Best UK Food and Drink Festivals 2022

If you live in the UK, chances are fairly high that you’ve got some sort of core memory associated with being at a festival. Going to a muddy field with your mates and listening to loud music is one of those British rites of passage that just about everyone has experienced at some point in their life. Sometimes those memories are warm and fuzzy, sometimes they’re… more damp and miserable.

I’ll never forget the time my girlfriend told me that she saw Tame Impala at Glastonbury in 2019 instead of catching Stormzy’s now-iconic performance. Making mistakes is sort of what festivals are all about. But festivals aren’t just about drinking too much and always, inevitably seeing Horse Meat Disco. Some festivals are dedicated to eating delicious food and drink and are an altogether more cultured affair. From Taste of London to Big Feastival, the UK is lucky enough to play host to a range of great food and drink festivals that are worth exploring. Festivals where you’re guaranteed to come out with fond memories of delicious burgers and fiery street food.

These are some of the UK’s very best food and drink festivals that you need to get yourself to this summer.

Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park is a peripatetic celebration of all things food and drink. Try saying that three times fast. This roving food festival is on a nine-stop tour this summer hitting up cities like Bath, Brighton, Tunbridge Wells, and more. Musical guests include Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Björn Again. See you there.

When? Various dates

Where? Various locations

Where else would you be able to attend a baking masterclass hosted by Bake Off’s Jürgen Krauss before watching a live musical performance from Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe off of Blue? Nowhere else. Foodies Festival has one of the largest street food offerings going and, popping up at a range of locations across the UK, it’s a great bet for a lovely day out.

When? Various dates

Where? Various locations

Setting up camp at multiple venues across the UK, The Great British Food Festival is your one-stop-shop for all things food and drink. Live music and chef demos are a plus but it’s the mouthwatering street food on offer at every festival that makes this one a must-visit for any food lovers. From hand-crafted burgers to delicately spiced curries, they’ve got it all.

When? Various dates

Where? Various locations

One of the best food festivals where you can get up to some capital eating is taking place in the capital this June. Taste of London has been around for a while and this year’s iteration looks set to be just as delicious as ever. Expect 150 dishes from London’s most exciting restaurants as well as plenty of interactive elements and live entertainment.

When? 15-19 June

Where? The Regent’s Park, London

Like Taste of London, but in Dublin. Taste of Dublin promises to be a proper belly-bursting weekend where you can get your fill of food cooked by some of the hottest chefs and restaurants working in Ireland today.

When? 16-19 June

Where? Iveagh Gardens, Dublin

Vegan Camp Out is the world’s largest vegan camping festival. As well as plenty of plant-based food there’s a huge line-up of special guests with stages for music and talks, space for activism workshops, and yoga and fitness. This year will see an eclectic mix of performers with Simon Amstell, JME, and Bimini Bin-Boulash all in attendance.

When? 15-18 July

Where? Stanford Hall, Leicestershire

Sample delicious food and drink from around the world and hear from an exciting lineup of famous chefs, cookbook authors, and experts at the National Geographic Traveller Food Festival. From a Malaysian cooking masterclass with Ping Coombes to Jay Rayner talking about his life in food, there really is something for everyone. Everyone that’s dangerously obsessed with food, that is.

When? 16-17 July

Where? Business Design Centre, London

This year’s Edinburgh Food Festival promises to be a proper rollicking showcase of food and drink from makers and creators spread all across Scotland. Coming here is a real fill-your-boots affair so make sure to bring an appetite.

When? 22-31 July

Where? George Square Gardens, Edinburgh

Set in the garden of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Savour is a new food festival that's going to be bringing great eats, great drinks, and plenty of summer vibes to London’s embankment on the 30th and 31st July. Come along to let your ears enjoy some live music and get your laughing gear around food cooked by some of the UK's very best chefs, restaurants, and independent food trucks. Including, of course, ourselves.

Yep, the Mob team will be serving an exclusive vegetarian menu at Savour this year, so make sure to swing by and grab yourself a tasty bite. Or three.

Interested? Get a free drink and 20% off your tickets when you use the code SFMOB20 at the checkout.

When? 30-31 July

Where? Royal Hospital Chelsea, London

Excellent vibes and excellent food are both on the cards at Lost Village Festival. This magical festival always delivers on the music front with the likes of Bonobo, Jamie XX, and Kojey Radical making an appearance while the food offering is equally impressive. Expect classy, fine dining experiences in the woods from KOL, Da Terra and Roberta Hall as well as forest banquets from top chefs such as Melissa Hemsley and Tim Siadatan. There's also a Hawksmoor Sunday Feast to bring you back to life after what'll be a very big night.

When? 25-28 August

Where? Norton Disney, Lincolnshire

If it’s good grub and good music you’re after, The Big Feastival is a great place to be this August. Musical headliners include the likes of Anne-Marie, Stereophonics, and The Human League while plenty of shit-hot chefs like Ravneet Gill, James Cochran, and Ixta Belfrage make up the numbers on the equally stacked food line-up. Come here, eat well, and make a toast to Alex James from Blur for making it all possible.

When? 26-28 August

Where? Alex James' farm, Oxfordshire

Meatopia is a weekend-long love affair with food, drink, fire and music. Oh, and meat. Lots and lots of meat. This London-based festival is a barbecue lover's dream come true. Many of the UK’s very best pit masters and grill experts will be cooking over the coals on over the two-day period, including Mursal Saiq, Dom Fernando, Richard Corrigan, Suzie Bakos, and many, many more. Come one, come all.

When? 2-4 September

Where? Tobacco Dock, London

Featuring a pop-up food and drink village with bars, the Manchester Food and Drink Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. To honour the occasion, festival organisers have pulled out all the stops by curating one of the most stacked line-ups ever. Expect heaps of qualtiy street food vendors and food markets loaded with the best produce imaginable. Wicked.

When? 15-26 September

Where? Cathedral Gardens, Manchester

Bring the family along for a few days of feasting at the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival. You’ll be able to find all the usual culprits in the form of tasty street food stalls as well as some celebrity chefs coming along to share their knowledge. This one promises to be a lovely day out, Mob.

When? 16-17 September

Where? Sefton Park, London

An excellent place for people to come together and share in some tasty, tasty food, the Abergavenny Food Festival is one of the best food festivals in the UK. Taking place across the town each September, it’s a real showcase of Welsh produce as well as the region’s culinary talents. Along with all that food, the festival runs a programme of ticketed special events, like Drinks Theatre tutored tastings and forages.

When? 17-18 September

Where? Abergavenny, Wales

Set in the spectacular surroundings of Tir na nOg, the Scottish Wild Food Festival really does what it says on the tin. The festival encourages guests to step outdoors and learn about local wild food. With great meals, foraging walks, wild drinks, forest school, talks and demos, workshops, live music and a marketplace there is just about everything here.

When? 17-18 September

Where? Tir na nOg, Scotland

As its name would suggest, Vegfest UK is a food festival aimed at vegetarians and vegans. Not only is it a safe space to talk about your passion for nutritional yeast but it’s packed with stalls of foods, cosmetics, clothing, and more than your fair share of samples and discounts. Come along to take part in live demos, hear talks from lifestyle experts, and try dishes from a range of top plant-based caterers.

When? 12-13 November

Where? Olympia Grand, London