A little preview that already makes your mouth water. The Reggio Calabria Street Food Fest is about to return with its second edition scheduled from Wednesday 22 April to Sunday 26 April in the evocative setting of the monumental “Italo Falcomatà” seafront. Yesterday, at Villa La Fenice, the presentation event of what will be a real journey into taste that will unite the Strait and then follow an itinerary among the gastronomic excellences of different Italian regions.
During the press conference, all the details of the Reggio Calabria Street Food Fest were revealed, which this year will last one day longer than the previous edition. The event is promoted by Eventamente together with the Metropolitan City and the Municipality of Reggio Calabria.
Doing the honors will be the acting mayor of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria Carmelo Versace who has strongly supported the Street Food Fest since the first edition. “Events like this represent a precious opportunity to enhance our gastronomic traditions, support local realities and create moments of sharing and conviviality. Street food is not only taste and creativity, but also culture, identity and meeting between people. Reggio Calabria, at the center of the Mediterranean and a crossroads of peoples and civilizations passing through the Strait, has always been a great showcase for meetings and exchanges of goods, ideas and also gastronomy. It is with great pleasure – added Versace – that I therefore address my warmest greetings, on behalf of the Metropolitan City, to all the participants in this second edition dedicated to street food. I thank the organizers for their commitment and passion and all the operators who make this event special with their work. We are convinced that this year too will be a great success of taste and fun”.
Alberto Palella, sole director of Eventamente, is ready to cut the ribbon. “We return to Reggio Calabria with great enthusiasm thanks to the precious support of the Metropolitan City and the Municipality – said Palella in the press conference -. Adding a day to the calendar gives us the opportunity to enrich the gastronomic offer and strengthen that true ‘Bridge of Taste that unites the Strait and beyond. Street Food aims to become a fixed event also in the city of Reggio Calabria and this encourages us to move forward and do better and better’.
The news
At 6.30 pm on Wednesday 22 April the inauguration of the Food Village which will host 48 taste houses. Behind the counters, symbolic street food dishes will be served, from savory to sweet. A journey through the gastronomic excellences of Reggio, Messina, Sicily and beyond. In fact, you can taste the typical Apulian “bombette” and Neapolitan Sfogliatelle. Abruzzo is unmissable with its kebabs. The master brewers will also be the absolute protagonists with a selection of craft beers from Calabria and Sicily. A way to celebrate the uniqueness of Italian cuisine, a UNESCO heritage site this year.
Great attention is also paid to the needs of those with food intolerances. In the gastronomic village, celiacs will find two houses with three gluten-free specialties each and they will also be able to taste lactose-free products.
The Reggio Calabria Street Food Fest promotes quality street food, but is also an attractor to raise awareness of Reggio Calabria’s traditions and cultural heritage, becoming an incisive territorial marketing action. Journalists and food bloggers from all over Italy will participate in the press tour organized to promote local companies specialized in the production of wine, oil and cheese and to discover places of historical and cultural interest in the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria. And the spotlight of the social world will also be turned on the peculiarities of the territory thanks to the involvement of some content creators.
A 360 degree vision fully embraced by Domenico Battaglia, acting mayor of the Municipality of Reggio Calabria. “The Street Food on the Lungomare is one of the most anticipated events of the spring season. The extraordinary response obtained last year represents an important incentive for us to do even better. The 2026 edition could be an opportunity to consolidate a winning format and to continue to offer the area moments of aggregation, quality and promotion of the territory. We strongly believe that initiatives like this represent a fundamental opportunity to make tourists aware of the beauty of our city. The Lungomare, our panorama of the Strait, the hospitality of our Reggio: everything contributes to creating a unique experience that leaves its mark. Reggio Calabria is a city located in the center of the Mediterranean, with a natural vocation for the meeting of cultures, traditions and peoples. Events such as Street Food represent a fundamental piece of this path, helping to strengthen our identity and to open us up more and more to a national and international context”.
The cooking shows could not be missing. This year there will be nine with an expansion of the dedicated area which can accommodate up to 70 people. The absolute protagonists are the chefs and master ice cream makers ready to offer their specialties in an experience that highlights the local products of the Strait and its prestigious cellars. Acting metropolitan mayor Carmelo Versace will also try his hand at the kitchen on April 25th, wearing gloves and an apron to cook together with chef Ferdinando D’Arrigo. It will be possible to access the cooking shows, hosted by journalist Valeria Zingale, and the tastings offered during the live shows, via an invitation that can be booked for free on the www.eventbrite.it platform starting from 16 April. Great support in the show cooking area from the professional hotel-tourism institute of Villa San Giovanni “Giovanni Trecroci”. The students will be involved in reception and lounge services as part of the “School-Work Alternation” project.
“As an Administration – said the councilor for Productive Activities of the Municipality of Reggio Calabria Alex Tripodi – we thought of identifying fixed stages of Street Food, in relation to the food and wine itineraries that our city has in its ropes. Street Food is characterized as an event that records the participation of many people from Reggio Calabria and beyond every year: we also expect a large participation for the 2026 edition. All this continues to go in the direction of the work implemented up to now: promoting local brands, excellence, the short supply chain, zero kilometer production. As regards the valorisation of local excellence, the Administration, within the ‘Pact for trade’, has identified a series of strategies regarding local trade and local production”.
Not just food but also fun. The Village will in fact give space to lots of music, shows and entertainment, confirming a winning format that promises the public an experience full of conviviality, aggregation and lots of fun. DJ sets, live bands and acrobatic performances by the Compagnia dei Joculares have been confirmed.
The Reggio Calabria Street Food Fest enjoys the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, the Municipality of Reggio Calabria, the Chambers of Commerce of Reggio Calabria and Messina, the University of Messina (Biomorph department), Atam and the Professional Institute. hotel-tourism “Giovanni Trecroci” of Villa San Giovanni. Media partners: Gazzetta del Sud and Progetto Touring.
The opening hours of the Food Village
Wednesday 22 April from 6pm to 1am
Thursday 23 April: from 11am to 3pm and from 6pm to 1am
Friday 24 April: from 11am to 3pm and from 6pm to 1am
Saturday 25 April: from 11am to 1am
Sunday 26 April: from 11am to midnight
Show cooking times
Wednesday 22 April at 7pm
23-24-25-26 April: at 7pm and 9pm