We ate our way through the Durban street food, sweet treats, shopping and live entertainment at The Pavilion.Nobuhle Modise | Durban <a t get the memo.
Saturday at the Durban Street Food Festival arrived grey, wet and decidedly less spring-like than anyone would have hoped, but that didn’t stop Durbanites from heading to The Pavilion with one thing on their minds: food.
And there was plenty of it.
The three-day festival, which ran from September 4 to 6, brought together more than 75 food, craft and lifestyle vendors, with everything from local favourites to flavours from around the world on the menu.
We went along on Saturday to see what all the fuss was about and, despite the miserable weather, there was still a good crowd moving between stalls, eating, shopping and settling in for the entertainment.
First stop: Thailand
With so much choice, deciding where to start was probably the hardest part.
We eventually made our way toTuk Tuk by Sarah Homemade, serving authentic Thai street food.
It was exactly the kind of stall a street food festival should have: something you might not order on a typical Saturday afternoon, but you’re curious enough to try when it’s right in front of you.
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Nobuhle ModiseTuk Tuk by Sarah Homemade brought authentic Thai street food to the Durban Street Food Festival.
From there, we moved on to something considerably smokier. The festival’s food line-up included Detroit Smokehouse among a long list of vendors serving everything from burgers and shawarma to tacos, curries, bao buns and pasta.
And this is where the festival format works. You don’t really have to commit to one cuisine. Grab something here, share something there, and keep moving until you find the next stall that catches your eye. What I loved about the Detroit Smokehouse is that we could order really small portions of everything we had our eyes on; this made the experience even better without worrying about spending too much money on food you won’t be able to finish.
Nobuhle ModiseA little bit of everything: our Saturday food crawl included Thai street food, smoky meat, burgers and chips.
But let’s talk about dessert
This may be controversial at a street food festival packed with savoury options, but the desserts were the highlight for me.
There were plenty to choose from too. The vendor line-up included Churro & Chill, Zoeys Waffles, Dinky Donuts, Dream Cakes, The Cookie Grind, Patisserie by Chef Farhana, and several other sweet stops.
And yes, we sampled.
More than once.
No regrets.
Read: Eat your way around the world at the Durban Street Food Festival
Nobuhle ModiseDessert was not an afterthought at this year’s festival, with plenty of sweet stops to work through.
It wasn’t only about eating
One of the better things about the festival was that you could comfortably spend a few hours there without eating continuously. Although, admittedly, we gave that a good try.
There were stalls selling jewellery, toys, accessories, homeware and other locally made goods, turning part of the festival into something of a small lifestyle market. The official vendor list included retailers such as Zah Zen Jewellery, Sallys Gems, Mo’s Toys, Dhiyas Crochet and Elora & Co alongside the food traders.
For parents, the dedicated kids’ area was another win. The little ones had somewhere to burn off some energy while the adults could browse, eat and enjoy the entertainment. I definitely needed my two toddlers to work off all that sugar, because, naturally, that’s all they were interested in.
That matters at an event like this. A festival can have brilliant food, but if you’re spending the day negotiating with bored children, you’re probably not staying very long.
Durban came despite the rain
Saturday’s programme was also about more than what was happening at the stalls. The festival had a full entertainment line-up, with Muzi among the day’s performers and the Springboks versus All Blacks match screened as part of the Bokke Bokke Fan Park. Sunday brought Mafikizolo to the stage.
Nobuhle ModiseLive music kept the festival atmosphere going as visitors settled in between trips to the food stalls.
The rain undoubtedly changed the atmosphere on Saturday. This wasn’t the sunny spring food festival Durban might have ordered.
But perhaps that made the turnout more telling.
People still came. Families still wandered between stalls. The food queues kept moving, children found things to do, and there was always another dessert tempting us into one final purchase.
The Durban Street Food Festival sells itself as a celebration of the city’s food, music and culture.
For us, it became something much simpler: an afternoon spent eating far too many things in one place.
And, if we’re choosing favourites, we’re still thinking about the desserts.
