Street food guide to Assembly’s ‘Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival’ 2025

Alandas are back with 16 flavours of gelato on offer. Expect classic flavours, including their award-winning Belgian chocolate, vegan options, and more adventurous choices, such as cherry cheesecake, rum and raisin, and the gloriously grown-up whisky caramel.

Cones start at £5 and look really special. Their cups range from £5 for a single scoop to £7.50 for three. Honestly? The £7.50 option is a steal—especially when you see how generous they are with their scooping.

What’s the verdict?

We went eclectic for you—three scoops across the spectrum, to put them through their paces. And just look at how much ice cream you get for £7.50! Amazing.
The whisky caramel was divine. Malty and warm, with a smoky vanilla sweetness and the faintest nutty edge—perfectly balanced. We demolished it (after an afternoon of eating). Without hesitation, this was our standout favourite.

Lemon meringue surprised us. We expected sharp citrus, but what we got was closer to one of those Easter Mr Kipling lemon slices—soft, sweet, nostalgic. Somehow it keeps its little meringue crunches (how?!), and we kept going back for more. Strangely addictive in its own way.

The Belgian chocolate is superbly smooth—exactly what you always hope the chocolate in a Neapolitan will be, but it never is.

Alandas are well known for their gelato these days (see above), but fish and chips is their OG—an Edinburgh (East Lothian) institution since 1991. Expect queues all summer long.

This year, Haggis and Chips will set you back just £10. Or you can go super fancy with their soft shell crab burger (£15) or half a freshly caught Eyemouth lobster for £20. Make it a supper (add chips) for another £5.

If we feel a bit fancy during the Fringe, we’ll report back on how the posh options stack up.

Cargo—occupiers of repurposed shipping containers since 2016—serve up burgers, hot dogs, baked potatoes, poutine and more.

This year, you can get a 5oz Angus smash burger for just £10, and fries for £3.50. Over at Cargo Spud, choose your spud and topping—from £7.50 to £10. A proper feed, at a decent price.

As far as we can tell, Panquake only seems to appear in August—so if you want to try them, don’t hang about. This year, savoury options start at £9.50, and a plain lemon crêpe will set you back £7.50.

We hope to try a crêpe sometime soon—check back for our verdict.

Amigos are new to us—they hail from Falkirk. Serving up Mexican street food outside one of the entrances to Assembly George Square Gardens in their brand new turquoise shipping container.

Tacos, quesadillas, and nachos, with beef, chicken or pork. Prices from £11–£14.50.

They weren’t open when we passed by on opening day—we’ll report back if we get the chance to try them.

Edinburgh-based and operating out of a vintage horsebox, Moskito serve up Spanish tapas with a twist. The menu’s eclectic—from patatas bravas or a Spanish chippy, to vegan churros and ice cream.

Neighbour to Moskito, this little bar is serving up red or white sangria by the pint—yes, it comes in pints—for £10.

What’s the verdict?

We went rogue and ordered the Agua de Valencia: a boozy cocktail of fresh orange juice, cava, vodka, and gin. It comes in a half pint for £9, served in a small plastic cup with a lone slice of orange. Slightly sad in appearance, but…

…taste-wise? Very good. There’s ample booze in it, but it doesn’t smack you in the face. The orange juice is properly bitter, not too sweet, and very refreshing. We’d have liked a bit more fizz—and if it were up to us, we’d turn it into a jug, load it with fruit (strawberries, please), and top it off with way more cava. In other words: take a classic Valencian cocktail and absolutely ruin it. We’re super happy to have discovered this drink.

Japanese street food popping up just for the Food Festival—catch them while you can. You’ll find karaage, gyoza, and don, all starting from £7.

Chick + Pea are back with their world-famous falafel. Their falafel or halloumi pittas are just £10.50, and their hummus plate (also your vegan option) comes in at £10.

Opening day, no queue—so we finally got the chance to try them this year!

What’s the verdict?

We went for the classic falafel pitta: falafel with hummus, crispy fried potato, salad, and a sauce. We chose the spicy zhoug. We had to wait a minute (or five)—they were making it fresh (yay).

It tasted it. The falafel were bright green and full of herby flavour. The pitta was excellent—fluffy, flavourful, lightly salted, and held up well without turning to mush.

That said, it was a little dry overall. The potatoes and falafel were slightly overcooked, tipping towards bitter. And we had to go hunting for the hummus! The zhoug was tasty, but not spicy, and not the best match in reality—too dry. We’d suggest opting for one of the wetter, saltier sauces to really bring it together.

We’d definitely recommend Chick + Pea — generous portions and solid value.

It’s pies by Jarvis Pickle! Based in Eyemouth, these award-winning pie-makers (countless British Pie Awards) are a fixture at Edinburgh’s festivals—and regulars in our street food guides. If you want to know why, check out our verdict from the Christmas market: we’re still thinking about that vegan mushroom, chestnut & truffle pie…

Back at the Fringe this year with a much more substantial stand, they’ve brought a broad menu with them. Go small with fries, a scotch egg or olives from £6—or go classic with a pie and side (mash, fries or fancy mushy peas) for £12.50.

A range of award-winning pies are on offer. We’ve got our eye on the Beef Shin and Ox Cheek—watch this space.

Sri Lankan street food, here just for the Food Festival. Snack-sized bites like their spiced potato and lamb roll start at £6.95, while mains begin at £11.95.

Only here for the Food Festival, Happy Dumplings Co are keeping things simple: eight Chinese dumplings with garnish for £10.

The smell drifting from this stand was beautiful—freshness, sesame, all the good stuff. We suspect these may be wonderful (if a little pricy).

We’ve already spotted multiple Lazeez stands popping up across the city this summer—their baby blue trailers are unmissable, and very popular among our friends and acquaintances. Known for their Lebanese street food, they serve up falafel, halloumi, mezzes boxes and more.

What’s the verdict?

We’re fans of Lazeez, so we thought it would be a safe bet to snack on their rosemary fries while figuring out our plan of attack for our first afternoon at the Food Festival.

For £5, you get rosemary fries with a chilli sauce and a garlic sauce. The smell was strong and delicious—proper rosemary aromatics.

But we were a little disappointed. They needed salt, and despite being cooked to order, the batch was uneven—some fries were piping hot and tasty, others lukewarm and not fully cooked through. The rest of the menu is definitely a safer bet. So, maybe skip the fries?

Only here for the Assembly Folk & Food Festival. We think they specialise in panini and mortadella—their van says so—but the menu lists focaccia rolls with mortadella. 

We suspect once they’re serving lots of tasty sandwiches, the smells alone will make Etto stand out. But when there’s no food coming out, it’s hard to tell what the offer actually is.

Only here for Assembly’s Folk & Food Festival, Bia — 2023 British Street Food Awards main course champions — serve Scottish and Irish-inspired street food.

Their limited menu includes Scottish mussels cooked with shallots, garlic, and herbs, served with a baguette for just £8 — which seems extremely reasonable (and sounds delicious).

Favourites of ours from Edinburgh Street Food—their fries have long been a go-to. They’re delicious and start at £5, with more substantial dishes from £9.

Here for the Assembly Folk & Food Festival only—unless you head out to their Jane Street location in Leith.

We learned that Steam Bunny makes their bao buns from scratch, and to a recipe developed in-house—and it shows. These aren’t your usual slightly gluey bao: they’re well-shaped, are light and fluffy, and can actually hold a proper amount of filling! The bun alone is an experience.

There are four fillings to choose from, including a vegan option. At £7 for one bun or £13 for two, this is some of the best-value food at the festival!

What’s the verdict?

We went for the mojo pork with orange and honey BBQ. It was ready immediately and came with a beautifully fresh-smelling filling on a pillowy cloud. The orange flavour came through, with ginger and a gentle warming spice. The pork was beautifully pulled, and the whole thing felt nicely balanced.

We also tried the vegan option—beetroot and soy-infused tempeh, which is increasingly popular at their Leith outlet. A little salty for us—maybe it just needed a hit of citrus to cut through. But we love that the option’s there.

Another vendor only here for the Food Festival! We found their stall a little ambiguous—it wasn’t immediately clear who they were or what kind of food they serve.That said, when we spied that their Korean Fried Chicken starts at £8, it definitely caught our attention—very competitive pricing.

We hear Kebabbar are related to Chick + Pea—so do their chicken kebabs come wrapped in that same excellent pitta bread? We certainly hope so. We’re keen to try this out ASAP for that reason alone.

All kebab pittas are £11.50, with vegetarian and vegan options available.

This is your pizza option at the Assembly George Square Gardens. A small menu of wood-fired pizzas starting at £10.

What’s the verdict?

We went for the classic margherita for £10. Just a five-minute wait while it cooked fresh in the wood-fired oven.

The pizza was incredible—layered with flavour. Smoky from the crust, fresh and zingy tomato, creamy mozzarella. It’s what you want pizza to be… and it usually isn’t.

We’d already eaten a lot on day one of the Food Festival, but we demolished this between the two of us—if left us in a sleepy, relaxed, pizza-filled heaven.

This vendor appears out of nowhere each summer. A cute red and white polka dot stand with a simple menu: dumplings or popcorn chicken, £6.50 each.

What’s the verdict?

We’ve been curious for a while—and the very affordable £6.50 price point finally pushed us to give them a go. We ordered both items on the menu, and everything was cooked to order.

The vegetarian dumplings were super crispy and a vibrant green. The flavour got a little lost under the punch of the sauces and garnishes—the filling can’t quite hold its own—but overall, still nice. The sauces are optional, but we say take them.

The popcorn chicken was well-cooked with a nice texture, but lacked seasoning. It’s going to be all down to the sauce—and our chipotle mayo didn’t bring much to the table. Things improved dramatically when we dipped the chicken into the dumpling sauces. On its own, it’s giving under-seasoned fridge raiders…

We haven’t seen Coop before. Their specialities are fried chicken and lobster (not together).

The smoked lobster roll with herb salad sounds beautiful—but at £18, it’s a lot for street food?

We hadn’t seen Ting Thai before—but as the name suggests, this is beautiful Thai food. Their three mains are pad Thai, massaman curry, and khao mun gai tod, starting at £9.90. A selection of snacks and sides are also available.

To our shame, we’d never visited either of their award-winning Edinburgh eateries (Teviot Place and Lothian Road) before, but that will now change. They won ‘Best Thai Restaurant Scotland’ in 2024 – it was obviously well deserved.

What’s the verdict?

We were hoping for a mai tai slushie, but the machine hadn’t arrived yet—we’ll be back for that!

Food-wise, we went for the khao mun gai tod—we didn’t have a clue what it was, but that’s half the fun. It’s battered chicken with ginger, chilli, coconut, cucumber, sauce, and jasmine rice. Sound delicious? It was. Crunchy, sticky chicken with the most flavourful, fresh zingy sauce—ginger, sesame, and gently warming rather than spicy. We’d have happily eaten a bowl of jasmine rice with just that sauce. And at £9.90? Hard to believe it costs so little.

We also tried the bubble prawns—mostly because the name piqued our curiosity. And that’s saying something, because Mrs QR hates prawns (texture = no thanks). These were a revelation. Two skewers of super sweet, super crunchy, succulent prawns—no rubber bouncy balls here. A real wow moment. They came with a sweet chilli and mango dipping sauce that was heady with garlic. Would eat again. A lot. And at £5.50? We can.

We can’t miss out the chap serving us—super personable, great chat, magnificent moustache and properly friendly. His recommendation? The pork belly massaman. Another reason to go back.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused by all the food at the festival(s)—stop. Go to Mac Love. It will all be fine.

A festival stalwart, Mac Love brings cheesy joy to your life from £9.50. A top pick for Mrs QR every year.

The name pretty much says it all. Three hot donut (we’ll forgive the American spelling) balls for £5, from a highly mysterious vendor that only appears in August, then vanishes until next year.

What’s the verdict?

We finally did it—we tried the donuts. Three for £5, cooked fresh just for us (yay).

They arrived coated in loads of cinnamon sugar and tasted like the best apple pie. (You absolutely do not need sauce.) Crispy on the outside, fluffy inside. They melt as you eat them—beautiful. 

They even provide forks so you don’t end up wearing the sugar. 

A staple of Little King Street’s street food scene outside the St James Centre, Cala Cala are only in George Square Gardens for the Food Festival. We pass their Little King Street spot all the time—and it’s by far our most-purchased street food item ever.

We highly recommend the entire menu. At £6 for a giant, delicious arancini, you really can’t lose. 

They also do desserts, but we’ve never tried them. The arancini have always been more than enough.

We think they’re only here for the Food Festival, but can’t be sure. As the name suggests: two cookies, stuffed with fillings! Prices for their baseball-sized treats start at £5.20, with multi-buy discounts available.