Top 10 Best National Dishes
National dishes are a part of a nation's identity and self-image. A national dish is strongly associated with a particular country for several reasons:1. It is a staple food.
2. It is made from a selection of locally available ingredients, sometimes considered exotic.
3. It is served as a festive culinary tradition that is part of a cultural heritage.
4. It is a part of a religious practice.
5. It has been promoted as a national dish by the country itself.
It wasn't easy to make this list because:
On one hand, a country may have more than one national dish, especially large countries with diverse traditions and cultures (e.g., the USA and India).
On the other hand, two or more countries may claim the same national dish. For instance, both Peru and Ecuador claim ceviche as their national dish.
I ranked the dishes according to my personal taste, and as you know, taste is highly subjective. I did not rank the countries, so nobody should feel offended.

Call me biased, but I really like it.
But a British guy wrote something in an article about dishes that can't be called biased because he isn't Canadian:
"I tried this one very recently after my Canadian roommate very patriotically wouldn't stop raving on about it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. This is food for addicts, pure and simple. You have greasy chips (or fries, as you people over the pond call them) that are then loaded with cheese curds and topped off with a generous slathering of rich gravy. When I tried this dish, the world faded away around me, I dived in and totally forgot my friends, my manners, my name..."
Yup, don't forget to write your name on a sheet of paper before you try poutine.

Cheeseburgers are so good. I prefer them homemade, as they are healthier that way.

Gyro (or gyros) is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Often, several types of meat are placed on the spit (lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, veal), and they may be grilled for as long as a day. The resulting taste is incredible. It can be served on a plate or as a wrap. Gyro is like shawarma or döner kebab.
I like this type of meat preparation.
Contenders: Moussaka, Souvlaki


I tried it and I loved it.
It is a very thin, breaded, and pan-fried cutlet made from veal.

In Montreal, Canada (where I live), many varieties of dumplings can be found in grocery stores, and I like most of them.

I like most of the sushi varieties.

Almost irresistible.

Contenders: Polenta, Pizza, Risotto.
Pizza is probably the most popular Italian dish worldwide, but in most sources, pasta is considered their national dish more often than pizza.

New Zealand lamb, particularly the leg, is prized for its flavor and tenderness.
Contenders: Bacon and egg pie, Pavlova
The Newcomers

I think I would like this. In our grocery store, there are Macadamia Nut Cookies, which I like.

A dish with fried plantains as its main ingredient. Plantains are fried, then mashed with salt, garlic, and oil (plantains are picked green).

I didn't do research, but I have a feeling that this might be the most popular food internationally.

I definitely like it!

According to Wikipedia, Fish and Chips are traditionally wrapped in white paper and newspaper.

Very popular in North America (US, Canada), not only in Mexico.
Whenever I hear Mexico, this is the first thing that comes to mind for me.

A fried pork and potato-based dish.

Yay, they are the best. I love these.
Swedish meatballs.


A crêpe (or crepe) is a very thin pancake.

It's a baked case of dough with a sweet or savory filling.
There are many different fillings as well as complex combinations (chicken, eggs, onions, fish, and many more).

(aka Doner kebab).
Doner kebab inspired similar dishes such as the Arab shawarma, Greek gyros, and Mexican al pastor. The vertical rotisserie was invented in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire.

A dish of chunks of roasted marinated chicken (chicken tikka) in a spiced curry sauce.

Dolma is stuffed veggies - usually tomato, pepper, eggplant, onion, zucchini, garlic.

Traditional dish of the Valencian Community of Spain.

That is pretty good - small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer.

It's a meat patty.