Zibo's food scene is defined by its barbecue culture, which went viral in 2023 and put the city on the map for food tourists across China. The small-skewer style — grilled at the table, wrapped in flatbread with green onions — is the thing to eat here, and the barbecue districts around Zhangdian are the place to do it.
Beyond barbecue, Zibo offers the standard range of Shandong cuisine: braised pork, scallion pancakes, and the wheat-based dishes that characterize northern Chinese cooking. The city's Hui (Muslim Chinese) community supports a number of halal restaurants focused on lamb dishes. For a sit-down meal away from the barbecue scene, the Zhoucun district has restaurants in the old buildings serving traditional Shandong dishes.