Hereford Indie Festival 2024 review: Burger Shop food

The event, which is organised by A Rule of Tum, is in Aubrey Street with dozens of stalls.

We were eager to head along ourselves to see what it was all about, with hopes we could enjoy some tasty food in the process.

My fellow HT reporter Julia Baker and I arrived at 3pm on Saturday (April 24) and hoards of crowds were already at the festival. It was buzzing, and completely unrecognisable from the usually quiet street.

In our first walk around, we looked at what was available. The smells of all kinds of herbs and spices wafted in the air as we followed the ebb and flow of our fellow hungry foodies around the event.

The Yard was transformed as the hub of the festival (Image: Bridie Adams)

The overwhelming choice of where to eat was made easier for us as we had each been given a voucher to choose a meal from the Burger Shop, Leaven Pizza or the Bookshop — but even so, we were stuck between juicy chicken burgers or cheesy sourdough pizza.

We decided to opt for the buttermilk chick burgers from the Burger Shop, one of the restaurants in A Rule of Tum's Yard. We parted ways with our vouchers, which had been included in our press tickets to the event, to secure the burgers.

Bridie and Julia enjoying chicken burgers at the festival (Image: Ryan Parker)

They were buttermilk fried chicken fillets in a brioche bun with roast garlic mayo, pickles and baby gem. We also ordered a serving of sweet potato fries each.

It's no secret that the Burger Shop makes some of the most delicious burgers in the city, despite fierce competition from other popular restaurants like the Beefy Boys, and this burger was incredible. The fries were also delicious and crispy.

The fries and dipping sauce were also delicious (Image: Bridie Adams)

One thing we spotted during our roaming around the festival was frozen margaritas sold by the Jam Factory. Curious and now craving a cold drink ourselves, we tracked down the stall and paid £8 each for the mango and passionfruit flavoured cocktails.

The drinks had a thick, slushy texture but didn't melt too quickly, giving us long enough to savour them before they went completely liquid. Each cup of margarita had a piece of lime and a sprinkle of chilli on top. They were delicious, and had just the right strength of tequila without being too alcoholic or too watered down. What's not to love about an ice-cold cocktail?

The frozen margaritas were so refreshing (Image: Julia Baker)

Lastly, we wanted something each to take home and save for later. When we spotted Boozy Brownies, we couldn't resist buying a three-pack of brownies for £8. Our chosen flavours were chocolate, salted caramel and Biscoff.

Sweet and gooey in the middle, but not sickly, the chocolate ended up being my favourite one.

We tried three flavours of Boozy Brownies (Image: Bridie Adams)

I would say that on variety, entertainment and overall vibe, Hereford Indie Festival has to get top marks.

All of the acts we saw had brilliant stage presence and did a great job of hyping everyone up. Each and every performance manager to attract a pretty big audience, even during the day when we expected it to be quieter.

The band Ten Tonnes did a great job of entertaining the crowd (Image: Bridie Adams)

The headliners for the Saturday night, the Lottery Winners, wowed the crowd, with some more energetic partiers staying late for a DJ set by Kaiju Blue and Honey B.

ALSO READ:

• Hereford farm worker in court for breaking ban
• Hereford man in court after community order breach
• Man stabbed at Hereford Best Trim barber shop

We thought that it worked well having a large space in front of the main stage for those who were there to enjoy the music, while also having quieter spaces like inside the Burger Shop restaurant and in the Makers' Market in the Green Dragon Hotel to escape to if you'd like a break from the crowds.

Perhaps most importantly, the festival is a fantastic opportunity to support local businesses. 

As for next year? I'd definitely head back to sample more tasty treats.