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The street food scene in Scotland is booming. Here’s my complete guide to the best street food in Dundee… get ready to be hungry!

Today I’m sharing where you can find some of the best street food in Dundee…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months – which, let’s face it, may have been a better way to spend the time – you’ll know that cafes, bars, and restaurants have been closed for most of the past year. As a result, we’ve all got used to eating outside more often than not. That’s probably been why there’s been a ton of cute little street food vans popping up here, there, and everywhere in Dundee, and in the surrounding areas.

I, for one, am loving it! For ages it felt like the only food I ate was stuff that I cooked in my own kitchen, which was often tedious and not all that tasty. Having all these cheerful little street food vans to visit has been a bit of a game changer. From donuts to bubble tea to loaded potatoes, today I’m sharing some of the best spots to get street food in Dundee and its surrounding areas! I’ve also included some tips on what else you can do nearby.

You might also like some of my other posts on Dundee…

• 25 things to do in Dundee
• The best cafes and breakfast spots in Dundee
• The best restaurants in Dundee
• Everything you should do in Broughty Ferry

Now let’s take it away – here’s your complete guide to the best street food in Dundee!

The best street food in Dundee: my complete guide

1) Heather Street Food at the V&A

If you’re from Dundee you’ll know this street food van as the one outside the V&A museum that always has a really long queue. It first made an appearance last summer and was instantly popular, so I was really excited when it made its return in early 2021. In those dark days of the third lockdown it really was a cheerful sight on the waterfront.

So what can you expect from Heather Street Food? Well, you can usually smell it before you get anywhere near it: the delicious aroma of deep-fried donuts is calling. Yes, Heather Street Food does donuts, bagels, and hot drinks – a winning combination if there ever was one! What I also like about Heather Foods is that they partner with some of the local restaurants and cafes in Dundee to do a bagel ‘special’ each week. A nice touch, right?

So what did I order from Heather Street Food? Naturally I couldn’t not get donuts, which come rolled in sugar. I ordered three; one sugar, one cinnamon, and one rose sugar, and also got them topped with Nutella. A decadent but necessary addition I’m sure you’ll agree.

I also ordered coffee – they have oat milk which is grand. I was kind of amused by the New York cop vibes of ordering coffee and donuts, although that was countered when we sat on a bench at the rear of the V&A and ate alongside sparkling views of the River Tay.

My biggest piece of advice if you want to visit Heather Foods in Dundee? Get there early. We got there before 10am and even at that time we were fourth in the queue!

What to do near Heather Street Food in Dundee

If you get food from Heather Foods V&A then it goes without saying that you’re in the perfect spot to visit the V&A museum. The RRS Discovery, the boat the once travelled to the Antarctic, is also located next door to the museum and that’s also worth a visit. However, if you want to enjoy the great outdoors then I would recommend talking a walk along the waterfront and enjoying the views of the river – it really is gorgeous.

• Visit the V&A Dundee museum
• Visit the RRS Discovery
• Walk along the waterfront

2) Cheese on Coast

Like a pun? Love cheese? Want to eat with the backdrop of Broughty Ferry’s charming beach? Ding, ding, ding, this cute street van ticks all of those boxes! It’s a cheerful little yellow van that instantly brightens the place up – and serves up some awesome food.

What’s on the menu at Cheese on Coast? It’s not, as I first thought, a cheese toasty van. No, this place serves three things: loaded potatoes, quesadillas, and halloumi burgers. It’s a compact menu but that’s OK – sometimes it’s better not to be overloaded with choice.

I went for the cheekily named Packed on the Beef, which is probably pretty appropriate for these post-lockdown days, right? I opted for the loaded roast potatoes, which came topped with slow-cooked Scottish brisket done Korean style, spring onions, crispy onions, a generous drizzle of siracha mayo, and, of course, plenty of cheese. Wow, was it good. Gooey, melty, fall-apart goodness, with a little bit of a spicy kick from the siracha!

So where is Cheese on Coast? You can find it very conveniently located in Broughty Ferry beach car park in the centre of town. That makes it the perfect pitstop either before or after walking the dog along the beach. There’s also a takeaway coffee van parked right next to it so you can enjoy your cheese with a caffeine fix as well. It’s only open Saturday and Sunday, which makes it the perfect weekend brunch spot for those brisk beachside mornings.

What to do in Broughty Ferry

I’ve written a whole post on what you can do in Broughy Ferry, which you can read here. In short, though, you’re positively spoiled for choice. I’d recommend walking along the gorgeous stretch of beach and taking in the castle and harbour views. There’s a bustling high street packed with boutique shops, restaurants and cafes. You’re also not doing it right if you don’t visit Visocchi’s ice cream parlour in Broughty Ferry at least once!

• Walk along the beach
• Take in the views of the castle
• Get ice cream at Vissochi’s

3) Boba Time

OK, this isn’t street food per se… but I like it so much I wanted to include it. I first clocked Boba Time when I had a week off earlier this year and headed into town to drop something off at the post office. About as exciting as lockdown times go, right? Anyway, I was just sauntering along the city centre when this beautiful pistachio-coloured shop front caught my eye. It was instantly intriguing and so of course I had to get a closer look…

Nestled in amongst the independent shops in Union Street, just up the road from the V&A Dundee, Boba Time is a bubble tea bar. I don’t know if I mentioned that I lived in China for six months a few years ago and I drank bubble tea ALL the time. Originating from Taiwan, it gets its name from the tapioca balls that float around in it. It’s pumped full of sugar, ridiculously sweet and is basically a dessert in liquid form. Everything I love!

On this occasion I was feeling like something a little bit lighter, so I opted for a grapefruit iced tea. It was delicious. Overall, I’m just thrilled to have a bubble tea bar in Dundee!

What to do near Boba Time in Dundee

I mentioned that Boba Time is located on Union Street, which boasts a number of independent shops that are well worth exploring. Vintage clothes emporium Tilted Duck is just down the road along with a handful of cute boutiques that sell everything from clothes, home décor and jewellery. It’s also home to vinyl records shop Assai Records, one of the few places to receive signed copies of Taylor Swift’s album Folklore when it was released. (It was thought to be a gesture of support to independent music shops – nice touch, Taylor!)

Boba Time is also just a couple of streets away from one of Dundee’s best kept secrets, secret bar Draffens. Their drinks are strong, but it’s five o’clock somewhere, right?

• Shop vintage at Tilted Duck
• Get your vinyl records fix at Assai Records
• Drink up at secret bar Draffens

If you’d like to check out a few other ideas for what to do in Dundee, check out my post here!

4) Jannettas Gelateria Dundee

Not sure where to get ice cream in Dundee? Go here…

I was super excited when I heard that Jannettas was opening a new ice cream parlour in Dundee. For the uninitiated, the original Jannettas is located in St Andrews, about half an hour from Dundee. It’s a well-known family-run business that has been selling ice cream since all the way back in 1908 – which is wild! It’s won multiple awards over the years and it’s also one of TripAdvisor’s 2020 Traveller’s Choice picks… so a pretty a big deal.

The Jannettas in Dundee is located at the waterfront in the city in the middle of Slessor Gardens. So what did I order? Well, I’d heard that they’d created a brand new flavour of ice cream specially for Dundee, which was marmalade and ginger flavour. Of course I had to have that. It was amazing – creamy, zingy, and it even had little squidgy bits of marmalade in it. The menu at Jannettas is insane, with brownie bites, cookie bites, and sorbets alongside the many flavours of ice cream on the menu – definitely stop by if you’re in Dundee!

What to do near Jannettas in Dundee?

Jannettas is located just across the road from the waterfront so you’re very much in the centre of town again. I love hanging out in Slessor Gardens – it’s a lovely bit of green space with a smattering of benches nestled next to hedges slash wind breakers in the outside corners. It’s the perfect spot to sit in the sun and eat your ice cream! If you’re looking for another cool spot to hang out in the sunshine then – good news – there’s a new urban beach opening just across the road in a few weeks. An urban beach in Dundee! It feels weird to even write those words but, what can I say, a lot has changed in this town lately.

• Sit in Slessor Gardens
• Soak up those waterfront views
• Enjoy the urban beach

4) Newport Bakery

This one is a little bit outside of Dundee, but definitely worth the trip. It’s also not a street food van, but its takeaway food is so good I thought it was worth including!

So where is Newport then? Well, it’s just across the bridge from Dundee. The Newport Bakery is run by the same people as the much-talked about restaurant The Newport just along the road. And that gives it a little bit of clout; you know the food is going to be fresh and you know it’s going to be good. If you want artisanal baked goods, this is the place.

So what should you order at the Newport Bakery? Well, I went for a flatbread topped with smoked salmon, sour cream, and new potatoes. As someone who’s only recently discovered the wonders of smoked salmon, this was everything I wanted it to be. I also couldn’t pass by the opportunity to get something sweet, right? I couldn’t leave without ordering a rhubarb and custard croissant which tasted every bit as good as it looked!

Newport Bakery address: 11 Cupar Rd, Newport-on-Tay DD6 8AF

What to do in Newport-on-Tay

Once you’ve got your freshly baked goodies than there’s a variety of good spots to go and eat them – al fresco, of course. The easiest option is to wander down the road from the bakery and sit on one of the benches facing out on to the water. We actually drove to Wormit beach which is just five-minutes down the road. There’s ample parking available and you can perch on the edge of the pavement and eat while you watch the waves lap on the pebble beach below. When it comes to picturesque, it doesn’t get much better!

• Enjoy the stunning sea views while you eat
• Head in the other direction for country walks
• Enjoy the nature – we spotted some toads!

5) Mac Love

This is the place that kickstarted my love affair with street food in Dundee. It’s located at the viewing point at Tayport which has loads of parking and great views. Win, win, right?

This place is as cute as can be: rustic wooden frontage, artificial foliage, and blackboard menus, alongside a charming yellow logo on the side of the van. As well as looking amazing, the menu is also worth getting excited about. There are a variety of macs on offer – including a vegan option. I went for the original version. That was creamy, melty and mac ’n’ cheese topped with crispy fried onions. Wow, it was good. It was actually so good that I didn’t want to waste a single bite. I ended up having what I didn’t eat for tea later on!

They even had dog treats and a dog bowl of water available for all your furry friends, which was a lovely touch. Our pup Casper was very appreciative of the treats!

What to do in Tayport

Once you’ve scoffed your mac ’n’ cheese I would recommend walking along the coastal path towards the lighthouse you’ll see to the right, which is known as Tayport High Lighthouse. We ended up on the pebble beach which looks across towards Dundee – there’s nothing like some fresh sea air for shaking off your stresses and clearing your head at the weekend.

• Take pics of the lighthouse
• Explore the pebble beach
• Walk along Fife Coastal Path

6) Salt & Pine

This is another that’s further afield, but it’s also well worth the trip. Salt & Pine is located in Tentsmuir Forest in Fife, which isn’t far from Leuchars and St Andrews. You’ll have to drive right into the park, making sure you have £2.00 with you for access. It’s located next to the carpark, surrounded by picnic benches and greenery.

Salt & Pine has just only launched at the time of writing. When I visited the van was known as the Crepe Shack and, as per its name, it specialised in sweet and savoury crepes. In terms of the savoury crepes, they have everything from a ploughman’s crepe, comprising ham cheese and pickle, to some rather fancy-sounding options – camembert, salami, balsamic, onion confit and rocket anyone?

On the sweet side, there’s classic sugar and lemon, Nutella, banana and coconut, and a couple of more indulgent options. How does Nutella, biscuit, and marshmallow sound?

I ended up going for a sweet option: honey, banana, and oats. I really enjoyed it – it had a brunchy vibe and the banana and oats were great fuel for our long walk afterwards.

What to do in Tentsmuir Forest

If you’ve driven all the way to Tentsmuir Forest you definitely want to explore. The beach here is glorious. It’s not often you get to wander along a beach that feels so expansive – it really is huge! If you want to soak up some nature then the forest is really peaceful, with plenty of secluded pockets to explore either on foot or on a bike. We stopped for a pitstop at the picnic benches near the Ice House in Tentsmuir Forest. It was built in 1852 and was originally used to stored fresh salmon before it was shipped off to the south.

• Wander along the beach
• Explore the Ice House
• Soak up the nature walks

7) Harbourview Coffee Hut & Grill

I read about this place in a local newspaper and as soon as we were allowed out of our local area I knew I had to go. It’s doing a roaring trade serving ice cream, traybakes, milkshake, coffees and even a selection of grilled food from its prime position at Arbroath harbour.

In an interesting twist to the tale, the space that the Harbourview now occupies actually used to be a public toilet. Not that you would ever tell! On the sunny afternoon I was there I opted for a waffle cone complete with a flake and chocolate sauce, which naturally ended up all over my face. They also have every kind of non-dairy milk going so next time I think I’d be tempted to try one of their milkshakes – perhaps Biscoff or caramel shortbread flavour?

What to do in Arbroath?

I only visited Arbroath for the second time recently and I was surprised by how lovely it is. The harbour is gorgeous, with lots of colourful boats bobbing along in the bluey-green water, which was still and glass-like when I was there. I enjoyed just wandering around and spotting all the different names of the boats, which were all hand-painted in beautiful ornate lettering on the side. Arbroath is also famous for its Arbroath smokies, a special kind of smoked fish which has to be created within five miles of the town to be sold by that name. You also shouldn’t miss Arbroath Abbey, which is absolutely stunning.

• Explore the harbour
• Eat Arbroath smokies
• Explore Arbroath Abbey

That was my guide to street food in Dundee and the neighbouring areas. Are you feeling hungry yet?