What's going on with street market food stalls?

[apintortwo]

You used to be able to get a decent dish for £7ish pounds (admittedly pre-pandemic)

Now most weekend street markets are mostly tiny vegan dishes for £10. You can have a proper sit down dish at an informal restaurant for £10-£13 (chicken or even medium range steak)

Some of these markets are not even located in posh or touristy areas

I know everyone is trying hard to make a living, but still...

Why do I feel like this is a thinly-disguised rant against eating vegan food? (Other street food options are available)

It's true, I don't rate vegan food. But the reason I've mentioned it is that almost every vendor had chosen to offer the cheapest food (in terms of ingredients) at a similarly high price. Also prices for everything were quite similar - it's not that someone had decided to charge £6 and someone else £10

They gave the impression of having been coached. They most probably weren't, but that's the vibe I got.

Borough Market charges silly prices

We sometimes visit markets at Victoria Park or Deptford in London. So not very touristy markets and certainly not the most well-off areas.

Today I paid £40-something for 5 very poor quality meals from a Greek food stall, then £5 for 5 very dry churros and an extra £1 for the sauce. Surely sauce is an integral part of churros?

then you’re not their target audience and it shouldn’t matter to you how much they’re charging

True, I'm not their target customer. My DH occassionally gets something if we happen to be near a street market but what they do doesn't impact our budget. I usually wonder about these things though, as I'm sure most of us do

then £5 for 5 very dry churros and an extra £1 for the sauce

Churros have become 'trendy' for some reason and some vendors definitely take the p**s

I used to love a food street market, I am very much their target customer and I used to visit our local one on a Friday and get delicious food for £5-6 but as they’ve become more and more popular I have found the prices increased (£9-12 normally) and quality has taken a turn, as it’s a market with relatively low barriers to entry.

Everything has gone up but that doesn’t mean businesses can fleece people for sub par products. I can choose not to go and still have an opinion on it.

If you're in London I don't see how you haven't noticed that prices are up everywhere, at pubs and restaurants too

All the pubs round us, the price of mains have gone up from £9-12 to £14-18, and the pints! Crazy.
Chains like Cote definitely charging more.
All the lunch places around my office are charging more.

Of course there are some places that are cheaper, as always in huge cities, and it's fun to find them. But almost everyone has put up prices, it's not just food trucks.

Everything has gone up but that doesn’t mean businesses can fleece people for sub par products

But of course food product prices from a small business have gone up. Their main costs have increased massively, by way more than the average 10-15% that inflation is currently running at. Ingredients have sky rocketed by as much as 100% for some products, fuel is massively more expensive than previously, as we all know, and presumably site/pitch rental - if this is in a touristy area - will be costly.

It's doesn't mean they're fleecing people just because they've increased the prices. I'd certainly expect prices for these sort of products to have increased massively. Many restaurants/pubs have increased their prices, and I would guess those that haven't do have a high turnover for drinks as well as food, which may cushion their profits a little. My son was just yesterday complaining how much Wetherspoons have increased their food costs, it used to be cheap to eat there, now he doesn't bother so much, but will still drink there.