Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco is one of the most well known farmers markets in the US and I’ve been wanting to visit for a very long time.
Last month when I was in SF with the FH, we finally got a chance to visit. The market is open three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) but Saturday is the best day to go because that is when the most vendors are in attendance. The market covers most of the front of the Ferry Plaza Building and then also runs in the rear of the building too. The rear area is also where most of the prepared food can be found.
I loved seeing all the fruits, vegetables and herbs.
I bought some treats from the dry fruit stand. I like eating dry fruit that is thinly sliced and dried so that it has a chewy texture. Bella Viva offered several fruits dried this way including white nectarines and white peaches which were also quite sweet.
I’ve always bought the ginger roots by themselves, so it was interested to see the ginger roots still attached to the green stalks.
While browsing, Nestle was randomly distributing free chocolate milk bottles. We each got one. Free milk!
We also came across an enormous 1,402 lb pumpkin which was displayed in front of a restaurant. It even had a sign explaining its lineage.
A lot of prepared food vendors have stands at the rear of the Ferry Building, overlooking the bay. It’s a great place to grab some food and sit down and enjoy the view while eating.
I was really interested in trying Roti Roti, but I wanted to try their rotisserie chicken sandwich and they weren’t selling them. Another menu item Roti Roti is known for is their Porchetta sandwich. It’s mouthwatering to watch them cut into the meat but I’ve tried the sandwich before and found it a little too fatty for me.
We had a hibiscus flower with lime drink. I’ve eaten dried hibiscus flowers before. This was my first time trying the juice. It had a tartness to it and reminded me a bit of pomegranate juice.
We decided to try getting some food from 4505 Meats. We ordered the slow chuck sandwich. Slow roasted beef, fried peppers, fresh greens and spicy slaw.
I loved the use of fresh crispy beans in the sandwich. The roast was very tender and flavorful. The spicy slaw was a little too much for me on an empty stomach, but overall I really enjoyed the sandwich.
4505 Meats is also known for their Chicharrones. They sold bags at the Farmers Market but we opted not to get one this time around.
After our quick meal we did some walking around inside where there are tons of shops and other good eats. Unfortunately, we had other places to be and more eats to come so we didn’t get anything else.
I really enjoyed the Farmers Market here and would love to be able to enjoy it more often 
Ferry Building Marketplace
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, California 94111
Kirbie, the SF Farmer’s Market is also famous for the Bluebottle Coffee, 4504 Meat’s Zilla style Golden Dog, Hog Island Oysters, but my personal fav is NAMU (Love their tacos)
Hi Ami- so many things! Hopefully I’ll get to try them all at some point
hi kirbie – great post! next time you’re there, try the rustic tarts at frog hollow farms. mmmm, i still dream of their pear frangipane! we like that market – so many vendors and across the street, lots of craft vendors (on Saturday). one of our friends used to live within walking distance so it the market was always a ‘go-to’ stop for us. there is also a place in there that sells macarons and other sweets (miette confiserie) but i think their macarons are too dense and chewy.
Hi CC- I really want to explore the market more and try out everything, and everything inside the Ferry Building too. The line for the bread bakery was super long but it looked delicious. I’ll keep those tarts in mind for next time.
Nice photos! I was in SF this past summer visiting a friend and the market was a great place to hang out while she was at work :o)
Hi Kay- I had fun too. I want to go back! I want to eat at every single food place there too…