SUFFERING FROM SAD? GO TO STROUD….
Taken from this month’s Cotswold Life magazine
The thriving street food scene that could be the answer to the January blues
For anyone suffering from post-Christmas blues, I have a potential solution - Stroud. Yes, you read that correctly - if you’re facing the prospect of a long and gloomy January with no means of escaping to the sun, my advice is a trip to Stroud, international street food scene of the Cotswolds!
You may already know about Stroud’s popular Saturday farmers’ market, but it’s the indoor Five Valleys Food Market that is my suggested antidote to beating the January blues.
Inside what was once the run-down and unloved Merrywalks shopping centre is now a thriving street-food scene, inspired by London’s Borough Market. Here you can find everything from Chinese bao buns to Thai noodles, Indian biryanis to Greek gyros, Mexican burritos to Cuban cocktails. There are over 20 independent, artisan and local producers taking you to all corners of the globe, with more set to join in 2026.
Who needs the expense and hassle of long-haul travel when you can close your eyes and sink your teeth into an authentic masala dosa, dip into a chicken katsu bento or twirl your chopsticks around some prawn udon noodles? And with footfall at the food court exceeding 50,000 people a week, it seems lots of us agree!
The Five Valleys Food Market is an example of the magic that can happen when you get things right in food. The key criteria are ‘quality, authenticity and a strong commitment to independent craft or cuisine’ - everything we have always championed in local producers for the last 20 years at our Warner’s stores. When you get those ingredients right, everything falls into place - producers have an affordable route to market, and consumers get to enjoy unique, artisan food.
Five Valleys is providing a fantastic opportunity to local producers and has created a real sense of community in Stroud - the whole experience is fun, sociable and, thanks to the outstanding quality, sustainable.
With the constant rhetoric about town centres being depressingly empty and devoid of life, the Five Valleys Food Market has given Stroud its sunshine back. Suffering from SAD? Get yourself to Stroud!
Five street-food favourites:
Thai 2 Go: Jai Phaophong has been serving up authentic Thai food to local families in the know for years but since opening up in the Five Valleys Food Hall, the secret is well and truly out: get there early - Thai2Go’s best-selling pad thais and curries are regularly sold out.
Sofia’s Chinese Kitchen: finding good quality Chinese food for your Friday night takeaway can be a challenge in the Cotswolds, so thank goodness for Sofia Su who brings her own tried and tested home-cooking skills to much loved recipes..
The Biryani Pot: Hydrabadi dum biryanis (literally meaning cooked under pressure) served up in gorgeous clay pots are the brainchild of Gautam Kaila, a pastry chef by training and an avid advocate of plastic-free takeaways. South Indian masala dosas and thalis are another speciality. .
House of Piri: you can’t go wrong with chicken and chips, but when it’s chicken peri-peri and chips, it’s a whole other level of tastiness. Hot wings, thighs and fries, chicken tenders and burgers doused in a sauce of your choosing, from mild to too hot to handle: think Nando’s but better and you get the picture!
La Cantina: this family-run Tex-Mex stall is a great spot to pick up a typical Mexican street food - a burrito, quesadilla or bowl of nachos on the go. The freshly shredded, slow-cooked beef is legendary among the locals.
Five Valleys Food Hall is open:
Monday-Thursday 10.30am-5pm
Friday 10.30am-8pm
Saturday 10.30am-5pm
Sunday 10am-3pm
fivevalleystroud.co.uk