Soho Winter Farmers Market Picker: Sunday or Midweek Run

Soho does not host a farmers' market, and that single fact shapes every winter food run that starts on Berwick Street. The nearest growers' markets run by London Farmers' Markets are Marylebone on Sundays from 10am to 2pm and the Bloomsbury Lunch market on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 2pm. A useful winter farmers market picker for Soho is really a question of which day you are free and whether you want a full produce shop or a hot lunch.

Berwick Street still has its street market stalls, and on a weekday they are handy for oranges, bananas or a bag of onions on the way home from the office. They are traders, though, not farmers, so do not expect to meet the person who dug the leeks. Soho is also strong on delis and bakeries along Old Compton Street and Brewer Street. What it lacks is a weekly gathering of producers from Kent, Sussex and the Home Counties, which is the whole point of a farmers' market in December or January.

Marylebone Farmers' Market sits on St Vincent Street, Aybrook Street and the top of Moxon Street, postcode W1U 4DF. London Farmers' Markets lists it as one of its flagship sites, established in June 2003, and promises it opens weekly rain or shine. From Soho Square the walk crosses Oxford Street and drifts up through Marylebone Lane, and it takes about twenty minutes at a winter pace. Arrive near the 10am start if you want first pick of game and fish.

The market's own seasonal calendar is blunt and useful: game in October, celery in November, turkeys in December and root vegetables in January. Regular growers include Perry Court Farm, Brambletye Fruit Farms, Chegworth Valley, Wild Country Organics, Riverdale Organic Farm and the Potato Shop, which is exactly what it sounds like. Fish comes direct from the market's own fishermen, and free range sausages are a reliable cold-morning purchase. The organisers note that not every stall attends every week.

If Sunday is spoken for, head north instead. The Bloomsbury Lunch Farmers' Market has temporarily moved to the south end of Woburn Square, behind SOAS, at WC1H 0AA, while works continue at its usual site. It now trades on both Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 2pm. From Soho the route runs up Charing Cross Road, past Tottenham Court Road station and into Bloomsbury's squares, again around twenty minutes on foot.

Bloomsbury describes itself as a lunch market first, with stalls running from dosas to doughnuts and pasta to pizza, all built on local, sustainable ingredients. That makes it a great Wednesday escape from a Soho desk, but a weak choice for a big weekly veg haul. If your list includes a whole bird, a sack of potatoes or a box of apples for the week, skip Bloomsbury and wait for Marylebone on Sunday. The organisers suggest Gordon Square as the picnic spot.

London daylight is thin in December, and that matters more than people expect. Marylebone closes at 2pm, so a late brunch in Soho followed by a stroll west can leave you arriving to stallholders packing their vans. Aim to leave Soho Square by 10:30am at the latest. For Bloomsbury, the best window is before the lunchtime rush, when office workers arrive in waves after 12:30pm and the hot food queues start to stretch across the square.

Ask three questions before you set off. First, is today Sunday, Wednesday or Thursday? Any other day, neither market is trading. Second, do you need raw ingredients or a meal? Raw ingredients point to Marylebone, meals point to Bloomsbury. Third, how much can you carry back to Soho? A Marylebone shop in January can easily mean swede, celeriac and a bag of apples, so bring a sturdy bag or a small trolley rather than a paper carrier.

At Marylebone on a December Sunday the crowd is mostly locals with wheeled shopping baskets, parents steering buggies towards Paddington Street Gardens, and a few chefs collecting orders. The market's own notes say well behaved dogs are welcome, and there are always a few on leads near the meat stalls. Bloomsbury midweek skews younger, with university staff, students from SOAS and office workers queuing at hot food stalls before 1pm.

Most Soho flats have small kitchens and smaller fridges, which changes how you shop. Root vegetables keep for days in a cool cupboard, so a January bag of parsnips, carrots and swede from Marylebone can carry you through the week. Celery and leafy greens wilt faster, so buy those last and use them first. A free range chicken or a brace of game birds in season is a weekend project rather than a Tuesday supper, so plan the Sunday market around a slow Sunday roast.

If your free day is a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, Borough Market is the realistic fallback. Its official hours are Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, and it is closed on Mondays. It is a permanent food market rather than a farmers' market, so prices and provenance vary by trader. From Soho, cross Waterloo Bridge or take the Northern line to London Bridge.

Bring your own bags and containers, because London Farmers' Markets asks shoppers to cut plastic and many stalls will happily fill a box you hand over. Some stallholders accept cards and some still prefer cash, and the Marylebone page points to cash machines along Marylebone High Street. Free street parking exists around the market on Sundays, but resident bays are off limits. For Soho residents walking is quicker than finding a space anyway.

Winter plans in Soho tend to collide with theatre tickets, late dinners and slow Sunday mornings. Tell Karpo APP which mornings you are free, whether you want ingredients or lunch, and how far you are willing to walk, and it can lay out a Marylebone or Bloomsbury plan with a coffee stop and a route home. You still check the stalls yourself on the day, but the thinking is done before you put your coat on.