Paisley Food and Drink Festival set to be a treat for the tastebuds

One of Scotland’s largest outdoor food and drink festivals is set to return to Paisley this spring.

Paisley Food and Drink Festival will be a two-day taste sensation with more than 30 traders, licensed bars and a packed programme of live music, entertainment, and foodie-fun for all ages.

The extravaganza will take place in Abbey Close and Bridge Street in Paisley town centre on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 April.

Vibrant independent street food market, Platform, is returning to this year’s event, bringing along a host of top street food vendors offering delicious dishes from around the globe. 

Kathryn McCormick, General Manager at Platform, said: “We are delighted to be back at Paisley Food and Drink Festival with Platform on Tour for our third year. It’s our first outdoor event of 2023 and one of our favourites.

“We’ll be bringing some amazing independent traders and our huge seating area and bar serving up all your faves, including our frozen cocktails. Hopefully the sun will be shining this year!”

A host of Renfrewshire favourites will be on hand to serve up a range of tasty treats, including Scozzese woodfired pizza, Porelli Loop and Scoop, Café Fairfull, Funky Fudge, Dark God rum and Two Towns Down Brewing.

Event organisers are once again teaming up with Renfrewshire CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) to host a dedicated Beer Tent as part of the festival grounds. The Beer Tent will be located on Bridge Street with a wide range of cask conditioned ales and craft beers on offer, including vegan and gluten free options.

More returning favourites include Edin-Burgers, Brigston & Co. artisan hotdogs and Greek Street Food, as well as the Fizzbuz prosecco van and Rum Shack Caribbean bar, which are sure to offer a tasty tipple for the grown-ups of the group. 

Visitors will also be able to tuck into fantastic fare from new festival faces, including sweet treats from Love is Churros, a range of global flavours at The Fat Flamingo, Dirty Bird fried chicken and mouth-watering spices from Free The Chilli.

There is sure to be something to entice every palate at the festival, including a range of delicious gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options.

The event will also showcase an array of top-quality artisan food and drink products to purchase and take home.

Plus, there’s lots of entertainment for the kids on Saturday, with the chance to sign up for free pizza and chocolate making workshops, as well as free face painting and fun games with Community Circus Paisley.

The festival’s Live Stage will host great music acts and entertainment, programmed by the Rum Shack on Friday evening and Paisley’s famous The Bungalow music venue on Saturday. The Keg will also have a special Stage & Bar with a brilliant array of bands playing live music across the weekend.

Trevor Mills from The Keg said: “We are thrilled to return with our sponsor Jack Daniels to showcase what The Keg is about, promoting live independent music. We have original bands such as the brass-led funk meets rock band, Speak Easy Circus, who are not to be missed, as well as local up and coming band Citadels who have big plans in the pipeline.

“You’ll also be able to dance to your favourite tunes as the very popular Gordon’s Alive and Paisley’s MrdB headline each night with an array of covers – and have fun with our very own Keg House Band. Our full line up for the weekend can be found online. To say we are excited about this year’s event would be an understatement.”

Pauline Allan, Renfrewshire Council Events Manager, said: “Paisley Food and Drink Festival is one of the biggest events of its kind in Scotland and regularly attracts visitors from all over to enjoy everything that the event and Paisley has to offer.

“This year’s festival has all the ingredients for the perfect foodie experience – and we can’t wait to welcome everyone along for two-days of fantastic entertainment, delicious street food and much more. Come on down and join the fun!”