Authentic Mexican tacos never come in crispy corn shells (that’s a sure sign of a butchered Tex-Mex variant). They’re always soft – made from corn or wheat flour – and piled high with seasoned meats, piquant salsa and flavour builders like onions and coriander. No wonder this street food is fast coming back into vogue.

The mille-feuille has many names: vanilla slice, Napoleon or custard pastry. Its exact origins are a little hazy, but its form is almost always standard, comprising three layers of puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) alternating with two layers of pastry cream (crème pâtissière).

The Spaniard’s rendition of the French croquette, these fried poppers are a staple on tapas menus. Eat them hot – crisp breadcrumbed exteriors give way to molten centres of velvety smooth béchamel, the perfect foil to chunks of salty jamón, earthy setas and rich seafood. We’ve rounded up our top picks of the addictive starchy…

Local bartenders are injecting cheeky touches into this tomato-based classic. Here’s where to sip on the best of these novel tipples.