Wellfield Fruit and Veg

I love this little establishment. They’re always friendly, and the fruit and veg is almost always of very good quality. The price is really good — much better than Tesco or Sainsbury’s, and the selection is usually pretty reasonable, especially in summer. Highly recommended

I can’t walk past this stall without buying something. Which is odd, because I don’t usually buy a lot of fruit when I’m in a supermarket. I’ll pick up the veg and salad when I need to, but I really hate the fruit & veg part of supermarkets, and indeed any fruit and veg stall, so I tend to avoid them. Which is a shame really, because I do like fruit a lot, I just don’t like shopping for it, and trying to pick out the good stuff from the battered and bruised.
I really like this stall though, and I often pick up a punnet or two of raspberries as I walk past. The raspberries they sell here are a particular favourite of mine, but all of the fruit on this stall is delicious and 10 times nicer than any of the tasteless rubbish you get in Tesco.

A throwback to simpler times of market stalls when everybody was on first name terms with the rest of their street, it’s reassuring to see places like this continuing to thrive, particularly in an area so flush with multinational supermarkets. You won’t always save money versus a trip to Tesco but you will feel infinitely better about your shopping — it may be a smug imagination mirage, but everything seemingly tastes fresher too. You’ll rarely pass without at least one customer picking over the racks. And that certain fruits and vegetables are unavailable later in the day is testament to exactly how popular a local option is with residents in the vicinity.

I used to hate these kinds of stores. I grew up in a family of people equal parts Splott, the docks and Trowbridge, so visiting these stalls was the done thing, as befits people from areas where community actually still exists. I’d be dragged to my grampy’s favourite seller, whom he knew personally and from whom I always got a free apple. My dad would cart me around car boot sales, talking to sellers about what they’ve got and what’s just come in and what’s in season. I was made to carry potato sacks from these places with my nan. The huge range of produce which was always fruit and never chocolate, and their weird, braying voices always made me hate them as a child.
As an adult though, I find myself drawn to these kinds of stalls because I have since become healthy, as adults are meant to be, and my desire for chocolate has decreased. I spent a year living just across the road from this stall, and it never failed to satisfy. Like all fruit stalls, the range can vary depending on the season and what he’s been able to get hold of, but the prices and the range are fantastic and you get a wonderful sense of achievement from shopping here that Tesco and Morrison’s just don’t give you.

The Fruit and Veg Stall is situated next to Ice Master and Rainbow Bargain, a huge home and garden store, which occupies the former Methodist Church where Wellfield Road meets Albany Road in Roath. It doesn’t have an official name, and there are no published contact details for the place either. But this is of little consequence, the business has occupied this spot on Wellfield Road for as long as anyone can remember, and has been patronised by the locals in their hoards, as the pictures I’ve supplied bares testimony to…
Being a licensed concession allows it to trade without need for an address, and as long as it is not taken beyond the boundaries of the licence agreement, it can be put anywhere where the owners wish to site the mobile stall. But, come rain or shine, you will find it in the same place, selling very reasonably priced perishables that are always incredibly fresh. They occasionally carry organic items, but are reliant on what’s available at the suppliers, so they tend to stock goods that are in season that carry an affordable price tag. Nevertheless, they always have a good variety of fruit and veg on offer, even if one or two items are not always consistently available.