At the hottest new venue in Edinburgh your meal is ordered on an app and comes in a biodegradable tub. Yes, really. Edinburgh Street Food (ESF) spans 900 square metres with three bars and 10 permanent food concessions, representing some of Scotland’s very best street food. The venue is bright and bold with colourful murals, glitter balls hanging from industrial beams and is fully accessible. I visited ESF to discover why street food is so popular now, and of course, sample as much of the menu as possible.
“Street food is the future,” says Daniela Wolniak, marketing manager at Bundits, purveyors of the bounciest hirata bao buns.
“It gives you variety, choice, high quality – and lower overheads for businesses.” Recently Bundits had to close their popular Leith venue over vastly escalating overheads. Thankfully, their concession at ESF was already confirmed. The company brought all their staff to ESF, some now running new venture Soft Core, serving delicious cookies and homemade soft-serve ice cream. Try the spiced apple pie crumble with miso and caramel ice cream, apple compote and speculoos crumble and thank me later.
Wolniak loves the diversity of street food.
“You can have a bit of everything, like tacos and a bao bun. It’s a massive breath of fresh air.” She finds working alongside other small food businesses inspiring. We all started small with pure passion, and there’s magic in that,” she says.
Street food has been a growing trend over the past decade. Where once we had only burger vans, today from a food truck you’ll encounter skilled chefs using gourmet ingredients, selling everything from lobster macaroni cheese to aromatic Thai salads.
In Edinburgh, street food was popularised by weekend markets like The Pitt, currently closed for construction, and pop-ups, giving start-ups a low-cost way to try new culinary concepts.
The Scottish Street Food Awards have proved a launch pad for young businesses making waves in the street food scene today. The winner represents Scotland at the British Street Food Awards and even, as Edinburgh-based Junk achieved last year, the European Street Food Awards – they won despite only being in business a few months.
Today Junk has a restaurant in Newington, and is an ESF vendor. Co-owner Cameron Laidlaw is loving the new space. He says: “We’re surrounded by amazing people. It’s a nice little community with no big egos. We’re all owner operators and it’s so supportive.”
The dish that won Junk their award is a bestseller. Called The Spanish Armada, it’s a riff on patatas bravas, packed with crispy potatoes and potato skins, sobrasada, black garlic and chilli. “We’re aiming for everything in each dish,” Laidlaw says. “Soft, chewy, crispy – all the textures and flavours.” I try the award-winner and Le Fritto A’la Misto!, a feast of crispy soft-shell crab, squid, scallops and mussels with padron peppers and am delighted with my choices.
At ESF ordering is simple. Find a table, open the app and select dishes from multiple vendors, check out in one transaction and everything is brought to your table. So no standing in separate queues – unless you prefer to chat to chefs and order directly, or use a traditional menu: it’s your choice.
ESF is ideal for different dietary needs and a detailed allergy book is available.
“I’m really proud we have 18 vegan mains and 16 vegan sides at the moment,” marketing manager Ailidh Forlan says, “That’s more than most vegan restaurants”.
Street Food is experimental. It’s a brilliant way to sample a new-to-you cuisine without the full restaurant experience. What Le Duck offers French confit duck with a Scottish twist. “Duck is seen as luxurious,” chef Pauline Chung says. “Lots of people have never tried it. I wanted to make dishes that looked really appealing – we’re serving a shredded confit duck on a brioche bun, with chilli orange jam, pickled onions, dijon aioli, rocket and melted raclette”. It’s called The Auld Alliance and you better arrive hungry.
Street Food is inherently sociable, and in the post-pandemic rehabilitation of our social lives, sharing spaces with strangers is cool again. Conversations start over bowls of noodles, recommendations are shared and maybe even new friends made.
In the summer the 200-seat outside space at ESF, looking up at Calton Hill, will create probably the most spacious beer garden in the capital with extra food trucks visiting too. Chung loves the conviviality of street food: “Food brings people together. People love going out in big groups in a social setting, it’s more relaxed with a totally different vibe, it’s a lot more chilled.”
Ordering street food also solves the frequent headache of dividing a large group bill at the end of the night. You can keep an eye on your own budget, without chipping in for a friend’s steak when you’ve had a salad. Tempted? ESF is now open every day with free entry.
edinburgh-street-food.com
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Neighbourgood Market
Where a picnic in the park gets a real upgrade. This year The Neighbourgood Market in Stockbridge will host 30 traders, including Innis and Gunn, Luxford Burgers, Homies Pizza and Mimi’s Bakehouse, plus quizzes, Wimbledon on the big screen and comedy events.
Open May 17 – July 23, Wednesday to Sunday, £3 entry at weekends.
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Home to three bars, 12 food stands, and food and drink shops. Grab a table, order directly from the concessions and wait for your buzzer to go off. Try Creel Caught for fresh seafood, Stack & Still for pancakes, or Leith Woks for Chinese dishes with a Scottish twist. New arrivals Kochchi, winners of last year’s ‘People’s Choice’ at the Scottish Street Food Awards, serve incredible Sri Lankan dishes made with local produce. Bonnie & Wild also hosts art exhibitions and monthly ceilidhs.
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Big Feed
Traders change but there’s always a great line up at this friendly weekend-only venue. The next market has a dozen vendors including Mam’s Thai Kitchen, Goodtimes Tacos and Fat Flamingo Burgers. Big Feed has live music and welcomes kids, dogs and big appetites. Big Feed also has a pop up street market in Princes Square. £2 entry, under 10s free.
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