Heart of the City Farmers' Market

Very nice farmer’s market. They take Apple Pay! Also EBT has special booth, but long line. They sell mainly vegetable and fruits. Some sell cake, lemonade, and frozen fish. They are super fresh, price is unbeatable, and vendors are friendly. Many people come for weekly fresh product shopping! Make sure to bring your own bag. They do not have any.

This market serves regular people and always has great prices. You'll find tons of fresh produce, some plants, maybe fresh seafood, and a limited number of prepared items (sometimes south Asian, cakes, juices).

We were there on Sunday Farmers Market and this small and family friendly is colorful and amazing. Plenty of local produce and even food truck.

I live across the street but didn’t go to this market often due to the lack of organic produce, but the price of this market is more economical. However, I found 2 stands that I fell in love with: 1) The organic strawberries (pictured below); they have 3 varietals and are very generous with the amount of strawberries they give you, even topping me off and adding some more to my basket when I was shopping at 1pm (so not just at the end of the day). They take credit cards and cash. They say they come on Wednesdays too so I’m going to pop by and check out the quality of produce then. 2) There is a stand in the middle that sells white / beige mulberries and they are sweeter than the purple ones from the Ferry Building. If you know what a mulberry tastes like, and you read that there is a white varietal that is sweeter and creamier, you will drop your phone now and run over. You have to go before 12noon on a Sunday or else they sell out. I didn’t like the purple mulberries here though since they tasted more tart. I don’t know if this stand is organic, but I have a hard time finding mulberries anywhere, let alone white mulberries, so I was okay with however they farmed here. The lady who sells mulberries only takes cash.

BEST👌🏽👍🏽 Priced produce & vegetables 😋 EVER. I Usually stock up Sunday & Wednesday for the week. Conveniently open 7am - 4pm or 5pm both days Best Variety early in the morning near opening The Best Deals in the afternoon when the vendors are ready to go 🤫🤭😁 As a Private Chef for over 12+ yrs now (International Pastries & Cuisine for 33+ yrs) my BEST CREATIONS are CONCEIVED at local Organic Farmers Markets. 😌❣😊

The center of the city! Though it closed a bit earlier then I thought ( google map said closes at 16:00 while most of them are closed when I arrived around 14:30 )

Great selection of produce with some flower, honey, bread, cheese, and prepared food vendors. Plenty of food trucks locate near the market and in front of the Civic Center. Produce prices are incredibly low and vendors are universally friendly, and helpful. I would like to see more vendor with organic produce.

Cozy market with lots of stalls with good vegetables and fruit. However, it would be great if there were more organic options. You may have doubts about what is organic and what is not. Beware of pickpockets when there are many people.

It's been a while since I've been to this farmers' market, and I was pleasantly surprised! Compared to other farmers' markets, the produce here is much more affordable and I saw a lot of aunties and uncles doing their grocery shopping. There were a lot of fruits and vegetables I've never seen before, and our haul included new and old favorites (purple bell peppers, red long beans, green and purple speckled long beans, golden nugget tangerines, pale green cucumbers). I also spotted some beautiful orchids, and it was really relaxing just browsing all the booths. This market is really close to Van Ness Station and faces City Hall, so it's easy to find.

It doesn't get as fresh as this!!!! Was hoping to buy some crab and Tiger shrimp but the line was insanely long!!!!!!! So didn't get that but got some really tasty blueberries, strawberries, wrinkle skin tangerines, oranges, bok choy & cilantros. The gentlemen at the berry booth was nice, and gave us half more box of blueberries because my mom complained about one blueberry looking ugly LoLs When we purchase the oranges and tangerine, $1/lb, were few cents shy of $5, so the gentleman put 2 more oranges in the bag, to try to even it out on $5, but it exceeded $5 and few cents, give it to us anyways. Last time I came, maybe 3 months ago, it wasn't as lively as today. It seems every one is getting back to life and business which is great. More booths and more choices. I alway love the flower the booth, but can't purchase any due to really bad allergies. But I love looking and admiring them.

The freshest food in the city ... It's worth looking at the back for good, cheap though maybe slightly ugly fruits and veggies. The stuff at the front can sometimes look better but not taste better. It only moved across the street but I love the change ... Great atmosphere

I've passed by this so many times but hadn't gone in until recently. The neighborhood can be sketchy, but the actual market was fine. And the produce is amazing and fresher than Whole Foods and so affordable! Some sample prices: $1.50/lb for peaches, heirloom tomatoes. $1 for huge bunches of mint / basil / herbs. $1 for kale or other bags of veggies. It's similar to Alemany Farmers Market in terms of selection and pricing, but easier to get to. Lots of Asian grandmas that know what's up. If you don't have cash, you can buy tokens at the information desk that you can use credit card / Apple Pay. I also love they stay open late till 4pm so you don't have to wake up early on a weekend.

Arrived at around noon on Sunday. It was less busy than what I'm used to. Some farmer's had already closed down their shops and fewer farmers had shown. Probably because it's winter and also it was a holiday (New Year's Eve). In the future, I'll try to arrive before 11am on Sundays. The Wednesday market is quite busy around noon, probably lots of people coming during their lunch break. But Sunday is an earlier market. Here are some of my favorites: Avila Farms had a bunch of $1 bags of small quantities of produce. I was able to get a small bag of brussels sprouts, purple cabbage and rainbow carrots. This was very nice for me, since I like a variety and I'm only cooking for one person. Far West Fungi, they are so friendly and knowledgeable, and their prices are super reasonable. I got a $5 box of organic Baby Shiitake and a $2 box of conventionally grown Button Mushrooms. Fruit stand at the corner of Fulton & Hyde, in the middle of Fulton (so not the northernmost stand) gave me a great deal of $5 for two big bags of apples, which weighed about 7lbs 6 oz. Way better prices than going to a supermarket and these looked tasty. There was only one food stand when I showed up, the Pakistani food stand. A bummer, because I really could have gone for a pupusa. Ended up getting a croissant at Arsicault Bakery down the street. Free parking in Civic Center Garage. Grab a validation ticket at the information booth or from the man at the Southwest intersection of Larkin & Fulton. Good for 90 minutes of free parking.

Heart of the City Farmer's Market is located in the heart of the City aka near Civic Center Bart and the main library. This is definitely a blue collar farmer's market. I work nearby and frequent it once a week as I do the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. Heart of the City Farmer's Market has a few similar vendors as does the Ferry Building Farmer's market such as the mushroom folks and green thumb. I frequently get shiitake or king trumpet mushrooms from the mushroom folks. Green Thumb has a great salsa and also love their kale and greens. Much of the produce here is organic yet doesn't have the labelling for organic labelling is very costly. I also love Two Dog for their Salsa and hot sauces. As a whole produce here is very affordable and don't miss the dollar bags of produce which are quite alright.

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, especially the blueberries and raspberries and endless greens (basil, oregano, tarragon, and more). And I am not exaggerating when I say the variety is massive, so many plants and herbs, that I even learned of a new one, chrysanthemum greens (which apparently my bunnies would not like). But I did make sure to get them some of their faves, cilantro and italian parsley! This farmers' market is located near the Orpheum Theatre, but on the other side (Civic Center/UN plaza). It's not enormous and no hot food stands, but there was a food truck around the corner on Market Street, along with a bit of seating. Plenty of vendors, including a fave, Far West Fungi, but not too impressive overall. We did get a sugar cane to take home and eat like a panda, lol. And my bf got me some really beautiful flowers, there were so many to choose from, probably the best variety I've seen at a farmers' market. They didn't have an atm, but they did have a tent to buy tokens which could be used just like cash (at this farmers' market only).

This farmer's market is on the smaller side, but there is a great variety of fresh produce available. There are not many product stalls and so the focus is on fresh veggies and fruits. They have a stand where you can use your credit card or EBT! If you use your EBT you get an extra $5 :) The stands even had lots of Asian veggie such as napa cabbage, Japanese sweet potatoes, choy sum, and daikon radish! Eggs, specialty mushrooms and berries were all available as well. There is free parking lot across the street from the farmers' market as well as street parking, but since it is at Civic Center, I would suggest trying to use public transport if possible.

Beware of moldy berries sold at this farmer market. I got a trio of mixed berries for 14 dollars. Took out some blackberries from the fridge the next day and guess what? Moldy berries at the bottom of the basket it came in. The day I brought them home I notice mold on a couple of the raspberries upon closer inspection. Even if you consume the unsuspected 'nice' looking ones, it could still be at risk of contamination being in the same batch. So be aware and take your time, check your produce carefully. Cause these berries were not cheap!! Other than that, the prices at this farmers market is fairly inexpensive compare to my local supermarket. Vendors are mostly friendly and offer samples. I recommend coming here if you live/work close by.

Every time I come to this market I see the freshest, most in season produce and an incredible variety of other foods and products. It seems to be a real place that real people come to shop. I've found that the vendors are always super nice and informative. There are always samples to be had and everyone I spoke with wants to tell me about their product, even when it's clear I'm not going to buy.

Weds and Sartirdays. Best little place in the heart of SF. Where else can everybody go? I really like the pupusa at Estrellita's Snack booth (facing Market street). Fresh. So far the combo bean , cheese, loroco seems to be my favorite. The mushroom cheese is my second favorite. I've got 9 more to try. Next will be the lamb. $5.50 for one pupusa with cabbage and mild sauce. Unbelievably that is a meal. They have tamales and drinks. Those have to wait to try. I look forward to Weds lunch now! But be careful out there. If you are not into city crowds, this is not for you. One time someone i was with and someone tried to snatch their purse. There are limited chairs and tables. If you stand in line, you might be tempted to buy roasted chicken because one riff you might end up in another line. For this, order to the left and then given a number and wait on the right. Peope are so nice, they always ask each other if you're in line to order. Sorry no picture of pupusa. Eating is a priority! It wouldnt matter since it will be one gigantic pancake. But the flavor is really spot on. I take the mild sause but one day guve me the hot. The bag of vinegar cabbage is the veggie for the day. Well rounded meal.

Good variety of fresh produce and what you would typically see from a farmer's market! I wish the city can just clean up this neighborhood, though. There's a lot of lingering homelessness in this area and it affects the market area when it's prime spot for San Francisco on Market street civic center. A lot of potential to attract more people to gather here because of farmer's market, but the homelessness, puts business off. Overall, good pop by to grab fresh goods and just not being able to enjoy lounging here.

Wow what a nice large farmers market in the middle of the city! I walked by around 8:30 am and couldn't stop but I came back at 4:30 and although a lot of the vendors had closed up, there were still so many to choose from! I got good deals since they were trying to go home too! I got two plums and two nectarines for $.75 and a large cucumber for $.90! I know I can't buy these at a supermarket for that price. Like other helpers mentioned, you can get tokens if you don't have cash at the information booth. It's also right next to the bart station in the United Nations Plaza on Market.

One reason I look forward to Wednesdays! The Heart of the City farmers market is not huge by any means but it has the best produce one could ask for. And it's right by my work so I come almost every week. The variety of fruits, veggies, flowers are pretty amazing. You can also find seafood, eggs, meats, cheeses, and more! To top that off, everything is super affordable, too! One of my favorite vendors is the $1 veggie guy. I bet he makes more dollar bills than all the hookers in the tenderloin combined. My only wish is to have more food options. There are only a few food vendors, bread, and coffee. I've tried the Pakistani vendor once which was not that great. All Star Tamale, however, is a market goers' favorite. Sometimes I just do my weekly grocery shopping here instead of going to the grocery stores. I've picked up strawberries, greens, mushrooms, fresh cut flowers, and a couple of plants. I like how low key this farmers market is and how the UN plaza/Civic Center area is transformed into such a lively space where the community gets together because of it.

For what this market offers the city we can only be thankful. We have year round access to growers that travel over well over 100 miles to the city to sell directly to us. On the one hand it must be worth it to them. On the other hand we can't get produce as fresh from our local store for the same price. It's a win win. Over the years I notice one thing about this particular market, it has a very diverse ethnic patronage. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. As much as the city has changed and become a slush pond of millennial white wash antisocial dispontants we still have a good farmer's market.

I've been to plenty of the Farmer's Markets around SF only to find myself consistently heading back to the Heart of the City. Located right off Civic Center BART on Market Street, it's conveniently located and there are always plenty of booths to peruse. If you're looking for a cute farmer's market "experience" where you can easily get some coffee or juice, a bite to eat, artisanal items, etc., I'd suggest the Ferry Building or Fort Mason. If you're simply in need of farm fresh, local produce at a great price, Heart of the City is where it's at. This farmer's market boasts the most varied and comprehensive selection of produce by far, and at the best prices! Not to mention this market runs on Wednesdays and Sundays, making it easy to pick up farm fresh fruit and veggies whenever you might need them. My partner and I love coming here to pick up fresh, organic, in season produce and stock up on whatever we need for the coming week's meals. There are usually a few prepared food stands offering baked goods, cider or hummus, a food truck or two, plus flowers, herbs, nuts and house plants! The variety of produce offered at this market is unmatched, and the location makes it a staple for locals who aren't scared off by the gruffer aspects of the city. If you're looking for a market with good prices, plenty of produce, no tourists and no frills, this is the one for you!

This is a great place to spend an afternoon shopping for organic fruits and veggies. Lots of cool vendors. It is very spacious. Yes the area is sketchy but I like a little danger in my life sometimes. Bring your recycle bags and get some farm to table goodies. There are also food trucks and an area to play corn hole. Have some fun in the sun or have some Carl the Fog coffee from Ikon in any weather.

This is the place to go on Sunday mornings for Asian veggies and herbs. In comparison to Ferry Building's market, definitely feels more low key. Less processed products. Prices were more affordable and there were so many queues of no nonsense Asian ladies sorting through the best produce.

There are two kinds of farmers markets in this world: showman farmers markets, and working man farmers markets. They both have farmers (or it's just a craft/art/diy/artisan/retail market) but one is where you go for an experience, and the other you go for getting your food and getting out of there. Heart of the city is the latter. This is a place where you go for produce. You get your food. You sample a few fruits and veggies along the way, but it's not a dilly-dally type of experience. You get ingredients, you pay, you get them home. There's room in this world for both kinds. I love the Ferry Plaza Market, for sure. I love meeting the polished people and their stands, the variety of breakfast choices, and the view. But honey, when I want to grab some bok choy, a few peaches, and a bundle of herbs on the run it's the HOTC that will treat me right. Prices seem a bit cheaper here. There's still a nice variety with lots of veggies, plenty of fruit, and even some flower vendors as well as the fish vendor. But the cutesie handcrafted stuff is at a minimum. Plus you want to go about your business quickly. I mean, you can walk up and down the few aisles and look around, but people are here to do business. Don't be offended if they dart in front of you or jostle a bit. They're getting dinner, not having an experience. Super convenient with BART right there and a lot of bus stops for those looking to get home with the farm fresh goodies. There are show markets and work markets, and this is a workhorse farmers market.

This is probably one of the things I love most about working near Civic Center. You can always count on Wednesday's Heart of the City Farmer's Market for lunch, snacks, or fresh produce! I love looking at the plants to see what I can decorate my cubicle with, haha. The orchid man has some prettty nice flowers for affordable prices! Grab some rotisserie chicken and brussel sprouts from Roli Roti, a tamale from All Star Tamales, or a pupusa from Estrellita's Snacks. You won't regret it! One very very useful thing is that if you don't have cash, you can pay with credit card at the information booth for $1 tokens that work at any of the booths!!! Super convenient for those of you (like me) who don't have cash at hand most of the time.

Solid farmers market in the Bay Area. I am especially impressed because at their information center, you can go and exchange the money on your credit/debit card for tokens where you can use to buy food around the market. Where else do they have this luxury? Also, I love the location with it being right at the walkway of San Francisco City Hall. It is truly beautiful. There is a wide selection of stands from your standard fruits and vegetables to entire meals like kebabs and Indian foods. However, I had to dock a point down because of Heidi's Pies. Do not buy its chicken pot pie, or any savory pie for that matter. I ordered the chicken pot pie and there was a very strong cheese smell that was kind of unnerving. Also, there is not a lot of flavor in the chicken, so dry. Order the sweet ones, especially at the end when there's a sale - originally 1 for $5 TO 2 for $5.

Fruits and vegetables are fresh. Some are cheap and some aren't. Minus one star for parking. Have to go around many times to find parking. The mini lemon pie were really good .

I love this place. Just freshly moved to the area, had no idea why there was so many people during some random days... finally notice that it's a farmers market. So Wed and Sunday, so many different vendors set up shop to sell me wonderfully affordable fruits and vegetables. I notice that Wednesday (lunch ish) is prime time for many different variety from ready-cook meals (Wednesday Food Court). Sunday is more fruit/veggies based. I scour all yelp reviews to see if meat is sold but I guess not at the current time. There are the fish store though but I am too unskilled to handle pre-scaled fish. Though the fishes do look plenty fresh. Also there are shrimp and squid too. Otherwise I'm just here for my veggies. Optimal pricing. Many vendors sell the cheapest herbs ever. I've found a 3 for $1 deal: got mint + scallion + chive for 3 bucks. WHAT. Impossible. The scallion was huge too not skinny like regular market so it's pretty good. One vendor guy sell a lot of variety, the $1/bag guy I call him. Super fresh onions bunch - $1 buck. 3 corn in 1 bag for 1 buck. Etc. Unbeatable pricing. I also like the vendor across from the seafood, (according to the map: B&L Produce) great variety. Always very fresh and cheap. Got my asian chili, gourds, radish here. Always check them out when I go. With this I really don't have to buy my fruits/veggies at the grocery store anymore. Always spending under $10 and get such a great variety of fresh produce weekly. I love it. (Wish I don't have to work on Wednesday T^T) Hope they get a meat vendor soon!

Having lived in the area for a while almost twelve years this farmers market has seen its up and downs, namely the past fifteen months when the shelter in place during the covid-19 was going crazy. We are now lifting restrictions that the health department had set, The vendors are coming back, and the summer fruit season is almost upon us, that means all the melons will be hitting the stands real soon. The day starts at 6 am to 5 pm Sundays and Wednesdays.

So are you done bashing the Civic Center?... Oh sure...there are more drug deals going down here in a day than Genentech does in a year. And yes...it is the home of the world's scariest Carl's Jr. Who knows what's really in those Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burgers after all? But every Wednesday, it makes a transformation into something nearly bucolic. Now you need to lower your expectations from the swanky, upscale Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building. No, it's not like that...this one is for the proletarians, not the patricians. But in a way, it's a lot more honest...kinda like the ones in Europe or Vietnam or Greenwich Village. Everything is fresh off the farm, but there isn't a concerted effort to make it look pretty and packaged. I get apples here. And leeks. I like leeks. But most of all, I like what the mushroom man sells. No not shrooms...the kind you actually cook and eat. I just had the oyster mushrooms tonight mixed in some pasta and garlic. And of course, there is the waffle man...Waffles on Wheels as I like to call him, ready to force those calories down my throat against my will. You believe me, don't you? OK, it may not be organic, and yes, I might as well spray a can of Raid in my mouth. But come next Wednesday morning, you can see how the real people of this city shop for their produce. It ain't fancy but it's fresh enough.

My walk to BART in the morning is generally creepy or at best just uneventful. I walk to the Civic Center BART around 6 or 7am depending on the day, giving me either abandoned streets or the unfortunate crazy person or two left over from the night's debauchery. On Wednesdays though it's another story, all thanks to this market. As an alternative to jumping over sleeping people I look forward to the gorgeous flowers and plants being unloaded en masse. Instead of staring at the blank sky until I hit that escalator I get to peruse the food flooding off of trucks. There isn't the usual dead air on these mornings; the Civic Center is like an ant hill that's been kicked, people scurrying everywhere. Scurrying with baskets, bags, and crates of amazing produce. It's like night and day. Off market days I'd walk to BART and onto that train with my eyes closed if it was possible. Wednesdays though, I can't wait. Sometimes I buy, sometimes I don't, but just by seeing such life here in the heart of the city I get to start my Wednesdays off with a skip in my step (figuratively, I'm not really skipping). My hearty thanks to everyone who makes this happen, every single week!

I so heart Heart of the City Farmers Market. The UN Plaza is this cold inhospitable void that usually smells (like pee). But it undergoes such a dramatic transformation when either OTG or the Farmers Market set-up shop. Besides classing the place up, it houses this community of folks, who whether they know it or it not, have chosen to eat freshly harvested local fruits and veggies. My only thing with going to the farmers market was learning how to select fruit. But I did my homework and eventually figured it out. And now that I've honed my skills, I only (well, almost only) pick out fruit that is at its optimum sweetness - my little one will attest to this skill. As for veggies, it usually doesn't matter since I batter all veggies and then deep fry them (well, almost all veggies) - my wife will attest to these food experiments.

I used to live 10 seconds away from this Farmers Market, so I know it pretty well. This is a LEGIT farmers market, and by that, I mean that it's a place where you actually go to get fresh produce and eggs, and a few other things. Not a pretentious place where they offer apples for $6 a pound and cut flowers for $20 a bunch. The produce vendors range from fancier organic purveyors, vendors selling various Asian vegetables and herbs for dirt cheap, and a big stand at the end with the most variety and cheapest prices, but of sometimes questionable quality. The selection is great. The egg vendor is inexpensive. A dozen free range eggs will only set you back $2.50. There are also random food vendors, like the ladies who sell honey, the stand with the veggie chips, the stand with the bulk, seasoned nuts, the stand with fancy olive oil, and the other stand with the round tubs of dried fruit and nuts. If you're looking for plants, they've got those, too. At one end you can find cut flowers and potted herbs, there is a vendor with potted orchids, another vendor with potted plants, and the stand at the end has both cut flowers, potted plants, succulents, and sometimes air plants. If you're looking for "real" food, there are several food trucks parked on one end. The tamale stand is popular. The waffles from the waffle truck are delicious, and let's not forget the kettle corn, greek food, artisan chocolate, fresh juice, and a stand for baked goods. I appreciate the plastic tables and chairs located near the food trucks for anyone who wants to sit and enjoy their purchases. If you happen to come around 3:30 or 4, the vendors offer discounted produce. The apple stand will be $1 a pound, and they'll start throwing things into plastic bags that are usually $1. Some people might complain about its proximity to the Tenderloin, but I feel like they've really stepped up the safety here. The fifth star is for eliminating the fresh chicken vendors and moving the fish vendor off to the side so the wind doesn't pick up the smell. It's much less smelly now.

Happy to have such great farmer's market in SoMa neighborhood. Great variety of fresh ... everything!

It has been quite a while (three months) since I have been to this farmers market. The weather was nice this afternoon and I knew I needed strawberries to prepare strawberry agua frescas (1 gallon) for the A's game this Saturday. Here's a tip: the best time to get a half of flat of strawberries at Medina Farms is close to 1:00 PM. Cost: $7.00, compared to $8.00 or $9.00 in the morning. I stopped at Edith's Baking Company, hoping to get a pack of jalapeno cheese foccacia bread (4-pk)...no such luck; they ran out. But...it always pays to be nice to people. The vendor knew I was a regular at his stand, so he hooked me up with what was left of that foccacia bread (enough to make 1-1/2 sandwich). This homegirl does not turn down a freebie from a vendor of bread...lol. He also had a deal on his chocolate chip cookies (5 cookies for $4.00). Another stand I stopped at was one that was run by a Chinese couple, selling fresh cling peaches for $1.75 a pound. They had slices in a dish to sample...they were truly delicious - crispy with a perfect combo of tangy and sweetness. They will have these peaches until the end of next month. Mmmm...what comes to mind, but homemade fresh peach cobbler with pie/pastry crust made from scratch and vanilla ice cream...nom nom nom. I couldn't forget the limes (lime juice for the agua fresca), which were going for 20 cents each. Yep, if I could only throw in a jigger of Jose Cuervo with that strawberry agua fresca and have some chips and salsa on the side during my lunch hour, I know I would be going back to work with a lightweight buzz...lol. Hey, it would make for a less stressful afternoon, ha! Wow...a stop this afternoon at the Heart of the City Farmers Market was indeed a golden opportunity to see those delightful golden peaches among the deals that I have encountered with several of the vendors.

Passed by here when I was on my way to Tartine Bakery and of course I have to stop by because I can never pass up a farmers' market! This particular one is relatively small but how the vendors are setup plus the yummy kiosk of food made it appear spacious; big. I bought green onions and eggs. Although it was a quick visit (mind you, I had to get to Tartine before they open), it added another touch to my farmers' market experience. I did notice that there are plentiful (or at least a hell of a lot more than others) leafy Asian vegetables.. I think it would be beneficial if I had my Daughter that day and if I lived in the city because she is big on rice and Vietnamese food whereas I'm not. If I lived in the city, I would probably eat at a different deli each day but I would end my day w/ dinner at Ike's because Ike's is the.. best.. sandwich.. shop.. ever.. EVER!

Best Farmer's Market in the city. They have a little bit of everything, so it's not hard to get groceries here. The plus side is if you happen to visit near the closing time after 4pm.. many vendors will happily charge you for $1/bag for anything that you can fit into the bag that they hand to you. It's such a great steal.

If you can stomach the occasional smell of urine, questionable crowd, and the general filth of Civic Center area, this Farmers Market (open Wednesdays & Sundays) is actually quite appealing. You can find some great deals, healthy options, rare finds, and yummy food vendors as well. Here are some of my favorites/perks: -If you don't have cash, go to the info booth (located at front center momument) to use your card to exchange for tokens that the vendors will accept for payment. -Fresh flowers for sale! -The 2nd from the top is a small stall selling fresh herbs! (next to the first stall with the largest selection of fruits/veggies/flowers) Its usually $1 a bunch (a very large bunch), and a large selection. Like cilantro, mint, different types of basil, etc. -Cipponeri has two stalls (one on each side) with a HUGE assortment of nuts, candied nuts, savory nuts, and nut butters. The other side has roasted veggies, dried fruit, and other candied fruits. -One vendor sells fresh fish! High quality and fresh enough for sashimi. -At lunch time, theres are many food vendors to choose from: coffee, brick oven pizza, roasted chicken, tamales, pie, belgium waffles, and many ethnic options. -Around 4pm, the vendors start packing up and closing. Many of them sell bags of veggies/fruit at a heavy discount. Usually $1 or $2 a bag. I love finding good deals around this time. Just be careful to inspect all the produce before buying, to check for bruises, rot, or mold. If you're looking for fresh produce, I would recommend doing a good sweep of all the vendors before making your decision. Some are definitely fresher than others and different pricing, so you should take a look at all the options first. Many have free samples out so go ahead and have a try!

This is one of the best farmer's markets in the city. It's right off the civic center Bart stop so it's extremely convenient. Lots of great vendors and it's one of the cheaper markets in the area. You can get everything fruits, veggies, house plants, deserts and lunch at the ovation all food truck!

Wednesdays until 3PM, I do believe! Now this is a FM with the size and # of vendors that I'm talkin' about... were it not for the fact that I had the ballet that evening, and no bag to tote stuff with, I'd have indulged in the very fresh fruits and vegetables I saw on display! My first time at this FM, was most impressed with the # of different stalls available for shopping. I learned an easy griled peachl maceration recipe from Flay recently and would have loved to buy some of those gigantor bad boys to lay on my baby Weber....but that thought was reduced to a pipe dream.... Great for strolling right through, as the space between the two sides is large and inviting---easy for Moms to bring out those strollers!

Easily the BEST farmers market in SF proper. Sure, the Ferry Building's farmers market is cute, all the vegetables are adorably arranged and the happy clean smiling sales people are offering you samples...but this place is the TRUTH. Better produce at way better prices. Yes, you'll probably have to steer clear of a crazy (or two..or three) but there's always law enforcement in the area to keep you safe. The suppliers here aren't overly nice or friendly, but it's here that I purchase the BEST produce I've had in SF. Everything is $1-$2 a pound, and tastes 10x better than the Ferry Building's. I always come here to buy fresh corn, asian veggies ($1 for an entire bunch!) and lobsters/ahi tuna. They have the most AMAZING fish stall and hummus stand here. Be sure to get the ahi tuna steaks - it feels sketch buying a sashimi grade chunk of tuna in a suspect plastic baggy in the middle of a dingy SF street, but this stuff is the freshest tuna I have ever had- AND is only $6-$7 a pound. Their lobsters are a great deal as well as the chilean sea bass. Totally recommend the habanero cilantro hummus from the hummus stand as well. If you're serious about produce, come here and have your SF life be forever changed! LOVE :) PS. No cash? No problem. You can buy tokens with your credit card at the back of the market at the booth. P.P.S. Try and come early in the morning if you can- but beware the ornery Chinese ladies. It's like 99 ranch up in there at the AM, so prepare yourself for lots of bony elbows in the face. P.P.P.S. No avocados. Like ever. You've been warned! Happy Shopping!

Went to the Civic Center Farmers Market Sun 8/14/11 after eating lunch at Super Duper. Got some Gravenstein apples from Macdonald's Organic Apple Farm in Sebastopol. $2/lb. I got 4 small apples for $2.40. Article on Gravenstein Apples in the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-gravenstein-20110811,0,5841970.story I saw the Hummus Guy - didn't try or buy. His stand is everywhere. I could buy it in Downtown SJ Friday's FM.

Pretty good farmers market, considering they are the closest to me. They have good deals on produce. They also have a fish stand. I come here every Sunday and there's a good amount of people that stop in too. Most places are cash only, there's a stand that helps out with credit, and bet. Make sure you come in earlier, to see all the vendors.

Great farmer's market that's convenient and cheap. That's about the best way to describe this place. As others have said, this is pretty much the same farmers market from the Ferry Building, yet much cheaper. There are many vendors, that take either cash or you can use your debit/credit card to get tokens if you don't have cash. My favorites are the bread and seafood vendor, along with the seafood vendor and Sukhi's Indian food vendor (along with fresh samosas). There's a good amount of organic vendors as well. Overall a great place to get you're looking for fresh fruits and veggies, and some other options. If you come an hour or 30 minutes prior to closing, you're bound to get even better deals, as merchants are trying to get rid of things at the last minute. Likes: -great prices -variety of options -near public transportation Dislikes: -always a toss up which vendors show up (which can be annoying if you're counting on a vendor to show up and they're MIA)

Had an amazing time at the farmers market. Great view of the civic center, capital building on a beautiful clear sunny day. The produce has a great variety. I especially loved my chicken wrap at Pakistani good stand - amazing! Would definitely go back just for that. Also had pretty great smoothies and juices at one of the stands. They even let you mix the juices - so fragrant and delicious! Would love to come back here sometime. Can see myself spending hours and hours here.

Great Sunday afternoon activity. It's not nearly as pretentious, big, or upscale as the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building, but your wallet will thank you. I'd highly recommend the veggie curry bowl from the only Chinese food cart. It's surprisingly spicy. Their wonton soups seem to be a hit, too. It's around the corner from the Asian Art Museum, so museum + farmers market could be a easy, relaxing Sunday itinerary.

Affordable produce and a good variety of options. If you work near Civic Center or Powell Bart stations, come here during your Wednesday lunch break. Get some grocery shopping done and also buy lunch. For vendors, All Star Tamales always has a line. There tamales are cheap at around $5.50 for two tamales, and there's about 20 different options. Other popular vendors- hummus, pie, and vegan eats. Eh, I'll stick with da meat. Yes, it's in a more "sketch" area. Use common sense and you're fine. I'm more afraid of those pigeons that will potentially poop on me.

Recommendation: Perfect farmer's market for produce and seafood. Can use credit card to get tokens to pay vendors. Super convenient location. This is really a very good farmer's market, and even at the coldest time of the year most of the stalls are still open and present. It opens early in the morning, but even though I go in the middle of the day (12-2pm) the vendors still have a huge selection of items. At the fish stand by the fountain at the east end of the farmer's market, salmon fillets are in high demand (and at $8.50 a pound it's one of the cheapest around) and are often sold out by the early afternoon. However, salmon steaks for a dollar less are still excellent, even though de-boning the steaks is slightly harder. Many of the shops also start offering discounts around 3pm, where you can get multiple items for combo prices that are less than the usual offering. We got 3 baskets of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries for $9, which is really a great price from what I've seen. We also get bundles of bok choy for $1, grapefruits for $1.50, 5-6 limes for $1, a bag of 10 small onions for $1, and many other awesome deals. It's really a bargain way to fill your kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables, and it's supporting local farmers and the community. I think the best part about this particular farmer's market is the credit card/EBT stand at the west end (closest to the city hall). You can go and swipe your credit card for any value you want and receive green $1 tokens in exchange that you can use at any of the vendors in the farmer's market. This makes it super easy if you don't have cash on hand, and you only have to go through one credit card transaction instead of multiple small transactions for each separate vendor you want to buy from. The excess tokens can also be kept for future farmer's markets so if you don't use them all at once, don't worry! I love this farmer's market and it's definitely one of the most genuine I've seen, especially in comparison to the tourist trap/business-person lunch spot the Ferry Building farmer's market caters to. Thanks for decades of great farmer's markets, and hopefully the Heart of the City stays just that!

Farmers Markets make me giddy. My one and only tip: come here between 3-5pm for the best deals! Everything is priced a dollar or two cheaper per pound. Tasty finds: grapes, apples, plums, and peaches for $1/pound. Just be careful to pick out the bruised fruits from the non-blemished ones. Another great deal are flowers. You can buy a sunflower by the stem for $1/each! Again, just make sure you rush home and put it in a vase with water because its been in the sun all day. Did I mention free samples?

If you're looking for a juicy date come here. No seriously - the dates at the tiny date stand here every Wednesday and Sunday are exceptional. Absolutely mind-blowing. And the prices will have you thinking that your math is wrong, they're so what's up. It's become a Wednesday tradition to stock up on succulent, large, caramel-like dates here. Their juicy Medjools will make you forget about candy-bars and preservative stuffed packet cookies. Their dates will remind you that nature knows how to whip up the best sugary treats. Trust.

I'm a sucker for farmers markets and this market in the shadow of the Civic Centre proved to be no exception It doesn't quite have the pazzazz of the Ferry Building market (but I have yet to find one which does!) or the tourist pulling appeal (with concommitant price premium) of the fruit stalls at Pier 39. However, this market has the atmosphere of somewhere which locals would frequent and I love playing at being a local while on holiday! The bulk of the stalls sell fresh produce though I did notice that the quality can vary , so do shop around. The tradeoff is between quality and price though I bought some of the riper fruit because I wasn't in town that long and wanted to eat it before I got on the plane to my next city I came away with local peaches and some Fuji pears There were also food stalls but they were rather expensive in comparison to the fresh produce.

This event was right next to my hotel so I just walked over. Fruit and vegetables galore. Food Trucks and coffee too!! lots of police present. live music was nice it was a good morning!

It may not be as big as the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. It may not have the biggest variety. It may have the same ol every week. But the Heart of the City Farmer's Market has my heart. I come here every Wednesday to pick up fresh veggies for the week, as well as treat myself to a lunch. I navigate through the smelly parts of the TL and arrive to organic, and fresh smelling fruits and flowers. I nibble on samples of peaches, pick up onions for 50 cents, tomatoes for $1, and aromatic herbs of all kinds-2 for $1.50. I say hello to the wonderful ladies at Hella Vegan Eats as I order the newest creation from their truck. I stand in line for 30 minutes to pick up piping hot tamales from All Star Tamales. When I get home, I'm full, I'm happy, and I barely put a dent in my wallet. But I have all the ingredients I need to cook wholesome healthy meals for the days ahead.

My favorite Farmers Market in SF. It's not as fancy as the Ferry Plaza, but the prices are a lot more reasonable. You'll find all sorts of greens, fruits, nuts and veggies from local farmers. I end up spending my spare change and walking out with a ton of produce. Sometimes you'll have to dig through the produce and pick out the bruised ones. Nonetheless, it's a great bargain. You can haggle the prices if you come towards the end of the day. Due to its proximity to the Tenderloin, you can find interesting characters hanging around here. However, there are cops regulating the area.