Everything we ate at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival

The 63rd Annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival kicked off on Friday, May 26, 2023 and continues through Memorial Day. The festival features classic carnival rides as well as a variety of strawberry-themed contests for festivalgoers to participate in. But the real star of the show is the strawberry treats attendees can purchase from vendors.

The festival is an opportunity for different non-profits in the area to not only raise awareness for their organizations but raise money as well by hosting food and game booths. This year non-profit food vendors included the Greater Garden Grove Kiwanis Club which offered funnel cakes, the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove which featured strawberry lemonade on their menu and Job’s Daughters who have made quite the name for themselves with their strawberry shortcake.

Here is every we tried at this years festival. Spoiler alert: We ate a lot of strawberries.

1. Funnel Cake with Strawberry Drizzle

A classic fair food. I think it could’ve been enhanced with some fresh strawberries and whipped cream on top, but overall can’t go wrong with funnel cake. – CB

I love funnel cake. I’d eat it in any shape, form or flavor. Proving itself as no exception, the strawberry glaze was excellent. Notably, it’s more of a strawberry jelly taste than an actual strawberry, if that is of any importance to you. -DE

Price: $10

2. Strawberry Lemonade

I love a fresh lemonade, especially with a bonus flavor such as strawberry or lavender. The strawberry bits added to the taste, but unfortunately kept getting stuck in the straw, making it tricky to drink. – CB

I’m always cautious around lemonade because it can be so sweet – I typically water it down. But, to my surprise, this one wasn’t overwhelming. A happy medium. -DE

Price: $4

3. Strawberry Shortcake

This was probably my favorite of the strawberry items we ate. It was a good level of sweetness and if you could get the whipped cream, cake and strawberry all in one bite it was delicious. – CB

The cake was so buried in whipped cream and strawberries I feared it might be an afterthought. Delightfully, it wasn’t. At the bottom of the dish, I was greeted by a perfectly baked, just-sweet-enough cake. -DE

Price: $9 for strawberries, shortcake and whipped cream.

4. Dr.Pepper Strawberry and Cream soda

I had been wanting to try this new flavor, and a strawberry festival seems like a perfect opportunity to let attendees try it with an added bonus of pairing it with a scoop of ice cream. Dr. Pepper isn’t a soda I typically reach for, but I’ve got to say I was a fan of this combo. – CB

Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda, but I can’t imagine drinking this flavor sans ice cream. It makes the perfect float, but it’s a little too dessert-y to be appealing on a regular basis. But no harm in trying it here because it’s free! -DE

Price: Free

5. Strawberry Cheesecake

This cheesecake was listed as a strawberry cheesecake and turned out to be a classic cheesecake with strawberries on top. The cheesecake was good, but I did have my hopes up that it would be strawberry flavored. – CB

I have the same gripe as above. I’ll add that it was a well-crafted cheesecake, with a nice, crumbly crust. -DE

Price: $5 for a slice.

6. Chocolate Covered Strawberries

It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries. They were tasty, but also messier to eat than I was anticipating. – CB

The strawberries were SO perfect. My bites would reveal the deep red hue that we all hope we get when we bite into one. My chocolate kept detaching after my first bite, so really it was strawberries with chocolate shelling on the side. No complaints, though. -DE

Price: $10 for five chocolate covered strawberries.

7. Fresh Strawberries

Surprisingly we only spotted two local strawberry vendors throughout the festival. After a day of non-stop sweets, it was nice to end out the day with fresh fruit. – CB

I’d imagine that when you show up to the strawberry festival with pure strawberries, the pressure is on. They didn’t disappoint. -DE

Price: $8 for one basket.

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