Lunch – dinner’s less appreciated little brother, brunch’s less ceremonious weekday counterpart, that cheeky little meal you squeeze into your day just to keep yourself functioning in the afternoon. Even if you’re looking forward to a break from your desk, the prospect of interrupting your work to join throngs of anxious people at greasy food court counters or overpriced chain restaurants doesn’t do much to help lunch’s rep. For those of you looking for something different (and living or visiting across the pond) London’s busting food markets provide a lively, cheap, and delicious alternative to the monotony of corporate lunchtime, and offer up dishes that bring newfound glory to your midday dining routine.

Fancy a Korean bun stuffed with slow roasted free-range pork, cucumber, hoisin sauce, onions and Siracha? Or perhaps a plate of fresh seafood paella covered in tiger prawns and home-cured chorizo is more your style? From elaborate sandwiches to amazing ethnic dishes, the standard of cooking found in London’s markets rivals that found at some of the city’s best restaurants. In fact, celebrated kitchens have set up shop alongside seasoned vendors in the hopes of showcasing their skills and cashing in on the street food craze.

At its stall in Exmouth Market, for example, celebrated London sit-down Moro offers up savoury plates of Moroccan pulled-lamb with yoghurt, salad, and chillies to the salivating masses for only five pounds. Not only would similar dishes cost three to four times as much inside the restaurant, but with your lunch in hand you can wander down the street and check out all the boutiques it has to offer, or more importantly scope out bakeries for dessert. Other notable vendors to check out at Exmouth are Gujarati Rasoi for vegetarian Indian favourites, and Freebird Burritos for a spicy Mexican fix.

Other bastions of deliciousness can be found all over town, from the busy streets of Soho (Berwick Street Market) to the tourist-heavy backstreets of Southwark (Borough Market), stalls all over the city are putting out food so good many loyalists travel across the city just for a taste from their favourite vendors. Borough Market, in particular, is a real mosh pit for hunger-crazed foodies looking to chow down on anything from hot meat baguettes (at Hobbs Meat Roast), to oysters and fresh seafood (Wright Brothers), to home-style brunch fare (Maria’s Market Café). From Thursday to Saturday the Market stays jam-packed with excitable patrons pushing and shoving their way around to choose their perfect meal. So if you can handle some low-grade agoraphobia, shove five quid in your pocket and get yourself over to the south end of London Bridge to take advantage what may be the city’s premiere gourmet street food venue.

Many markets are open on weekends too, and in fact most offer even more variety to the Saturday and Sundays crowds. If you’re looking for London’s best weekend street food scene, throw on your plaid shirt and vintage brogues and visit Hackney for a happy wander around Broadway Market. There are food styles to satisfy all appetites here, and for the homesick Montrealers out there there’s even La P’tite Poutine, a standout Saturday stall that serves up authentic poutine complete with homemade gravy and real-deal squeaky cheese. If you want to chow down on some amazing local food in a relaxed community atmosphere, this market on the East side is the place to be.

So to my fellow workday lunch skeptics out there, to those of you who dread the inevitable disappointment of soggy pre-made sandwiches and crappy 10£ salads, it’s time to change up your routine. When you step out of the office at midday tomorrow, walk past the Prêt at the corner or the Chinese buffet down the High street and follow your nose to one of London’s amazing food markets. That’s where the real food is, where you’ll eat lunches so delicious you’ll momentarily forget about the stresses of your day and stop thinking of how soon you need to get back to your desk.

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