Some of my favorite Santa Cruz moments always seem to happen on Saturdays. Maybe it is the way that…read moremorning fog gives way to bright sunshine. Maybe it is the extra casual vibe that the weekend brings. Maybe it is the fact that bakeries, coffee shops, and wine tasting rooms are all primed and ready for business. The Westside Saturday farmers' market opens at 9am. If you arrive a bit early, you can find easy street parking and scout out the line of vendors ahead of time. Some sellers come from the Watsonville area, like Happy Boy Farms, some from Pescadero, like Blue House and Root Down, while others are super local. 11th Hour serves superb coffee drinks, and Companion Bakeshop sells bread and pastries. Food trucks dish out tasty breakfast fare as well, and fresh veg is plentiful, including things like local avocados, lemons, and heirloom fruits of all sorts. This isn't a huge market like some on the Peninsula or the City, but the quality and charm of the location, plus the excellent 11th Hour coffee service, more than compensate for the smallish size. Start your Santa Cruz Saturday here and move on to other fun adventures knowing that you've stocked up on freshness for the week ahead!

To Market, to Market…read more Great little farmers market located at the west end of Santa Cruz in a random parking lot near one of our favorite state parks, Wilder Ranch. In fact, we arrived here after a hike at Wilder as we were trying to kill time between hiking and having lunch. The Good: * Small but mighty, as they have a little bit of everything here. * Live music * Food stands * Lots of the usual stuff you'd find at FMs, like fruit, veg, honey, and baked goods. They even had a gluten-free bakery, which made my sister very happy. The Meh: * This location is Saturday only (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.) The Ugly: * Parking is free but a real shit show. This location is almost too popular for its own good. Conclusion: Swell Farmers Market with lots of options and entertainment.

We live in Bonny Doon, and have patronized this market and those on the West Side, the Sunday…read moremarket on the east side, and in Felton. The downtown market, while a long drive from us in Bonny Doon, is our favorite, by far. My primary objective at farmers' markets is the produce; vendors of meat and fish are convenience, and there are good ones both in Felton and Downtown. I rarely buy prepared food at markets. The downtown market is our favorite for the quality and greater variety of the produce. Parking can be a PITA, but I can usually find a spot within two blocks, often closer. I don't patronize markets for "the scene," or because it's cute, only for stuff to cook -- produce and raw meat and fish. All those folks wandering around, not watching where they're going, getting in the way when I'm dragging 20 lb of food around are a nuisance! :)

This is located downtown Santa Cruz on a Weds.. Zig zag 2 blocks. Quite a crowd. Found parking two…read moreblocks away in residential. Where I parked, I found broken glass. I guess, park at your own risk. The selection is the usual. Interesting, they had ice cream and yogurt bars. Good thing, it was a hot day. There were fruit samples and bakery items. Eateries. Kids running around.

Cute hole in the wall. Harborside had the FRESHEST oysters and YUMMIEST tuna poke…read more 10/10 would recommend

Very small fish market in the harbor where all the boats park, right underneath Johnny's Harborside…read moreSeafood Restaurant. Even though small in size, at least they focus and value the local catch. To that I had to show my interest. I saw they opened a newer store in north Santa Cruz in a new and hip retail complex called The Swift Street Courtyard. That one seems to be more geared toward prepared foods/product as that complex is a food and drink destination, breweries, wine tastings and coffee shops all around. This one is mostly a raw fish market. Mostly filleted and pan-ready items. Not sure if you can request a whole fish here but my guess is you can if you establish a correspondence with the employees. But in a small cooler up front they also have some prepared seafood items ready to grab n go. They have tuna poke, some ceviche, and some smoked salmon deviled eggs. They may have more things but the slowish day I went, that seemed the selection. Rockfish Ceviche ($14/4*) my receipt said halibut ceviche but the container label said rockfish. Not sure what I got but the nice chunks of fish were nice and whitish from the citrus cure, clean and meaty. Which ever I got, it was delicious. There was sliced raw onions, cucs, tomato, jalapeno and cilantro which made for a standard but satisfying ride. Everything was in nice big chunks which I tend to like more than when Mexican places finely chop it to where you can't really identify anything anymore. Only thing I wished I had access to were some squirts of hot sauce and some tortilla chips. But since this wasn't a sit-down resto situation I had to make due. Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs ($8/3.5*) You only get 3 halves so basically an egg n a half. I think they should give at least 4 halves to even things out if being shared. But the smoked salmon is beaten into the yolk mixture so you can't really see or identify it. Upon chewing the deviled egg, you will taste a smidge of smoked salmon. It's not strong or in your face but it will remind you that something else is there. I wished it were more identifiable or obvious, but it was still pretty tasty especially with the hits of tobiko. They had one of my favorite Asian brands of iced green tea which was a nice surprise. And after swimming and lying around on the hot beach down the street, this made for a refreshing snack break. Even though I wished there were better seating and amenities this filled a void on a weekday when the restaurant upstairs was closed. Nice find and I'll try and buy some local fish from their market next time I'm around. And I sure as heck am gonna try their newer and more visible location.

Stopped by the West Cliff Holiday Outdoor Market on black friday, and enjoyed browsing the handful…read moreof shops at Lighthouse Point, a beautiful setting with lovely views overlooking the water. The selection was small compared to similar outdoor markets, as was the event as a whole, with vendors selling jewelry, clothing, baskets, animal themed merchandise, and even Groot planters (at the Sassy Succulent Designs tent). Nothing too unique, but it was a carefree and positive atmosphere that beats your typical black friday shopping. Not much of a crowd, not much parking available (tiny lots were packed), not much music, and not much food on site (I only saw one food truck and one kettle corn stand)... Though a couple of the vendor tents were selling tasty desserts and treats to take home, and that alone made up for what seemed to be missing here. I got a cute baby size loaf of banana chocolate chip bread from the sweetest ladies at Lisa's Sweet Treats, and it was super delicious, I regret not getting more. That was the highlight of my visit!

Great outdoors facing the sea kind of farmers market. Super pleasant to walk around and it is…read moremostly composed of vendors selling jewelry, candles, clothes and other items. Super cute and with a boho-chic vibe. During my last visit to Santa Cruz my friends and I enjoyed stopping by and getting some gifts for ourselves while walking around. I particularly like the candles stand the most, very nice smells. Great vibes overall.

Went last week. Great variety and quality of vendors. The fresh fruit and veggies, wow. Plus great…read morecoffee, pastries, hot food. Plaza had a friendly, warm feeling: tables and chairs to nosh, live music from a folk trio. Parking close by. Then I attended downtown SC market and found it slightly smaller, more spread out, fewer children.

Can a Farmer's Market be cute? Oh yes it can! Live Oak Farmer's Market is the epitome of cute and…read moreclassy. It of course has all the great high quality goods you'd expect at a farmer's market, like organic produce and baked goods, but you also get kombucha in cool glass bottles and friendly farmers and really nice handicrafts. I love the yummy bites I can get there from local places, like Melrose Cafe, and appreciate that this market has Market Match for those who use EBT. There are also some tables and chairs scattered in the center of this square-shaped market, which gives Live Oak FM a more community vibe than some of the larger, more spread out farmer's markets I've been to. There is some parking right there, but not many. You'd most likely have to find street parking. That's the only downside. Another positive is this FM is right next to a little shopping strip. There are shops like a dollar store, a little tamale shop, and an antique shop. And the beach is only a few blocks away too! Bonus! **They are open on Sundays only**

Groundswell Farm at the Fort Mason Farmers Market. Being a seasonal micro farm they were offering a…read moremix of vegetables that included Leeks, Tomatoes, Peppers, and more. There is something to be said for small footprint farms.

IMHO Such a…read morebeautiful produce market! We had just finished having breakfast at The Cook House and my friend needed to buy a bunch of green onions, so across the street we go! The first thing I noticed before entering the market, was the freezer compartment chock full of Marianne's Ice Cream! Unfortunately, we didn't have a cooler in our trunk to keep any frozen goods cold, so we had to forgo buying Marianne's. The market is bright, clean, and full of beautiful produce and other staples. Cashier was friendly.

what would improve Capitola Village produce is to have organic fruit and vegetables? I stopped…read morethere once and they did not have any organic apples at all. I have not been back because I do not like to have fruit with pesticides because not only is it on the outside. It can go into the inside. And you can't wash off the inside, especially the berries.

We were driving back home from Panthers beach and I saw the ICONIC HUGE YELLOW CHAIR and made my…read moreboyfriend stop and see what this place was about. Upon walking in I saw a little pumpkin patch they had and all the AMAZING fruits. Pretty good deal as well! I got 7 mini avocados for $1, some strawberries, plums, watermelon and nectarines. Super yummy and refreshing. The gentleman who was working there was super friendly with us. Definitely would recommend this place!

Fantastic farmer's market. I love the huge chair they have out front. It's hilarious too when you…read moresee yourself tiny in those photos. I love their handmade soaps as well. I had to buy one and their strawberries, watermelons, cherries, peaches, and everything are fresh! It's well worth the price and visit. It's such an awesome little market just down the coast so come and visit if you drive down the coast in Santa Cruz!

I have loved the Everett farm since I first discovered them. I never go with an agenda and always…read moreleave with something delightfully fresh. There current hours are "open daily, 10-5" and I don't think that's reflected on the Yelp page. Definitely cruise by if you're in the area.

This is my local farm stand and I love it. Yummy fruits and veggies, awesome mushrooms, excellent…read morecider. When there the people are very nice, and when not it is easy to pay with Venmo. I like the peace and quiet and rustic surroundings as well. Yay!

From The Sea To You at the Fort Mason Farmers Market San Francisco…read more EST in 2002 this family business serves the Bay Area farmer markets. Today they had a nice range of seafood iced to be sold. A great selection for your dinning pleasure.

From the sea to you sells a small variety of shellfish and fish ranging from bass, halibut,…read moreoysters, cooked crab, etc. never tried the fish, etc, never priced the goods. they didn't look that busy locale: various farmers markets. sampling: ceviche(7), tomatoes, white fish, lemon...as usual couldn't taste the fish. not a fan of ceviche, just sashimi. portion seem small. portion typical of what you get at a restaurant. foodnotes: -good smiling, service.... ..