Tweet

By Billy Jarvis, Owner & Director of Cocktails & Calamari

Over the past 10 years there has been a gradual incline and interest within the street food scene. With thanks to companies such as KERB, Box Park, Pop Brixton and Market Halls, street food traders have been able to have a platform to showcase their food across prime locations in London, where realistically they may not have been able to do so.

We have seen cuisines from all around the world on our streets now, and changing fads and the next big things popping up for us all to try. The growth of street food has allowed traders to hone in and specialise so particularly, that now rather than an Indian food trader, there may be 5 different regional Indian food traders all showcasing something different. 

Although things have moved on tenfold from the days of the white vans selling bookers burgers, I believe it is still growing! With more and more of the population choosing not to eat meat as often, or at all, the market for pescatarian diets has been predicted to increase by 79% for 2020!

As street food has worked its way into everyday life now, we feel that fish and seafood is still majorly under represented. We believe that we are on the cusp of seeing a lot more street food traders specialising in seafood and fish and realising that it’s not just for restaurants, and it doesn’t have to be fish and chips!

The casual dining industry has changed massively over the past 5 years with the unfortunate demise of some big household names. People are out for an experience and a story, in addition to a great meal. Street food is offering this with their niche specialities rather than a menu with 30 items on, and often you will find that traders are supporting local small businesses in the process.

That all being said, is why we created ‘Cocktails and Calamari’ and ‘Calamari Canteen’. We offer event catering and pop up’s across London where we often pair our dishes with specially designed cocktails to compliment the dishes on the menu! I know right, what could be better?!

We also have our street food van, ‘Calamari Canteen’ which you will see across central London, often with KERB markets and other locations, focusing on lunch time offerings.

We don’t just serve up a plate of calamari, we incorporate it into dishes! At the moment, we have Middle Eastern style flatbreads, Korean fish burgers, classic style calamari portions as well as vegan alternatives. The fun thing is, we don’t have a set cuisine as our focus is fish and seafood, so you can expect a seasonally changing menu throughout the year which showcases just that!

@CocktialsAndCalamari

@CalamariCanteenLdn

contact@cocktailsandcalamari.com