Take one Farmer’s Market, mix with an array of succulent street food, add a dash of live music from the bandstand and a waterside location in Cardiff Bay in early summer and you’ve got a recipe for Cardiff Food and Drink Festival 2025.
Wales’s biggest free food festival will take place in the Oval Basin from Friday 27thJune to Sunday 29thJune and promises to serve up a real treat for the tastebuds.
New to the festival this year, ‘Packed’ will be cooking up authentic Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches, dripping with gravy and spicy giardiniera pickle. You’ll also find new flavours to savour at ‘The Yorkshire Kitchen’ who will be bringing their handmade sweet and savoury infused butters to Cardiff Bay all the way from Yorkshire. ‘Devil’s Bridge Rum,’ are another newcomer to the festival. They will be showcasing their unusual, spiced rum, distilled in Wales and infused with Bara Brith spices.
More familiar to regular festival goers, but equally tasty will be the fluffy steamed buns loaded with fillings and toppings being served up by ‘Bao Selecta.’ Lilo’s will once again bring their authentic, artisan pasta which is handcrafted in Pencoed using premium flour to the festival table. For those with a sweet tooth, classic Portuguese custard tarts baked in Cardiff will be available from ‘The Artisan.’
Other returning festival favourites include Llanfaes Dairy Ice Cream, whose heavenly artisan ice cream is made in the Brecon Beacons, and the eight delicious flavours of peanut butter made in Cornwall by Freda’s Peanut Butter. Meanwhile, up in the street food area you’ll once again be able to savour the Taste of Persia and their authentic Persian kebabs, stews and falafel.
Vegetarians and vegans will be able to rejoice in a whole world of options including ‘El Cabron Taco’s’ award-winning blackbean quesa tacos, vegan woodfired pizzas by ‘The Dough Thrower’, and the five flavours of vegan fudge available at Gourmet Gower Fudge.
Over on the bandstand local musicians including Afro Cluster, Dionne Bennett, N’famady Kouyate, Pigeon Wigs, and Taff Rapids will be soundtracking the festival with an eclectic range of sounds ranging from afrobeat, funk and soul to bluegrass, rock n’ roll and beyond.
Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke said: “Cardiff Food and Drink Festival remains a firm favourite in Cardiff’s busy summer events schedule.
“Visitors come to the city from far and wide to sample the delights on offer and with 105 local and independent traders lined up, this year promises to be a real treat.”
Entry to Cardiff Food and Drink Festival is free and no ticket is needed. The festival opening hours are:
Friday: 12:00 – 22:00*
Saturday: 11:00 – 22:00*
Sunday: 11:00 – 19:00
*Street Food Piazza and Bars are open until 22:00, while Farmers Market and Producers Fair close at 21:00 and trade stalls close at 19:00.
