Covent Garden Night Market

After reading about Covent Garden Night Market on other blogs, I decided to give it a go myself. I wasn't under any illusions; Borough Market it aint, and with that I set off.

Friday was the last time the market was open this year, as it's only open throughout August. Upon first arriving, I was impressed. It was a warm night, and it reminded me of French evening markets. It had great lively atmosphere and was bustling, partly due to some questionable street performers juggling knives.

Every Friday there have been demos by various chefs, but unfortunately I missed Fergus Henderson's demo as I thought it was on at 7:30pm, rather than 6:30pm. No matter; there were lots of other foods to be sampled. A lovely Irish rock oyster at £1.50, and a portion of wild mushroom risotto completed my dinner for the evening, and I came away with lots of cured pork goods.

Of course, I couldn't walk on past a huge round of Stichelton, my favourite blue cheese. It's a shame the guy selling the cheese so obviously didn't want to be there, nor talk to me and it showed as it seemed to be the least busy stall. What happened to service with a smile?

Unfortunately they'd run out of Tuscan sausage that I was told to buy, and the spicy one didn't really do a lot for me. There was a good selection of stalls to eat your way round on a Friday night, rather than lots of places to buy fresh produce for. All in all, a nice couple of hours out but ultimately not something you'd miss too much if you'd been to Borough Market before.