedByLocals.com/hamburg
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One of Amsterdam’s newest clubs: Canvas is located on the top floor of the former Volkskrant (newspaper) building.

Canvas is not only a club; it’s also a café, restaurant, lounge, cocktail bar and exhibition hall. Because it’s not too close to the city centre, the venue is transformed into a local hotspot. The ultimate hangout of young creatives, students, and inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

Not only the spectacular panoramic view over Amsterdam makes this venue worth visiting. Other super features are the two rooftop terraces and the customized second hand furniture by artists.

In weekends DJs make sure you can dance the night away. Due to its small measurements, the intimate and cosy atmosphere is preserved. I can recall a certain Berlin-style.

The small menu offers the possibility to have dinner or lunch. Don’t expect exquisite dishes but the Canvasburger is tasty and reasonably priced. Simple but just fine!

Photo by Sophie Reitsma

By Sophie Reitsma, from SpottedbyLocals.com/amsterdam.
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I love to eat at African restaurants so I thought I’d tell you about a couple of my New York favorites.

Madiba (195 Dekalb Ave; 718.855.9190) in Fort Greene is a longstanding favorite, a convivial South African spot with wooden benches, colorful paintings and quirky folk art. I’ve been going there since it first opened in the late 1990s in a tiny front room that now houses the bar. The owner has since moved to Miami and opened a South Beach branch of Madiba. More recently, the Brooklyn flagship updated its menu. Apart from curry and stew mainstays, offbeat food options include ostrich carpaccio and prawns peri-peri. If entrails are your thing, don’t skip their spicy chicken livers. I was at Madiba the night before the inauguration and the party was on, with live music and lots of people celebrating.

A couple of months ago, I fell in love with A Bistro (154 Carlton Ave, 718.855.9455; closed Mondays), an intimate Senegalese spot where the ambiance is down-home and communal and the food a real pleasure to your taste buds. The actual menu is small but the daily specials are extensive and include a lot of great fish options and mouthwatering desserts (don’t skip their banana shortcake!). The portions are on the small side but the interesting flavors make up for that. The only thing is: the restaurant is BYOB so make sure you pick up a bottle of wine or some beer along the way. They do have great and quite unusual juices, served warm or cold.

When I have a craving for Ethiopian, I usually head to the downtown branch of Awash in the East Village (338 East 6th Street; 212.982.9589). The food served here is great for sharing – the combo dishes are best, all served with the spongy injera bread. The decor is nothing to write home about but the atmosphere is low-key and unpretentious. And it’s so much fun to eat with your hands! Plus I really like the sweet Ethiopian honey wine they serve. The uptown branch (947 Amsterdam Avenue; 212.961.1416) is apparently worth trying too, if you’re in that neck of the woods.

Photo “African food menu” by Joi on Flickr

Visit everthenomad.com for more by Anja Mutic