Smoke On The Water
Bristol Harbourside market this weekend looked like someone had asked AI to generate “British street food culture” and then removed all limits. With the best street food traders in the South West (see the full list of finalists below) competing to win through to the British Street Food Awards finals in Sheffield.
One side:
🌱 vegan animal rights march
Other side:
🏍️ a motorcycle rally revving through the city
In the middle of it all:
🔥 jerk drums smoking goat by the water
🥟 vegan bao stuffed with shrooms – seriously
🍗 Bristol chicken specialists arguing over who had the best sauce
🍩 bearclaws bigger than your future
🍨 and someone casually serving deep-fried ice cream like that’s a normal human activity
All while ferries pulled in and out of Harbourside every few minutes. Pure chaos. Perfect street food conditions.
Judging the South West Heat of the 2026 British Street Food Awards were:
🎤 Bristol hype man the one, the only, BoS Finesse
⭐ Michelin-starred chef Jan Ostle from Wilsons
📱 Super Influencer and food encyclopaedia Janine Alexander
After eating their collective bodyweight in monkfish, waffles, Asian slaw and things covered in hot sauce, the winners were as follows:
1st – Loluli’s with day-boat fish from Devon barbecued over charcoal
2nd – Gurt Wings, Bristol’s OG wing legends
3rd – Gourmet Warriors with birria tacos that will change your life
Then the public vote kicked off for People’s Choice and Bristol absolutely went feral.
🍩 1st — Flats with their plant-based doughnuts
🔥 2nd — Joy & Gladness bringing serious Jamaican jerk energy
🍨 3rd — Sizzling Scoop with deep-fried ice cream that genuinely confused people in the best possible way
Loluli’s and Flats now head to the British Street Food Awards Finals in Sheffield, Sept 4–6.
And if they survive that…
🇩🇪 the European Street Food Awards Finals in Germany await on Sept 18–20.
Next stop for the street food travelling circus:
⚓ Portsmouth — Gunwharf Quays — next weekend. The full list of finalists competing in Bristol was:
Gourmet Warriors
Bristol’s self-appointed warriors don’t brandish swords. They come wielding spice-lacquered birria tacos that demand a napkin and a moment of silence. Under the command of Ed Kirby—crowned Street Food Chef of the Year 2025 at Dine Out Magazine’s Street Food Championships in London—the operation balances swagger with substance. Expect rich consommé, deeply savoury fillings and a supporting cast of sides that refuse to be afterthoughts. It’s street food with a medal chest and just enough humility to keep things deliciously dangerous.
Riceminster Paella
Riceminster is the kind of food trader who doesn’t chase trends—he distils them. Since 2018, he’s been part of Wikipaella.org, the global authority recognising restaurants that honour paella in its most authentic form, and that quiet endorsement speaks volumes. The menu is singular—paella, and only paella—but within that narrow frame sits a bold, almost audacious confidence. Naturally gluten- and dairy-free, his vast pans simmer with saffron-rich intent, feeding hundreds with an unhurried precision that feels both instinctive and exacting. It’s no surprise he was invited as a guest judge at the semi-finals of MasterChef: The Professionals Series 17—he’s a man who understands the rules deeply enough to honour them, and selectively ignore everything else.
Gurt Wings
If awards were breadcrumbs, Gurt Wings would be ankle-deep—over 30 WingFest titles from Bristol and London, plus British Street Food Awards finalist status, have seen to that. Their output is as excessive as their accolades: wings, strips and sides engineered for maximum crunch and unapologetic pleasure. Sauces swagger, garnishes flirt, and everything arrives with the confidence of a vendor that knows exactly why you’re queueing.
Loluli’s
A British Street Food Awards winner housed in a horsebox, Loluli’s treat fish with the reverence it rarely gets on the street. Coal-fired rather than dunked, their Devon day boat seafood leans smoky, saline and quietly sophisticated – think kebabs, handmade bread and seaweed-laced butter all conspiring to remind you that the seaside deserves better than batter. This is maritime minimalism with a chef’s touch.
Firestarter BBQ
Firestarter BBQ deals in smoke, patience and the kind of primal satisfaction that doesn’t need explaining. Their spare ribs—slow-cooked and surrendering cleanly from the bone—arrive lacquered in a BBQ sauce that clings with intent, a sell-out special that regulars track like a calendar event. The loaded fries are gloriously excessive: pork, beef or jackfruit piled high with cheese, garlic mayo, pickled slaw, jalapeños and crispy onions. The operation itself is as considered as the food—a self-converted Ifor Williams horsebox, born in Fontmell Magna and reborn in Bath, now often trailed by a smoker that turns heads as quickly as it perfumes the air.
The Wagyu Burger Truck
Graffiti-splashed and gloriously unpretentious, this converted cattle truck serves burgers that border on decadent obsession. British wagyu, treacle-cured bacon and buns sourced with near-pilgrimage devotion come together in a stack that’s both excessive and exacting. It’s a rolling contradiction: streetwise on the outside, quietly luxurious within.
Joy & Gladness
The Joy & Gladness signature Jerk Chicken is a bold, authentic celebration of Afro‑Caribbean flavour and technique. “We marinate the chicken for 24 hours in our house jerk blend, layering fresh herbs, spices, Scotch bonnet, and aromatics to build depth, heat, and character. It’s then cooked low and slow for tenderness, before being finished with a smoky, fire‑kissed glaze that gives it that unmistakable Caribbean edge.” Expect live fire cooking – and heat to the max.
Apocalypse Bao
Apocalypse Bao delivers the end times in the gentlest possible way—pillowy buns stuffed with vibrant, plant-based fillings that feel anything but austere. With a decade of festival know-how, the operation runs like clockwork, serving bold Asian-inspired flavours with a British seasonal backbone. It’s apocalypse postponed, one bao at a time.
Macman
Macman takes comfort food and gives it a crisp suit of armour. The mac and cheese croquette—golden, molten and borderline indecent—reimagines a classic with streetwise flair. Balanced by slaw and sharp dips, it’s a study in texture and excess, proving that nostalgia, when deep-fried correctly, can still surprise.
Flats Doughnuts
A British Street Food Awards winner that refuses to play by traditional rules, Flats Doughnuts turns the humble ring into a pressed, plant-based canvas piled high with unapologetic flair. Sweet, sharp and entirely dairy-free, these creations manage to feel both indulgent and faintly virtuous—no small feat in a world of excess.
Waffle Wands
Part dessert stand, part participatory theatre, Waffle Wands invites you to play architect with your own sugar high. Fresh waffles emerge on sticks like edible sculptures, ready to be adorned with everything from Biscoff to raspberry crumb. Having already gone all the way to the European Street Food Awards—finishing third and taking Best Dessert—they now return with intent, chasing silverware in Britain and Europe with the same sugar-fuelled showmanship that built their following. It’s less a snack and more a spectacle—proof that sometimes, joy is best served on a stick.
Sizzling Scoop
Dessert gets theatrical at Sizzling Scoop, where fried ice cream crackles with Caribbean bravado and croissants flirt shamelessly with indulgence. It’s part patisserie, part performance—textures clash, temperatures surprise and everything is plated with Instagram in mind. A sugar rush with ambition, aiming to prove that pudding can steal the spotlight from savoury.