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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think street food festivals are a bit overrated?

80 replies

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:03

There is a street food festival on locally to us this weekend. We’ve been before a number of times and to some other ones else where. Some of our crowd want to go again but I’m getting a bit fed up of them. I think the food the vendors make is often really nice but under street food festival conditions things go down hill fast. It’s either really hot and sunny with no shade or raining with no cover. It’s crowded, the queues are massive, quality control under the pressure goes down quickly so your food is a bit undercooked or things are missing, there isn’t enough seating, the food can be restaurant prices and the bars are also crowded and expensive.

So I know you are thinking just don’t go then and I’m probably not going to go. I did go to one that started at lunch time and we went at about 2pm, it was really quiet and that was actually quite nice. But am I being unreasonable to think that they are a bit overrated and to wonder if there are only really worth it if you enjoy big crowds?

OP posts:
jumpingjohnny · 24/04/2026 16:18

Too much choice. Id prefer to pay an entrance fee and have sample size food from each vendor. Like a sampling menu. Could give you X number of tickets to avoid gluttony.

WallyHilloughby · 24/04/2026 16:14

Always jam packed full of hipsters making out it’s the most exciting thing they’ve ever been to

CaragianettE · 24/04/2026 16:13

Ok I’m going to go against the grain, I like them. I like being able to get something I wouldn’t have normally, like churros. I like being able to mix cuisines in a way you probably can’t in a restaurant, e.g. Chinese for main, Spanish for dessert. I haven’t found them exorbitantly expensive, certainly not compared to the now-ridiculous price of food in supermarkets and restaurants. Post-Covid, I like eating in the fresh air. I’m sure there are bad ones, but at the few I’ve been to, the food has been really tasty. I enjoy them with friends and on my own. I think the main thing is to try not to go at peak times when the crowds and queues are overwhelming, but that applies to anything really.

Boomer55 · 24/04/2026 16:13

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:03

There is a street food festival on locally to us this weekend. We’ve been before a number of times and to some other ones else where. Some of our crowd want to go again but I’m getting a bit fed up of them. I think the food the vendors make is often really nice but under street food festival conditions things go down hill fast. It’s either really hot and sunny with no shade or raining with no cover. It’s crowded, the queues are massive, quality control under the pressure goes down quickly so your food is a bit undercooked or things are missing, there isn’t enough seating, the food can be restaurant prices and the bars are also crowded and expensive.

So I know you are thinking just don’t go then and I’m probably not going to go. I did go to one that started at lunch time and we went at about 2pm, it was really quiet and that was actually quite nice. But am I being unreasonable to think that they are a bit overrated and to wonder if there are only really worth it if you enjoy big crowds?

I’ve always found them a bit grim, but plenty of people love them. 🙂

Monty36 · 24/04/2026 16:11

Best I have been to was in Italy. Good food. Served fast, dead cheap. ( think £1.50p per person - was a few years ago), but hygiene was excellent. Pizza or cheap chicken dinner. That was the choice. Wine extra. Limited but done very very well.
Good tables and benches and lots of them. Not all wraps this, and burger that, or hot chilli this and that. Pizza or chicken.
It really was a notch above and superb.

Monty36 · 24/04/2026 16:05

I always think the hygiene is a bit suspect. Eg. Rice warm for ages…. Mmm lovely.
The vendors know you can never really point to their stall to say they caused a problem.

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:41

DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/04/2026 15:34

They can be, and overpriced. It depends how it's done really. Expensive, crowded, meh food = no thanks. Nice atmosphere, fair pricing, not stupid queues, good food, places to sit, eat your food and get a beer also = sounds good.

Yeah if I could get that I’d probably be in. It’s unfortunately rare in my experience.

OP posts:
DeftGoldHedgehog · 24/04/2026 15:34

They can be, and overpriced. It depends how it's done really. Expensive, crowded, meh food = no thanks. Nice atmosphere, fair pricing, not stupid queues, good food, places to sit, eat your food and get a beer also = sounds good.

FloweryPenPot · 24/04/2026 15:33

Poppingby · 24/04/2026 15:25

Another strike against street food right there.

Damned straight, lol, I can't help it, that's where my brain goes!

Plus, I meant bolt out of the blue, not a shot in the dark, its not even a mixed metaphor, its just wrong. lol

YessicaHaircut · 24/04/2026 15:33

I love the food at these things, but the seagulls always seem to find me and I have to eat my delicious food while trying to physically shield it from the squawking bastards.

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:27

CypressGrove · 24/04/2026 15:26

I like the idea of them much more than the reality!

You’ve hit the nail on the head here. They look nice in photos, the food sounds amazing, it’s buzzing and feels like an event, the idea of it seems great, the reality is disappointing.

OP posts:
CypressGrove · 24/04/2026 15:26

I like the idea of them much more than the reality!

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:25

Goldfsh · 24/04/2026 15:21

YANBU. I don't like it. None of the vendors have running water and they are all using the grim public toilets like everyone else. The food sits about ALL DAY. I'm too nervous of getting food poisoning to eat anything.

You know I never even considered about the hygiene aspect. I’m sure the vendors take it very seriously but it gets so busy things must slip a bit.

OP posts:
HipsterHighStreet · 24/04/2026 15:25

The food is sometimes delicious but the prices are outrageous considering the limited overheads when compared to a cafe/restaurant.

Poppingby · 24/04/2026 15:25

FloweryPenPot · 24/04/2026 15:20

I liked them when they were first a thing, but not so much anymore, there's always massive queues and no seats, so you end up doing some weird balancing act with food, wooden forks (which never quite get your fork full right, so you end up with either massive or tiny bites), and your drinks.

Plus, the last one I went to, my husband was so weird with me and it came to me like a shot in the dark, he was having an affair... and I was right.

Edited

Another strike against street food right there.

Manicmondayss · 24/04/2026 15:25

Definitely overrated. Often expensive entry fees, then massive queues to buy the overpriced food

CarbootJunction · 24/04/2026 15:22

YANBU. Overpriced, cremated food, and nowhere to sit down to eat it. I really don't want to wander around, eating like a wild animal, trying not to dribble sauce down my jacket.

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:22

I’m agreeing with people points! Would be interesting to hear from a street food festival lover. I know for some of my friends they do just love to be were it’s buzzing and where everyone else is at which I do get even if it’s not for me.

OP posts:
tinyladybird · 24/04/2026 15:21

Pretty much the same as @KnickerlessParsons
We have an artisan type market on every other week/monthly. Same people, same products. If you've been one you've been 100 times. The food vendors are the same ones that are at every event so there's nothing new, nor is it worth the price sadly

Goldfsh · 24/04/2026 15:21

YANBU. I don't like it. None of the vendors have running water and they are all using the grim public toilets like everyone else. The food sits about ALL DAY. I'm too nervous of getting food poisoning to eat anything.

FloweryPenPot · 24/04/2026 15:20

I liked them when they were first a thing, but not so much anymore, there's always massive queues and no seats, so you end up doing some weird balancing act with food, wooden forks (which never quite get your fork full right, so you end up with either massive or tiny bites), and your drinks.

Plus, the last one I went to, my husband was so weird with me and it came to me like a shot in the dark, he was having an affair... and I was right.

Poppingby · 24/04/2026 15:20

AND it makes everywhere stinky and dirty as an added grump-ingredient.

Poppingby · 24/04/2026 15:19

I'm tiring of street food generally. Like, it's tasty for the first few bites generally but then you've got sticky hands, nowhere to sit, and bit of food falling off down your top and it's an exercise in just-make-this-over. Grumpy emoji.

brightonbabe86 · 24/04/2026 15:18

@MiddleAgedDread I completely agree. If I could get the royal treatment and go, have my pick of the food. Little to no queues and the ushered to my shady table on a sunny but not too hot day, that would fine. As that unsurprisingly isn’t going to happen I’ll be in the sweaty squash with everyone else. I’ll probably just make something nice for us to enjoy at home!

OP posts:
Pootles34 · 24/04/2026 15:17

Same I hate street food for this reason. Fighting for space on a wooden bench, no loos, for the same price as a nice restaurant where someone brings me food. Why?!

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