Raleigh’s culinary scene is almost as famous as their entertainment options. Showcasing an exciting mix of traditional Southern fare and innovative global flavors, there is something delicious around every corner. Food trucks are a cornerstone of Raleigh’s food scene, providing a unique way for guests and locals to explore the city’s tasty offerings.
Best Food Trucks in Raleigh
The City of Oaks is renowned for their food truck scene, featuring a variety of cuisines from savory to sweet. When you’re enjoying a stay at StateView, these notable food trucks around Raleigh are definitely worth seeking out.
Cousins Maine Lobster
Nationally recognized for their authentic Maine lobster rolls and seafood dishes, this family-owned truck frequents local breweries, parks, and neighborhoods. Cousins Maine Lobster food truck is a hot spot for northern transplants missing a taste of home.
Arepa Culture
Arepa Culture, as the name suggests, specializes in Venezuelan arepas — grilled cornmeal pockets filled with various ingredients — bringing a taste of Venezuela to the Triangle. Their signature La Tica with sauteed chicken and caramelized onions, bell peppers, and provo-mozz cheese is one of their best sellers.
Fall in love with arepas and can’t catch the food truck again on your trip? Visit Arepa Culture’s brick and mortar location in Raleigh at 6274 Glenwood Ave., #100.
Bo’s Kitchen
Bo’s Kitchen food truck in Raleigh offers authentic Korean cuisine, including bulgogi and mandu, and places an emphasis on the healing benefits of fermented foods like Gochujang (red-pepper paste) and housemade soy sauce. Chef Bo encourages visitors and locals alike to enjoy high-quality Korean style meals with stunning nutritional values.
Buoy Bowls
Buoy Bowls is known for their fresh açaí bowls made with locally sourced ingredients, providing a healthy and refreshing option for brunch or lunch in Raleigh. Recognizable in their bright purple truck, you can find Buoy Bowls (and tons more!) at Morgan Street Food Hall in Raleigh and several other locations around town and nearby, including Apex, Wake Forest, and Morrisville.
Curry in a Hurry
Curry in a Hurry serves authentic Indian dishes like butter chicken and garlic naan, offering a quick yet flavorful dining experience in Raleigh and nearby. Curry in a Hurry is a vegetarian paradise, even offering a vegan samosa dish with spiced potatoes and peas and a date and tamarind sweet chutney. The Curry in a Hurry menu at Morgan Street Food Hall expands to include curry bowls and street food like paneer and chicken tikka kati rolls, lamb curry, and a tasty mango lassi drink.
Dampf Good BBQ
Specializing in Texas-style craft BBQ, particularly brisket, this Raleigh food truck provides a true Southern barbecue experience. Indulge in pork spare ribs, pulled pork, bacon brisket, sandwiches, and sensational sides like smoked mac & cheese, fire roasted veggies, and butcher block beans.
goldenKdog
Even if you’ve tried a Korean corn dog before, you’ve never had one like goldenKdog. This food truck offers sweet and savory Korean corn dogs, filled with hot dogs, cheese, or both, and coated in all manner of delicious toppings – think crushed Takis, Hot Cheetos, nacho cheese, potato cubes, and more.
Gym Tacos
Gym Tacos is popular for authentic street tacos, burritos, borrachitas, and tostadas, drawing daily crowds with mouthwatering offerings. Their brick and mortar location plays on their proximity to a gym, encouraging folks to fuel up with great food for a preworkout.
Hot Chix Hotcakes and Chicken
Hot Chix combines fried chicken with hotcakes, creating unique and delicious brunch options. Their popular Hot Chix Tacos feature a crispy fried chicken tenderloin wrapped in a fluffy buttermilk pancake and topped with your choice of sauce – and they have plenty – from maple syrup and maple bacon to garlic parmesan and Nashville hot. Add more flavor with sides of tater tots or mac and cheese.
Las Gringas
Las Gringas serves up four authentic Mexican meats, carved fresh to order, with other incredible flavors like crisp lettuce, rich cheeses, pico de gallo, and so much more. Indulge in favorites like their signature Las Gringas, a flour tortilla topped with oaxaca (mozzarella) cheese, carne al pastor, pineapple, onions, and cilantro, their famous Mexi-rolls filled with roasted corn, beans, onions, cheese, and chipotle ancho sauce.
Mr. A’s Beignets
Mr. A’s Beignets brings a sweet taste of New Orleans to Raleigh, offering freshly-made beignets (pronounced ben-yays), specialty beignets, beignet bites, chicory coffee, hot cocoa, and spiced cider. These famous pastries are topped with powdered sugar and served piping hot.
Get Off My Queso (Queso Monster)
Get Off My Queso focuses on the beauty of cheesy Mexican favorites, including tacos every way to elotes and estiques. Opt for a classic quesadilla, baja style chicken tacos, quesabirria, loaded fries, or delicious elote and esquite with creamy mayo, cotija cheese, Tajin, and your choice of popular “dustings” like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Takis, and Tostitos.
Taco el Gordo
Hailed as “freakin’ delicious” by reviewers, this food truck near Raleigh serves up incredible handmade tortillas and sizable portions. Located in an unassuming shopping center, this small food truck packs a huge flavor punch with dishes like chorizo burritos, asada burritos, and carnitas sope.
Tombachi
Voted Raleigh’s best food truck in 2024, Tombachi offers hibachi-style dishes with high quality ingredients and flavorful sauces that provide a unique mobile dining experience. Enjoy fresh steak, shrimp, chicken, lobster, and the fixings to complement it all, from lo mein noodles and rice to perfectly-cooked veggies and crisp green onions.
Waves Shave Ice
Dedicated to bringing fresh island flavors to the Triangle, Waves Shave Ice offers artisan shave ice with real fruit syrups or syrups made in Hawaii. You can even add creamy ice cream to the center, and top it all off with drizzles like caramel, sweet cream, and coconut cream.
These are only a few of Raleigh’s best food trucks, each one a testament to the diversity in the City of Oaks. Wondering where to find food trucks in Raleigh? Your best bet is to check the trucks’ social media and websites, or go with a sure-fire location like Morgan Street Food Hall or one of the other places to find food trucks in Raleigh below:
Where to Find Food Trucks in Raleigh
Treat your tastebuds to some of Raleigh’s best mobile culinary options by visiting places that food trucks frequent – think local breweries, neighborhood markets, and community events, plus foot traffic hotspots like downtown Raleigh near the bars and restaurants.
Raleigh also hosts annual Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo events, when some streets in downtown Raleigh are transformed into a truck-lined paradise. Follow the Food Truck Rodeo’s Facebook so you don’t miss out on 2025 dates!
StateView’s convenient location near Raleigh’s city center makes it easy to access these popular gathering spots that often mean food trucks. Guests get a front-row seat to Raleigh’s culinary delights, whether they’re craving lobster rolls, elote, or beignets.
Planning Your Culinary Adventure
After a tasting tour of Raleigh, return to StateView for a relaxing retreat. With thoughtful amenities and a tranquil lakeside setting that’s still just minutes from the best the city has to explore, StateView is the perfect base for your foodie adventure. Plan your stay at StateView and discover the diverse flavors that make Raleigh a unique culinary destination.