Roaming Hunger

Raleigh-Durham Food Trucks

Find food trucks, carts, and pop-ups in Raleigh-Durham
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Top Food Trucks in Raleigh-Durham

Looking for more food trucks? Check out all 283 food trucks, trailers, carts, and pop-ups in Raleigh-Durham.

Top 5 Cuisines in Raleigh-Durham

Sandwiches

Find more than 70 mobile sandwich caterers in Raleigh-Durham near you today. Start friends and coworkers off with a simple grilled cheese, or stuff as much as you can between two pieces of bread. Roaming Hunger will help you rent or hire the best sandwich trucks and trailers around.

Tacos

Treat yourself to more than 35 unique taco trucks and carts in Raleigh-Durham near you. Roaming Hunger helps you hire the best taco caterers around to get the spicy salsa, crispy chips, and fresh, meat and veggie-filled tacos flowing. Rent a truck for your next event today!

BBQ

If you’re looking for some spicy, sweet, and saucy meats, then we’ve got over 29 BBQ trailers, trucks, and carts for you to choose from in Raleigh-Durham today. Rent a BBQ caterer to throw your favorite meats on the grill and watch as your party guests guzzle down some mind-blowing BBQ.

Burgers

From Impossible Burgers and mushroom burgers, to bison and elk burgers, you can find any kind of burger from the 25 burger caterers in Raleigh-Durham near you. Hire a truck or trailer for your next party or corporate event. They’ll bring the condiments—you bring the company.

Dessert

Nothing is quite so satisfying as sweet treats made fresh in Raleigh-Durham. Choose from over 19 dessert trucks and caterers near you today. They’ll bring the cake pops, pecan brittles, brownies, candies, and sorbets—you bring the party people.

Bring a Food Truck to Any Raleigh-Durham Event

From food service at a corporate park to an intimate backyard celebration, find and book the perfect food truck, cart, or pop-up.

Corporate Catering

Meal Programs, Employee or Client Appreciation, Company Celebrations

Explore Corporate Catering

Private Parties

Graduations, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Baby Showers, and more

Explore Private Parties

Large-Scale Events

Conferences, Festivals, Sporting Events, Employee Events

Explore Large-Scale Events

Food Trucks for Weddings

Wedding Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners, Late Night Snacks

Explore Wedding Catering

Community Events

School Events, Religious Gatherings, Street Fairs, Neighborhood Parties

Explore Community Events

Food Truck Rentals in Raleigh-Durham

Looking To Rent A Food Truck? You’re in the right place. Just select what type of food truck rental you’re looking for.

Catering

Bring a Food Truck to Your Next Catered Event

Looking for food truck catering for a private or corporate event?

Book a Food Truck

Marketplace

Lease a Food Truck, Trailer, or Other Mobile Equipment

Looking for a long-term or short-term food truck rental or lease?

Visit our Marketplace

Activation

Launch Branded Food Trucks for Marketing Promotions

Looking to create an experiential marketing activation?

Visit our Agency
Across the entire South, North Carolina's Research Triangle region remains one of the boldest, most unique areas worth exploring. Between Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill lies a community that thrives on contradictions, meets tradition with innovation, and altogether challenges countless assumptions about Southern culture. It only makes sense then that the dining scene, and in particular, a booming food truck scene, reflects all the same values.

Trucks here mash up old and new South til they're one in the same, with traditional recipes punched up by risk-taking new forms and twists, redefining staples and creating new obsessions, all at the same time. It's a scene that values soulful innovation; trends born from the pulse of the people instead of a pitch meeting. Ironically of course, a slew of dishes cooked up here have gone on to become massively popular elsewhere in the country. Funny how marketable soul can be.

The Best Food Trucks In Raleigh-Durham

Stuft packs a whole lot of that soul into baked potato form, and not all of it's Southern soul. In fact, the truck mixes flavors and inspiration from all over the globe, delivering a world of taste in deceptively tiny packages. Owner Stephanie Ruggiro may be young, but she inherited all the skills she needs from her parents, who once ran their own baked potato shop in New York.

Stuft raises the stakes on its own creations, with specialties that range from Buffalo chicken/ranch/mozzarella to taco-seasoned beef/jalapeno/salsa and sour cream, along with a wide range of seasonal specials. Most entrees are gluten-free, and can even be made dairy-free. On top of that, hiding on the menu's back-end are bacon maple cheddar bombs worthy of launching a separate truck altogether. All in all, Stuft represents the heart of Raleigh-Durham's food truck scene - big time comfort attached to even bigger imagination.

Well-Heel'd 'Wiches

Of course, when it comes to comfort staples, a sandwich is pretty much the standard. But the sandwiches here are far from standard. Truck after truck here spruces up the American classic in ways that have already been copied (with slightly diminished returns) in Charlotte and Winston-Salem. Perfect as a meal on the go between classes, it should be no surprise Raleigh and Durham have effectively sandwiched the sandwich market, and with so many farm-fresh ingredients available, it should also be no surprise they've perfected it.

Zeke's Meats is a case study on why Raleigh-Durham's sandwiches are, well, generally perfect. Every element is scratch-made and humming with flavor, representing the very best of the region - from low-and-slow brisket touched up by pimiento and pickled onion, to a Mediterranean grilled chicken finished with mint yogurt and pomegranate molasses-marinated peppers. Loaded fries and sweet potatoes round off the options, along with a crispy polenta fritter that's worth seeking out the food truck for alone.

Meanwhile, Porchetta may highlight just one sandwich, but it's a doozy of a sandwich. And it comes in five varieties, perfect to suit whatever mood you're in (and whatever craving's in you). Slow-roasted Italian pork gets served up on a spectrum - from sweet to spicy to smoky, and everywhere in-between. CockADoodleMoo is a husband-and-wife dream truck 20 years in the making, and now that it's arrived, it's delivering more than locally-sourced, organic eats. It's giving back to its own community through charity outreach, supporting local businesses, and making sure every guest leaves with a smile on their face. Which is easy to do with sandwiches like a hickory-smoked duck on naan and a ground chuck/shortrib hybrid burger. It's taste after taste of southern bliss with hospitality to match. And it covers an entire farm's worth of flavor.

Devilish Delights

Of course, another mainstay on the Raleigh-Durham food truck scene is dessert, the most vital component of the Southern food pyramid. Whether it's students grabbing a late afternoon snack between classes, or locals grabbing a late night sugar kick between bars, the dessert trucks here are in a league of their own, giving you classic treats done locally, organically, and like nowhere else. No matter how many sandwiches you've tackled, there's always room for the stuff these trucks are serving. And if you doubt it, just take a look at 'em.

Hailing from Holly Springs, Mama Bird's Cookies + Cream is actually a tribute to owner/operator Lesley Richmond's two daughters "Mama" and "Bird", and is packed with flavors that'll please everyone's inner child. The storefront serves as a permanent spot to get your fix, but private bookings are where Mama Bird's truly shines. Customize their menu of fresh-baked cookies and brownies, small-batched ice cream (including vegan options) and rotating specialties til it's perfect for whatever you're planning, and watch the mobile ice cream cart bring your plan to chilly, delicious life.

Elsewhere around town, Not Just Icing is a mobile cupcake shop proving its name, dispensing not only the triangle's tastiest scratch-made cupcakes (with no preservatives and all-natural ingredients - butter instead of oil and real fruit instead of extracts) but also dynamite (egg-free) cookie dough, brownie cakes and seasonal specials. Finally, Dusty Donuts is changing Chapel Hill's donut game, one lovingly seasoned mini-morsel at a time. Inspired by the distinct treats sold at Minneapolis hockey games, the food truck's made donuts a big deal in the triangle again - by making them extra small. Dusty Donuts also features first-rate coffee, both hot and iced, to make sure your tongue's balanced. And really, REALLY happy.

Other Notable Food Trucks in Raleigh-Durham

Baguettaboutit crafts home-wrapped North Carolina sausages, then hoses them down with delicious sauces before stuffing them inside fresh-baked baguettes. The result is an entire feast that fits comfortably in one hand, perfect for on-the-go dining. Of course, it also carries a taste that demands you sit down and savor it. So it's a conundrum, really. Good luck with that. Bo's Kitchen is a bit more straightforward - just seriously rich, filling Korean specialties that demand your full attention. Not to mention your full stomach. From bulgogi to mandu, it's a menu of colossal classics with authenticity to spare.

Finally, Arepa Culture imports an entirely different kind of foreign specialty - Venezuelan mobile comfort, to be specific, and already has the rewards to show for it. Voted Best Food Truck in North Carolina during the 2016 Fans' Choice Awards, it's a food truck giving locals a completely different accent while they visit - one that sounds like a mouth full of food, to be specific. Arepas range from BBQ pork tenderloin to Norwegian smoked salmon, giving you a world tour hidden beneath a Latin American vacation. A vacation within a vacation, if you will, all without using a single air mile.

Where to Find Food Trucks in Raleigh-Durham

As always, check out the live Raleigh-Durham food truck map above to find the most accurate, up-to-the-minute location info for all trucks listed, alongside countless more options.

The Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo is always the most dependable collection of trucks found in one place, and pops up Sundays throughout the year. Downtown Raleigh has also become a hotspot in general, with four big locations almost always open for mobile business: 100 E. Polk St., 300 S. Harrington St., 300 South Bloodworth St. and South State Street at the NCDMV Headquarters and N.C. State Employees Credit Union.

Needless to say, the areas directly adjacent to both UNC and Duke's campuses are also big business, with trucks always roaming around lunch time to feed the student bodies - and anyone else bold enough to jump into the fray. Chapel Hill specifically has tighter restrictions than the rest of the county, but night time trucks can usually be found in the lot of Chapel Hill Tire. Meanwhile, neighboring Carrboro (which, as in most of their endeavors, has significantly looser rules) is positively thriving with them.

Finally, to book any of the trucks listed (and any that aren't) for your own function, public or private, check out our Raleigh food truck catering page to have Roaming Hunger do all the work for you. It's the new way to do corporate catering and private catering alike, delivering old-school tastes done better than anyone else in town. Melting old and new to create something else entirely - it's a trick the triangle knows well, but it's one that never gets old. At least not when it tastes this good.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best food trucks in Raleigh-Durham?

Raleigh-Durham has some amazing food trucks. Choosing the “best” depends on what you’re looking for (a great lunch truck or a great food truck to cater your wedding). You can explore the top food trucks by going to our Raleigh-Durham List page. 

If you’re looking for food trucks that are great for catering, here are the top 5 most booked food trucks on Roaming Hunger:

  1. Jessica's Food Truck
  2. El Rey Del Taco
  3. Bull City Street Food
  4. The All American Food Truck
  5. Queso Monster

What are the most popular food truck cuisines in Raleigh-Durham?

Based on the food trucks in our system, here are the cuisines that are most popular with food trucks in Raleigh-Durham:

  1. Sandwiches
  2. Tacos
  3. BBQ
  4. Burgers
  5. Dessert

How many food trucks are in Raleigh-Durham?

There are currently 283 food trucks, trailers, carts, and pop-ups on Roaming Hunger in the Raleigh-Durham area. Keep in mind this is not a complete list because food trucks manually join Roaming Hunger. Our system may also include food trucks that are no longer operating because we rely on the food trucks themselves to let us know when they are closed.

Are food trucks popular in Raleigh-Durham?

Based on the fact that there are 283 food trucks, trailers, and carts in the area, it’s clear that the mobile food culture is thriving in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Where can I find food trucks in Raleigh-Durham?

You can use the Roaming Hunger map above to see food trucks in the area.

How can I rent a food truck in Raleigh-Durham?

If you’re looking for catering, simply go to our Raleigh-Durham food truck catering page and fill out a request form.

If you’re looking to rent a food truck for your business, start at our food truck lease page.

If you’re a brand or marketing agency looking to rent a food truck for an activation or promotion, go to our agency page.

How do I book a food truck for my event?

Use Roaming Hunger to book a food truck for any event in Raleigh-Durham. Simply go to our Raleigh-Durham food truck catering page to get started.

After you fill out your event information, local food trucks will apply based on your event date and budget with a catering package. From there you’ll be able to choose the best package for your event.

If it’s a public event where the food truck is selling to the public, you’ll fill out your event information and local food trucks will apply to learn more about your event. You can choose which food trucks to connect with from there.