Food: A This place is awesome, definitely a treasure trove for the charcuterie enthusiasts out there. Great selection of house made goodies. Close your eyes and randomly grab a couple items, I'm sure your will end up great board either way. Oh Companion Bakeshop not that far away, do yourself favor and grab a loaf of sourdough. Service: A - John read more

El Salchichero - The Meats!! - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I really hate to be that person, but our visit today was a major disappointment. I remember coming here about a decade ago and had been looking forward to returning for their offerings and sharing what used to be an amazing find with my friend. Perhaps it was just an off day, but most of what we bought missed the mark. The duck pâté with hazelnut praline topping was so overwhelmingly gamey that we couldn't eat it. The bacon salami was incredibly salty and fatty, and while the flavor of the teriyaki jerky was good, the texture was extremely tough. The only thing we purchased that didn't end up in the compost was the picante salami, which was actually delicious and had a great flavor profile. All in all, it felt like an expensive and wasteful visit. Hopefully, it was just an off day--or, based on previous items reviewed, none of the items we purchased are their strong suit. read more

We have frequented this amazing butcher for years. We noticed in the fall how affordable the beef was (especially in the current economic reality). One of our favorite butchers, who I think is the owner, explained that they want everyone to have access to good beer and so they are keeping their prices on certain cuts at cost! Our chuck roast was cheaper at El Salchichero than Safeway!! Tender, delicious and clean- what a gift to our community. Also great place to pick up Rancho Gordo beans. read more

I love this place. It is a little pricey but everything I have had has been delicious. Great quality. Their sausages are fun because the flavors rotate. Favorite so far is the Jalepeno Cheddar Beer sausage. They also have really amazing burger patties. The staff has always been very friendly and knowledgeable. read more

El Salchichero - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Chris and the crew at El Salchichero have this butcher shop dialed in providing top notch products bursting with flavor. Today I picked up a dry aged Ribeye that was amazing! I've never been disappointed. Congrats on 15 Years of serving our community! Much respect and appreciation!! read more

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Great artisan meat and charcuterie shop. Flavorful artisanal salami selection. Tried the beef summer sausage, sandwich salami, and seasonal morel salami with pine nuts. All cured and smoked in house. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Haven't tried their steaks, yet. Need to do so. read more

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I've been a big fan of El Salchichero for years, their meats are usually top-notch, beautifully cut, and bursting with flavor. I've raved about them to friends more than I've bragged about my own cooking. But my recent visit? Let's just say the meat was tender, but the service was tough. The gentleman who helped me that was tall, heavier set, and apparently allergic to enthusiasm, greeted my questions about flavors like I'd just asked him to solve quantum physics. Arms crossed, eyes locked in a glare that could sear a steak medium-rare, he gave off major "I'd rather be anywhere else" energy. Look, I get it, we all have off days. But when I'm spending good money on artisanal sausages, I'd prefer not to feel like I'm inconveniencing a bouncer at a steakhouse. Still love the quality of their meats... but maybe next time I'll send in my questions via carrier pigeon to avoid the death stare. read more

Walking around the stores near by we could smell this delicious smell coming from this little store . I had to walk in to just check it out . This store is like my husbands dream lol . They have so many meats to choose from with so many flavored Jerky and so much more . They also have handmade picked items, mustards, sauces, and tortillas chips . This is your community butcher on steroids all the good stuff ! When we walked in we got greeted by a gentleman that was really nice and explained a few things to us about the products . We were only staying for a bit so we got some Jerky but we do want to come back to grab more things this store is a meat lovers dream with all top quality meats. I highly recommend checking it out . read more

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We decided to stop in to pick up a few different meats to sample. The beef sticks were full of fat and chewy and they seemed like they were made from by products and not quality cuts of meat. The same was true for the pepperoni, Doug fir salami and the finocchiona. We will not return to buy their meat. So sad read more

The meats are of good quality and you will get what you are paying for. 2 stars are for customer service. I will echo the sentiment of the many other reviewers that called out the condescending and sarcastic employee that is often behind the counter. It's downright ridiculous. I will not be purchasing if he is behind the counter. read more

This place is a real class act and I'm a sucker for great food combined with a great butche who really knows what they're doing. Look no further.These folks go above and beyond with their quality of meat.. freedom meat locker and El Sal are my two must do go to in this area. I wanted to give a particular shout out to their Nuremberg sausage. My mother is from Germany and it's hard even nowadays to find this well of a quality of a sausage in Germany in my opinion.. to me it taste a little more like a Rostbratwurst Rauchzipfel which is really hard to find anywhere in the United States. It's mildly spicy spunky and just super flavorful .Buy some of these babies and just eat them on a roll with some mustard and some sauerkraut or you can do all kinds of fun stuff with them. I have more things I love from this place. I'll just have to post them on or another review, but I just wanted to give a big shout out for those beauty full sausages. If you live local and you haven't checked this place out you're missing out and if you live far away and you're happy to be passing through town I super suggest you stop in and grab some of the lovely things theyhave in the shop. You may pay more than some processed sausage that you get in a supermarket, but I promise you it's worth it. read more

A friend recommended this place to me a while ago. I live in SJ, so I don't do a lot of grocery shopping in Santa Cruz. I decided to check out Apéro Club, and was surprised to find El Salchichero a few doors down. After perusing the case - which was full of amazing meat products for me and my pups! - I decided on a ribeye steak and a couple of bones for the hounds. The steak was *amazing*! So tender and juicy. I'll definitely be back to try other delicacies. read more

El Salchichero - Bone-in ribeye. I actually picked the smallest one in the case, lol. So good - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Great local butcher! With food, you pay for what you get. And you get quality here. Meats are sourced well. I love the Tasso bacon! Conveniently located and parking is easy. If you want good meats come here and you won't be disappointed. read more

El Salchichero - Meat counter - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Adam, who was helping at the front counter was patient and did a great job describing all the different salami, jerky, and meats that were available. I bought the house made candy cap mushroom salami, duck fat pizza dough, as well as the beef sticks and house made pepperoni. I also couldn't resist the uncured bacon. So far everything has been amazing - the flavors are well balanced and textures and fat content make them something special. I'll definitely be back. read more

Second visit much more pleasant! Customer service improved and the meat still delicious! The burger had an interesting taste. Bacon with the ground beef. Like mixed together. Was even given advice on how to cook it. Unfortunately my new tiny grill wasn't really hot enough. If you buy this burger make sure to heat your grill up. Sear that burger! Sear the bacon inside the burger: I thoroughly enjoyed this burger and will buy more meat from this spot when I visit humble sea down the way, but next time a regular burger. Cheers and happy Yelping. read more

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Always provides fresh quality cuts. Jerk chicken is our go-to! Butchers are friendly, chatty, and knowledgeable.

Wagyu tallow bacon what's not to love from these wonderful meat people great selection all made in house go get u some

We're two hours away and this is a destination. My head spins with all the choices! Fortunately the excellent friendly service encourages easy selections. read more

Stop here and get a few packs of summer sausage for your hiking or beach adventures. This summer sausage tastes way better than what you get at the store. Same thing with pastrami. Pastrami, Swiss cheese, mayo, mustard on potato bread. Next I am gonna try grilling items. read more

Omg YES! Clean ingredients. Quality meat. Try their beef liver jerky, you will be so glad you did!

I wanted to love this place, but it's very expensive, and portions seem small. The usual guy behind the counter is low key rude. Like he tries to rush you, but pretends to be nice and then says condescending comments. I would love to support local businesses, but the customer service and prices are getting out of hand. read more

I'm relatively new to the Santa Cruz area and came across El Salchichero in my exploration of the west side. The selection of fresh and pre seasoned meats is extensive and really high quality. They have a great variety of sausages and charcuterie items which are well priced and extremely delicious. I'm still working through trying all the different sausages and other items purchased, but everything has been amazing thus far. However, the pork rillettes are spectacular. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, which added to the magic of this place. Oh, and they have a great selection of Rancho Gordo dry beans, pickled items, sauces, and small meat sticks. Highly recommended! read more

El Salchichero - Sample of the items available, including ramen! - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I first sampled El Salchichero grilled sausages at a Big Basin Vineyards spring release tasting event. And then again at their fall harvest celebration a few months later. Admittedly, I only sampled a handful (well, maybe a plateful) of slices, but they made an impression. Not your run-of-the-mill, store bought offerings, for sure. Artisan quality. Except, I hadn't grilled them myself, and I wasn't totally sold. But curious enough to pay El Salchichero a visit on my next Westside Santa Cruz visit. OK, OK. The sausages here are really nice, varied, and plentiful. But the cured meats are on another level. Air dried prosciutto style ham that is sourced from Marin County family owned farms, left to hang in a temperature and humidity controlled curing room for up to two years before being sliced. Lomo (brined pork loin slow smoked over hickory wood chips) that also is flavored with local candy cap mushrooms. They use pork loin, not tenderloin, so there is a delicious, smoky soft fat rind that really amps the flavor profile. I haven't tried the Wagyu beef bresaola yet, but it's on the "wish list." All in house, obviously, using local Californian grass fed beef providers. Steak lovers with a home grill should definitely invest in a nice bone-in ribeye if it's available. The in house butchering can be customized (and you can preorder things like rabbit, lamb, or speciality cuts by calling ahead), but the standards here are for thick cut, nicely prepared meats and fair prices for the quality. Larger cuts can be sliced and shared if needed, and those bones will make dogs go bonkers. You can also buy dog treats and bones to go, plus other products like bone broth and rendered pork fat, or duck confit, or dried sausage, or fresh farm eggs, or pate, or ... What part of artisan butcher shop did you miss? This is as "real deal" a meat lover's paradise as I have found anywhere in the area, especially in Santa Cruz, where vegetarians, vegans, and pescaterians probably outnumber carnivores (by number, not body mass). It's not a huge store, in terms of the space dedicated to the retail end of things, but El Salch' punches above its weight. And being located in the Ingalls Street shopping complex at the corner of Swift Street, near to Rexford Winery and a few blocks from Venus Spirits Distillery (two of my current favorite places at the moment), it certainly doesn't hurt, either. Pairing-wise, I'd serve a grilled steak here with Stockwell Cellars' Souza Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon or Venus Spirits' "Wayward" rye whiskey. For pork tenderloin or chops, consider Stockwell Cellars' Zayante Vineyards SCM Zinfandel, or a Rexford Fambrini Vineyard Pinot Noir, or Venus' "El Ladrón" reposado aged blue agave. For the dried salamis and cured meats like lomo or prosciutto, I am partial to barrel aged Chardonnay from Big Basin Vineyards, either their Coastview Vineyard version (Gabilan Mountains) or the more limited Howard Family Vineyard SCM. For grilled sausages, consider an old vine Carignane, Grenache, or Mourvèdre wine from Birichino, whose tasting room is on Church Street in downtown Santa Cruz. If you crave fresh bread for all the meaty goodness, go to Companion Bakeshop, or the Westside Farmers' Market (Saturdays starting at 9am). Next time you're heading to the beach or boardwalk, toss a well iced Yeti cooler in the back and be prepared to invest $50 or so in a mixed bag of fresh, cured, and prepared meats. It will make your Sunday afternoon cookouts that much more spectacular! read more

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Absolute GEM of a find. I got the duck pate and it is seriously the best pate I've ever had. Also got some jerky and duck fat. The prices weren't cheap but were reasonable given the high quality of the product. Not sure if they guy working the counter was the owner or not but his excitement for the product sure made it seem like he was. He clearly loved talking about their offerings and it was a fun conversation! read more

Great selection of cured meats, beef, pork and more. Great little spot to support a local company. Great service! We recommend their bone in rib eye, prosciutto, coops, marrow bone butter and any of their sausages! read more

A good friend who's picky about his charcuterie found this place and was kind enough to bring us some goods. - Wagyu bresaola: I love bresaola, but it's often hard to find and overly salted. This one was flavorful but not overly salty. Despite it being wagyu, it was nice and lean - Prosciutto de Santa Cruz : 18 month - good flavor without bring overly salted They also have other things like sausages, marinated meats, jerky, bacon, fats, etc. I hope to be able to make it there myself sometime soon! read more

I found out about this place from my sister. She said you have to try the peach sausage when they have it. We came down to Santa Cruz just to see if they had it. We were told in a couple of weeks since it's early in the season for peaches still. We will definitely be down to get some. We did however buy some other items such as the Spicey bourbon stick, Pinot Noir sausage, pepperoni, and Saucisson sausage to snack on. All were delicious even though a tad pricey. We don't mind paying for good quality meats though. read more

El Salchichero - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Every thing I have ever gotten here has been amazing . Best butchers in Santa Cruz certainly . But the SALAMI --- WOW ! So many herbal flavor combos . And I always get so many compliments at gatherings when we offer " nibbly bits " from here . The price can be a bit intimidating, (worth it !) but if it has to be " the best" ,This is where to shop . read more

I'm SO UPSET...that I didn't buy more I stumbled upon this butcher while walking, saw the sign for charcuterie and of course had to go in. I was only in town for the weekend so I didn't want to go overboard but picked up a sleeve of the copa, some hard salamis and pickled daikon. The copa was the MOST AMAZING cured meat I have eaten and tasted just like it does in Europe. Nothing like what you get in delis here. I wish I had bought 10+ sleeves of it. SO DELICIOUS. read more

Went back today (drove over the hill from San Jose) because our first experience was totally awesome. The guy that helped us last time was super helpful and had no problems explaining the different sausages to us as well as the other meats/marinades. Today? The guy was super unwelcoming and quite rude. I grabbed a few things that I knew I wanted and will never return. Even my kids thought he was rude. So unfortunate as I like to support small businesses. It's a shame. read more

Some of the best selection of meats and sausages in the area. Helpful staff that will guide you according to your preferences. My parents can't tolerate spicy sausages and the staff here is always attentive to their needs. read more

We purchased $60 worth of yummy bacon, salami and jerky, but left with a bad taste in our mouth (pun intended) due to the unwelcome and condescending tone of the man who helped us. I don't know if he had a bad day or what but he had zero interest in making us feel comfortable. I asked for a salami recommendation and he snapped that he recommends all of them "otherwise I wouldn't make them." Maybe he was trying to be cute, but it just made us feel yucky and it was completely unhelpful service. read more

What a gem of a butcher/meat shop we randomly discovered while walking around the west side of Santa Cruz--after visiting nearby Humble Sea & Venus Spirits. That whole neighborhood is actually really rad! We popped in El Salchichero real quick and browsed the selection of various meats and sausages behind the counter then cured hams hanging off to the side. I'm always drawn to the Spanish stuff and they had morcilla and chorizo (or their versions of both) so that's what we grabbed to go. Gonna try the chorizo on its own as well as in lentejas, and still figuring out what to do with the morcilla but we have a few ideas based off dishes we liked in Spain. Will report back when finished. Always happy to support a locally owned shop like this and look forward to trying some of their other stuff. read more

Fantastic old school butcher shop. Feels like a place you'd see in the Italian market in South Philly, that you don't find in California much anymore. House made duck pate with hazelnuts, good cuts, and some house cured salumi. Highly recommend. read more

Really great place with lots of options and high quality meat. The service is fast and the staff is friendly.

A magical meat palace of wonderful meats and other meat related items. Stop and buy all of the things and you will come back to buy more of the things. Basically I have never had anything from here that wasn't awesomely delicious. Pasties, BBQ meat pies, and corn dogs from the freezer. The rotating selection of sausage varieties (highly recommend sweet Italian). And allow the friendly people that work there to help you pick out a pate or some meat product you aren't familiar with cause then you can go home and cook it up yourself and drool over the amazing shit you just cooked up. Also don't forget to pick up a dog bone for your pup! read more

El Salchichero - Dogs love this place too! Pick up a dog bone for your fur baby. - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Ok I am a self-proclaimed Charcuterie connoisseur. I drive all the way to San Francisco, Napa, etc, to buy my cured meats. I'm a frequent flyer at The Fatted Calf, and other little booshie supermarkets, and I've had a LOT of really good charcuterie boards at nice restaurants. I was so excited when I found this place, as I live near Santa Cruz so it was only a short trip to me. Their selection is pretty impressive, the staff that helped me was very nice, and I had read the previous Yelp reviews and figured those people just didn't know what they were talking about, but unfortunately, I'm disappointed. First, the prices. I know that cured meats are expensive, but their prosciutto is $45 a POUND. I paid $17.50 for a Mason jar of pickles, and another $17 for a Mason jar of Bacon Jam. That's heroin prices. I bought a small bag of stuff here, and spent ~$80. After reading all of the 5 star reviews, it's obvious that if the only Salami you've ever had is from a Lunchables package you bought at Safeway, and you think that paying insane prices means you're getting "top shelf" stuff, then this is the place for you. If you have any idea what the difference between Coppa and Speck and Saucisson Sec is, then go somewhere else. I'm really not trying to be a snob, this is my favorite kind of food, so this place really bummed me out. Any other deli, you can order by the pound (or less) and have it sliced in front of you, to your specifications. And the butcher will always throw you a sample and ask if that's acceptable before he cuts the whole thing. Here, all of their sliced meat is vacuum packed in plastic, the same as you would get at Safeway. Not cool. Every single cured meat/charcuterie-type item here is sealed in plastic. Why bother having a full butcher shop with a slicer and everything?? The house made pickles are good, the prosciutto, and coppa are mediocre, the Bacon Jam is pretty good just because it's not something you'll find very often, but NONE of it is $50 a pound good. (Or ~$20 a jar.) I LOVE cured meats. I am willing to pay a lot of money for good cured meats, these did not live up to what I paid for them. I suppose since they are the only meat market with that kind of selection in the area, they can get away with it, but it's just not worth the price. I wanted to like this place so bad, because it is close to home, but I'm super disappointed. The staff were helpful and cool, this isn't a diss to them. But the quality of the stuff was totally middle of the line, and that's some of the most expensive meat I've bought locally. In their defense, I didn't buy any of the sausage or uncooked meats, so they might win some points there, I can't comment on that. But if you're looking to put together a charcuterie board, this place has a lot of neat stuff, but it's cheaper to drive all the way to SF and shop around at any of the 10 amazing spots up there. read more

El Salchichero - Bottom right: El Salchichero prosciutto Top Left: Their Pork Rillettes Top Right: Their Bacon Jam - Meat Shops Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Certain weeks, there is a specific meat cut I need for a food regimen I follow. I can count on El Salchichero for the quality. When I'm not looking for that specific item, I know they have a variety of tasty options and if I'm looking to serve something special, they're going to have it. I definitely recommend El Salchichero. read more

Went to a friend's house, he was grilling sausages from El Salchichero. Best Italian sausage and chorizo I've had in my life. Continually impressed by this butcher. read more

On our last day in Santa Cruz, we happened upon this shop just as it was opening its doors to the public. After surveying the scene, my husband talked with the owner while the kids and I discussed the dog hitching posts out front (never can pass up a teachable moment...especially one with a historical connotation). I would have been happy to stay inside poring over the exquisite looking cuts of beef and pork, but our young children were not impressed and kept commenting to that effect: "eeeuw....gross...raw meat!" So we didn't buy anything because our cooler was buried under all our bags from our week at Mount Hermon (Outdoor Science School was truly amazing, but that's another review). And we were staying in town to have a picnic lunch (we would have totally bought cured meat if they had any, but the owner said he hadn't had time to make it yet). We did, however, get the most insanely good cinnamon roll at Kelly's Bakery next door. Prices were mostly $10-20/lb, which is a little chi chi for me, except naturally for the cheaper cuts, like pig cheeks ($7/lb), but since SC is a vacation destination for us, I'm sure we'll be back to splurge, especially once the salami, coppa, pancetta, etc. are ready. The owner did say that eventually he plans to ship out of the area, so we might get in on that... read more

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