Many of us have found ourselves in situations where we’re traveling in an unplanned place, and hours have passed since our last meal, making us hungry. If you’re prepared and foresighted, you’ll likely have a sandwich, salad, or snack with you. If you’ve done your planning in advance, you know exactly where and when you’re set, although even then, this guide might come in handy. But if you’re spontaneous like us, and each day is a new adventure leading who knows where, this will probably be useful.
In reality, there are no new discoveries or tools here; I’m just going to show you how we use Google Maps to find places to eat in such situations. For better visualization, I’ve attached marked screenshots.
Using this technique will help you avoid tourist traps and, ideally, discover hidden local gems, find open places with the cuisine you want (especially relevant in Mediterranean countries after noon), and quickly orient yourself in the culinary landscape.
When you open Maps, you’ll see buttons at the top, and among them, there’s usually an option for restaurants. If not, you can enter a search term yourself or narrow it down to coffee, pizza, ice cream, healthy food, etc.
When you press the button on the map, results will appear. Usually, there are a lot of them, so it’s good to filter them. I typically set price ranges, ratings, and the desired time. If you need something right away, there’s a handy “Open Now” button.
From the remaining results, you can either choose your desired place on the map or view them as a list, depending on how important proximity is.
For the place you like, check the exact opening hours, read reviews—I usually filter them by recency and look at popular buttons in the reviews. They often highlight the best dishes, unique features of the place, etc.
Recently, there’s even an option to book a table directly through Maps. They have a collaboration with Fork.
The Fork is basically a one-stop reservation and review website so you don’t have to call the restaurants directly to look for availability, check the menu, or read reviews elsewhere. On top of that, there’s a filter option to look for restaurants that are currently offering some kind of menu or promotion.
This option can be selected in the filter, but it may exclude many good options that don’t offer this feature.
However, nearly every restaurant listing includes a phone number to check availability, and a Directions button that will guide you to the restaurant by car, bike, on foot, or by public transport.
Google Maps certainly has much broader uses, but this is just one example. Enjoy your meal!
For more reports and other useful information, check out the group.
