Alemany Farmers Market

Lots of good produce, lots of variety.

There’s a cute little café in the Mission that has a delicious salad with the best curly kale on the planet. I could’ve sworn she said she bought it here at the Alemany Farmers’ Market but I thought you needed a business license to purchase it.
But you don’t! And now I know where all the chefs and foodies, mom ‘n’ pop restaurants and home cooks are buying their goods.
It’s here, at the Alemany Produce Market.
On a drizzling Saturday we set off in search of whatever would strike our fancy, food agenda completely open.
At every stall, we reveled in fresh, well-​priced produce, chock full of staples like kale, ginger, garlic, lemons, apples, eggs & broccoli. Giant amounts of bok choy were available for a song and I bought a 3# bag of Meyer lemons for $ 4.
Pomegranates and fresh pomegranate juice, lemongrass, cars cara oranges, cauliflower, sunflower sprouts, kiwi– I sure have a lot to cook starting with pork & lemongrass Thai meatballs & Cara Cara orange polenta bread.
The vendors couldn’t have been nicer (though some shoppers were pushy with sharp elbows) and one vendor gave me a deal on some delicious raspberries even though it was far from its 2:30pm closing time, nice!

This is my favorite farmers market in the city. I have been going for years, and still find it the best selection at the best price for whatever is in season. I like getting there really early, but it’s not necessary, parking just takes a little longer the later you get there. Bustling and diverse, everything is fresh and I find I just eat more veggies when I go there. So good to have really affordable produce that’s better than what you find at most markets.

There’s really not enough parking. or maybe there is just too many people? For the market… Lots of appealing produce, cheese, organic fruits. veggies and flowers There’s some tempting food stands/​trucks … I had an excellent tacos, pizza and bread. to avoid the hassle of parking I suggest to get here as early as possible.

I love going to the Alemany Farmers Market. I live in Castro Valley, so I don’t go weekly. The produce is the best in the area and worth the drive to get there. We usually get there by 7 am.
My favorite vendor is Tomatero Farm. I’m never disappointed. I can’t remember the vendor’s name who sells walnut pieces, but the nuts pieces are so evenly chopped. They are terrific for using in baked goods.
There is a lot of parking, but there are tons of people. Get there early.

Way Back In The Day, this market primarily served as a wholesale outlet for grocery stores and restaurants. The processed food industry changed all that.
Now it is primarily a market for consumers, and it is fantabulous! Everything that is in season is available from multiple vendors. Competition is fierce, so only the best produce makes the cut. The only problem is getting there.
Carpool!

What a gem! This is a real, authentic, buy-​your-​tomatoes-​in-​the-​street farmers market. Maybe around 40ish stalls full of in-​season fruits and veggies. If you’re looking for the cheap produce, they have it. If you’re looking for the organic, good stuff, they have it. Tons of different herbs including thai basil which is pretty hard to find.
They also have flowers for sale (I saw 2 different stalls) in both bouquets and plant-​in-​the-​ground style. Best of all, a few different stalls of food! Including tamales and pizza.
Challah bread, aged cheddar cheese, fresh strawberries, zucchini, 4lbs of tomatoes, cilantro pesto, and bolani flatbread. We made out like thieves.
Don’t forget your cash! A small parking lot, but I would suggest street parking. Potentially difficult but I didn’t have a problem.

This place is definitely busy. It’s not a leisurely Saturday morning activity like some other Farmer’s Markets around town, it’s more of a place to go grocery shopping. That said, the prices at this place are good, and overall the quality is also quite good. Be prepared to bump into people non-​stop. Go early if you can!
–You can always find big bunches of mint and basil (any kind you like — Italian, Thai, etc) for $ 1. –There is a florist that has very nice bouquets for $ 6 that include a rose, a couple easter lilies, and plenty of other flowers.
–There are some food trucks — get the pupusas!
–There is a grumpy older man that charges $ 10/​pound for green beans and doesn’t explain why they’re worth so much — avoid him!
–A head of garlic is about 35 cents.
–Many types of peppers — green, red, yellow, and some purple/​multi-​colored varieties I’ve never seen. Good prices.
–Traditional carrots as well as the purple, white, and yellow bunches of carrots.
–If you like to make fresh squeezed orange juice, there is one stand that basically caters to you, which many varieties of valencia/​other good juicing oranges. Of course you can sample before you buy.

great variety of fruits, vegetables (most of which i don’t even know how to cook :)), flowers, plants for sale. It is our Saturday morning ritual to go there, pick the stuff to make our morning smoothies and vegetables to cook for dinner. its as fresh as you can get. once you keep going often, you have your own go to stalls– based on what you usually pick and prices vary from stall to stall — so first couple of times might be a good idea to buy from multiple vendors till you know which one works out best for you. there are also some food stalls as well to have a morning /​lunch snack. Market gets very busy after 10 am.

Absolutely love this Farmer’s market. I feel so stupid for going to the Stonestown one for almost a year when this one is so much nearer to me.
First off, the big draw is the incredible selection of fresh fruit and vegetables across all the vendors. It seems that every vendor has their regulars as I see almost everyone incredibly busy all the time. However, there are a few vendors that charge a little too much for what they have (compared to their competition), so keep an eye out.
The best ones are the $ 1 bunches of greens, everything from basil to bok choy and kale. I also love how you know what’s in season based on what they are selling. Special mentions go to the mushroom, fruit juice ($ 7/​gal apple cider) and oyster people.
There is also a separate row for the bakery, Indian spice store, pasta maker, and some hot food.

Get there early! I didn’t expect it to be that packed by 9:30am. A lot of the items we wanted seemed to be picked over or sold out already… all before 11!
There were so many families getting their week’s worth of groceries. Stalls of vendors were lined up and it was just a sea of people moseying up and down the aisles. A plus is that there is a public restroom that is decently maintained located right on the facilities. Parking is kind of a mess… but its the price you have to pay to get some fresh groceries at a decent price. There are some food truck/​vendors there as well to get a bite to eat.

And I am back exploring the farmers markets! I was on a roll and then I stopped going to one of my favorite past times. I had this bookmarked for a while but never got a chance to go since it isnt in the heart of the city. This one is super crowded and appears to have very little parking so go to the back where there is a lot. It was super crowded at 11 so just prepare. Now this market is not like the Ferry Building one at all. This one is a bit run down and feels exactly like Chinatown. There are a bunch of fobs selling their fruits and veggies so you will get the cheaper prices indeed. The crowd is older so you wont find the typical work out geared couples or the yuppies. These are are legit folks who just want some cheap produce and some grub. There were tons of peaches, pluots, apples, flowers, pasta, and what you typically find at a market. The actual food selection is limited and there were 3 – 4 mexican joints to choose from. All of them looked super legit but I liked the pupusa with pork, beans and cheese. There is also a tamal truck that has like 20+ variations but I got the chorizo, beans and cheese which was super yummy. I would go here for produce but if you want more of the bougie experience, then Ferry it up.

The first, the biggest, the best. Come on a Saturday Morning and have your pick of fruits, vegetables, and everything from plants to pupusas! The prices are reasonable (although a lot of stuff is organic, ostensibly catering to SF’s tastes), and the selection is excellent. Last time I was there I got like 2 pounds of dates for $ 3 a pound.
Your other shoppers are anything from Noe Valley yuppies with strollers to Chinese women grabbing all different types of eggplant and greens. It is definitely a mob scene there, but don’t feel like you’ll be muscled out.
An extra bonus are the food stands on the other side of the gallery. I’m partial to the pupusa stand, offering different fillings and (since I was here last) arepas as well.
My only gripe (but one big enough to knock off a star) is that it’s a nightmare to get to by public transportation. You’re either walking on a dingy sidewalk through a highway interchange, or hiking up and down a giant hill to get to the 24-​Divisadero. They should honestly move it to an outlying BART station if they want the space. It’s annoying.

This place is so much fun. Upon entering, I dreaded the mass crowd, but it wasn’t bad at all. My son makes the rounds like a true fresh fruit connoisseur. We took a leisurely pace around to all the stands and went back to our car in short trips to drop stuff off. Most of the organic farmers have stands towards the end opposite the florist. We had tasty and reasonably priced brick oven pizza. The balloon lady made my son a terrific Spider-​Man balloon while we waited ($ 5). The florists had terrific deals on flowers. I picked up perfect stalks of tuberoses for $ 2 a piece! Phenomenal!

I absolutely LOVE this farmers market! Today I convinced myself I needed more groceries just so I can have an excuse to come here haha. The produce is pretty cheap and everything is so fresh (although I did get some really rotten avocados from the stand at the very end near the entrance, never buying from them again smh).
One of my favorite stands is the dried fruit stand at the end on the exit side. They have such an incredible variety: dried pears, dried peaches, dried apples, prunes, etc. I bought some dried peaches today and finished them all already. I also really like the mushroom stand. Again, great variety and quality products, not to mention really friendly service!
I’ve become a regular here and I intend to keep it that way!

When I go to Costco I skip buying veggies & buy them here instead. My fave tent is the 3 for $ 5 organic bunches. Mix and match bunches of kale, arugula, chard, dandelion, and a variety of other greens!

Hands down one of the best farmer’s market that I have ever been to. Local farmers here are nice and they are usually really friendly. My usually shopping list would be:
Farm fresh cage free large brown eggs
$ 5 for 3 bunches of mix match veggies (all organic)
$ 5 bowl of avocado (Mexican style, very thin skin, and last longer on the counter compared to Trader JOes)
Carrots
Honestly, every here is at a very fair price and the fruits and veggies are organic and fresh.
Parking can be a pain but manageable.

Parking here is an absolute nightmare, but the produce is decent to above decent. It’s all kind of hit and miss depending on the time of day you come though. Sometimes you get a really good haul, sometimes you’re left with really crappy leftovers. However, some fruit stands cut up some samples for you to try. It’s fun to go in and out of tents test-​tasting all sorts of whatever before making the purchase on them. They also have a really cool flower tent that sells bouquets and potted plants, but I don’t know anything about flowers. They all look pretty enough for me. They also have a few food tents that set up near the entrance — pizza and street tacos were the ones I saw. Definitely recommend the pizza place. I split a pie with my girlfriend (mushrooms and pepperoni, in case you were wondering), and it really hit the spot. Top notch.
Overall, I don’t know if the overall selection of produce here is high enough in quality to justify their price points, but it’s a nice little experience to take the family out to.

Great prices and a great selection of fresh produce! The vendors offer lots of tasty samples. I went around sampling all the peaches and bought the sweetest peaches and nectarines I’ve ever tasted. They also have some vendors that are all organic as well. There were fancy types of lettuce, honey, sweet fruits, and a whole bunch of veggies that I’ve never even seen before. This is definitely the peoples farmers market of SF… reasonable prices with the biggest selection of fresh produce you can find in the city.
I was also looking for flowers too but there was really only one vendor that had a good selection. I’d prefer to go to the flower market for flowers but if I’m going to the farmers market anyway, they have some pretty ones!

I dream of the fruits and veggies here. I would move to California for the produce alone.
I’ve been here a few times (my cousin lives in the neighborhood) and I’m always excited to check out the offerings every time I visit. The raisins are divine — I mean on the vine. We made pink lemonade from pink lemons we found here and the blackberries are always bursting with sweetness.
The produce just tastes better in California, which comes as no surprise, but I enjoy the variety of this particular market. If you’re hungry, they have food stalls of different varieties. There are also good options for gifts from the hummus and cheese and dip stalls (there was one with flatbread and different kinds of veggie dips that had great samples).
Lots of flowers too, which I rarely see at other farmer’s markets on the East Coast.
I look forward to coming back next time I’m in town!