The Covent Garden Real Food Market is in full swing. If you haven’t yet stopped by the West End’s answer to Borough Market or Broadway Market, get thee to the east side of the piazza, and soon.

The Real Food Market at Covent Garden

I wandered over to the Real Food Market last Thursday at about one-thirty. I planned to grade it on three criteria: selection, quality, and price of food. Here’s the breakdown and a few individual recommendations…

Selection – good. There is a lot to choose from, but the selection is tipped in favour of breads, desserts and nibbles. I’m fairly sure that this is seasonal, as when I visited the market in early August I found it teeming with fresh, local fruits and veg.

In terms of variety, Pieminster offers a staggeringly vast selection of pies. They’re huge, crusty and just £3.95 each to take away. Taste report: tops, especially when served with mash and gravy (£5.75, so perhaps a little steep for lunch).

Pies by Pieminster

Quality – excellent. Crumbs and Doilies (which bills itself as the ‘spiritual home - or, at the very least, London pied à terre - of the cupcake’) blew me away with tray after tray of the prettiest cupcakes I have ever seen. They were also rather delicious indeed. Mini cupcakes are £1 each or £10 for a dozen, and big cupcakes are £2 each or £7 for four.

A box of mini cupcakes by Crumbs and Doilies

If cupcakes aren’t your thing, check out the treats at The Dessert Deli. Mini cheesecakes and tortes are £1 each or £3.50 for four, and dessert shots (yes, really – cheesecake, crème brulee and chocolate torte) are £1 and just so delicious. The Dessert Deli does a mean array of cakes and tarts, too.

Lush desserts at affordable prices -- tarts just £1 each

Price – a few pricey pieces, but surprisingly affordable on the whole. The Flour Station makes craft bread – artisan bread with an emphasis on craftsmanship – and while the prices stray into higher ground, several of the hearty loaves start at just £2. Neals Yard Dairy also has a kiosk at the market, so there’s no shortage of cheese to top your bread.

Breads for sale at the Real Food Market

Special mentions for value go to La Tua Pasta which serves up plates of hot pasta for £3 to £5, and to McManus Brothers Oysters, a little kiosk offering six luscious Jersey oysters for £7, and a £4.50 glass of Chapel Down sparkling wine.

For me, one of the biggest appeals of the Real Food Market is the local element – I like buying local food that doesn’t come with a colossal carbon footprint, and I really like supporting independent producers.

The verdict: In terms of value for money, you can get more food for your pound at a supermarket, but if you’re after a special meal, I reckon you’ll do better here than at M&S… and you’ll probably spend less. In terms of food quality and wow factor, the Real Food Market is a clear winner, comfortably on par with London’s larger and better-known markets.

The Real Food Market is open on Thursdays from noon until eight. It’s set to close at the end of September, but I have it on good authority that due to brisk business and less-than-bracing weather, it may be expended into October. No guarantees, though, so if you can get there sooner than later, do.