My Glastonbury food odyssey: 10 of the best dishes – whether you're feeling hungover or healthy

The Guardian

16 hours ago

The food choices at Glastonbury can feel overwhelming – a smorgasbord of street food from around the world, which can trigger terrible choice paralysis when you're operating with a hangover, on zero sleep, or both. Fear not. Here are some guaranteed Glastonbury food wins, whether you're looking to stave off the mother of all hangovers or simply on the hunt for something green.
South of the Pyramid stage
A massaman curry served on brown rice (£14), this is loaded with nutritious ingredients, including greens, kimchi pickles and new potatoes. It's creamy, filling and thoroughly restorative, without leaving you bloated. The buddha bowls are a staple of most Glastonbury food lists for good reason. If you're craving salt, add the fried halloumi. Sprinkle a few chilli flakes for good measure.
South of the Acoustic Stage
One for the carnivores. Go for the Pitmaster (£17): a hunk of smoked barbecue brisket (cooked on site for more than 16 hours) served with a healthy dollop of pulled pork on a bed of crunchy fries and coleslaw. This is the dish if you decide to splash out and treat yourself.
The south side of West Holt
If it's your first time at Glastonbury, the Goan fish curry stall is something of a rite of passage (that queue is long for a reason). The go-to curry (there are a couple) consists of flaky white fish cooked in a hot tomato-based curry sauce, served with fluffy white rice (£13). Fans of spicy food will probably find this quite mild; if so, smother it in the zesty green chilli sauce. Fish has never really been in my hangover repertoire, but I've been reliably informed by my colleague, Gwilym Mumford, that the breakfast kedgeree here is a winner.
The Reach, opposite the BBC Introducing stage
Wings at a festival can feel like a risky strategy, particularly if, like me, you come with a beard. But sometimes they're necessary, and as long as you're happy to ask a friend or stranger to do a post-meal beard check, the much-hyped wings (£10) from the fusion street food company Mexican Seoul are worth queueing and getting dirty for. Dripping in a gochujang-based secret sauce, these are hefty double-fried wings with the crunch to match. It's a hearty portion of five wings, good if you're hungover, drunk, sobering up or simply sticking to your high-protein diet.
Opposite the Left Field
The Crumble Pots van is a build-your-own-crumble adventure. There are sweet options (apple, rhubarb, banoffee) and savoury (roast dinner, chicken and leek, veg curry). Billy Bragg says he is often distracted by the choices available at Crumble Pots whenever he performs at the Left Field. Crumble might not seem the obvious festival choice – and given the temperatures this year, I can't imagine wanting anything covered in hot custard – but if you keep it simple with an apple filling, cinnamon crumble and soft-scoop ice-cream combo (£7.50), it's surprisingly refreshing. Perfect if, like me, you have a lethal sweet tooth.
Opposite the Park stage
My colleague Jenny Stevens swears by the nourishing value of the Lebanese Mezze stall. It offers a big choice of hot and cold mezze from which to build your dream plate (or the servers can pick for you if you're feeling overwhelmed). There are different pricing tiers available (I bagged my choice of five for £13) and all your favourites are available, though in hindsight I perhaps leant too heavily into the carbs (including a crisp fatayer, flavourful batata harra and falafel). But if you make better choices than me, this is great when your body is crying out for something nourishing that isn't covered in batter or served with chips.
Left of the Other stage
The Notso Katsu stall offers delicious vegan fried chick'n dishes. If you need a hearty meal, the katsu curry (£12.50) is the right balance of stodge (rice), gratification (the chick'n), flavour (the Japanese curry sauce) and nutrition (edamame, pickles and seaweed), with a good kick. If fake chicken isn't your thing, you can sub in a pumpkin croquette (and the katsu burger looks banging, too).
Between Left Field and West Holts
These are hollowed-out bread rolls stuffed with chilli (vegan or steak, with varying spice levels), topped with sour cream and toasted garlic bread (£12). The bread is a sturdy vessel for the steak chilli, which is easily scooped out and shovelled down. This is perfect if you're on the go or need to sober up. The choice of whether to eat this when you have a hangover depends on your spice tolerance.
Opposite the Park stage
The chilli cheese dosa (£11.50) is a crisp pancake with a spicy masala paneer filling, served with pots of sambar chutney and coconut yoghurt. Great for a quick fiery hit, though it's a tough eat on the go: the pancake doesn't hold together quite as well you think it will, and cocky 'eat and walkers' – of which I am one – may find themselves coming unstuck.
The south side of West Holts
The surf and turf box (£14) is packed with juicy prawns and chunks of tender chicken. It's a good portion size, all perfectly seasoned, served with cajun-spiced fries and a very saucy coleslaw that keeps everything from getting too dry. I'm in two minds about including this one as I'm definitely going back and I don't want the queue to get any longer.