Walnut Creek Farmers Market

Awesome farmers market with a great assortment of produce, pastries and artisan products.
I love coming here on Sundays just to browse around and see what the locals have to offer. There’s always a really good selection of fruits, vegetables, pastries and food to purchase. My personal favorites are the pastries from Crêpe and Brioche (the rum almond croissant is epic), the falafel from Delicia’s Falafels and the caramel popcorn from the folks at the end of the strip (Curtis Jammin Kettle Corn).
It’s a great place to pop over for a quick bite and spend some time just walking around.

As far as farmer’s markets go, this is what I’d expect on Wikipedia as an example. The produce we’ve bought here has always been fresh and the vendors have always been very friendly. It’s a great place to stop by, grab a danish/​bearclaw and a coffee, and walk around to check out the vendors.
Important: For those driving in, there is a parking garage around the corner that’s conveniently located on Cole Ave between Locust St and California Ave. I think street parking otherwise could be hit or miss.
They have the usual vendors but it does vary — folks selling honey, knitted goods, all sorts of produce, baked goods, food-​truck-​esque tents, coffee, candles, jellies/​jams, and custom pastas. Really a very wide assortment of options at very reasonable prices.
One thing I’ll never understand is the pro/​anti dog coldwar. Disclaimer: I love dogs. However in this case there are signs that say due to health requirements that no dogs are allowed (queue the Snoopy scene) at the farmers market. Does this prevent folks from bringing dogs? Nope. You’ll see that many folks bring their dogs anyway.

Despite the cold wet weather, I ventured out to the Farmers’ Market to check it out. Parking was a little on the difficult side. The Target parking lot has a sign that clearly states «No Farmers’ Market Parking» So that made it difficult.
I arrived late, there was only 45 minutes left to the close of the market, so there weren’t a lot of people left, but there was a decent flow. Many of the vendor spaces were empty, I don’t know if the vendors were absent or they had already packed up and left. It was pretty cold, wet and windy that day. Several vendors were selling their goods at a discount. I was fortunate to purchase a cup of fair trade organic coffee from the rooted coffee co, I tried their ghetto mocha and found it to be delicious. I was even given a discount, of which I am grateful for. Everything was right up my alley, fair trade, organic, sustainable, recyclable, etc. I loved it.
It seems to be about 2 blocks long, with vendors on both sides of the street.
I hope to return to the market on a day with better weather to experience the whole thing and possibly make a few purchases. The only drawback is this market does not have market match yet, but they’re hoping to! :)

I love this Farmers’ Market. I am there every Sunday morning, rain or shine, to do our weekly veg and fruit shopping. The only Sundays my husband and I miss it is when we are out of town. I’m that big of a fan. We make our menu for the week and buy the produce and sometimes meat we need at the market.
But I had to rate it down one star because management did something strange and arbitrary looking. Because a totally different foothills apple farm had an e coli problem with their cider, one of the apple farmers who makes cider was told on Sunday morning when she showed up with many $$ worth of apple cider bottled to sell, that she couldn’t sell it. That makes as much sense as saying that since Chipotle has had a problem, the taco tent at the market can’t sell either. It would have shown a classier management style if at the very least, they had told her much earlier so that she wouldn’t be out the $$ of all those pressed apples.
We have been coming to the market for probably close to 20 years. I have friendly relations with many of the farmers at this market. I don’t like to see the mostly small family farmers treated this way. I understand caution regarding the subject but I would like to see more research going into this kind of decision and more consideration of the money involved. If management should read this, please know that the farmer told me very little about why cider wasn’t available last Sunday. He/​she did not bad mouth management.
That said, this is a wonderful market with a wide variety of seasonal goods.

It’s actually more like 3.5 stars, but I am rounding up to compensate for the ridiculous reviews complaining about snootiness. Really? This is a small farmer’s market with some decent vendors. It’s convenient enough for us because it’s within walking distance to our home, but I do wish they had more of a selection. I suppose I shouldn’t be comparing it to the Grand Lake farmer’s market, which I adore even more than the one at Civic Center (great selection with decent prices, but too dirty) or the Ferry Building (great selection, but tourist-​gouging expensive), but I can’t help it.
WC farmer’s market does have some vendors worth trying:
The tamale/​taco vendor serves delicious spicy street tacos (3 for $ 5, if I remember correctly)
Chicks and Love has a savory breakfast pizza worth a try
They have a coffee booth! However, we stop by The Coffee Shop (yup, that’s it’s name!) up the street at Locust & Mt. Diablo and pick up our fresh drip before heading to the market.
Hiro’s serves hot ramen for cold afternoons.
Pasta guy: everything that we have purchased from him has been wonderful. The kale and butternut squash raviolis are my favorites. His sauces are also tasty.
Hummus guy: two flavors of pita chips and a myriad of hummus flavors. I’m on a quest to try them all, but I keep returning to the avocado and artichoke ones.
The two carb booths (both of which sells a variety of breads, though one also sells pastries): these two booths are conspiring to make me fat. I try to avoid them, but they lure me in with chocolate zucchini bread and pretzels… stop it!
The peanut butter booth: this vendor sells flavored nut butters (). We opted for a chocolate peanut butter reminiscent of Nutella and a spicy peanut butter that makes a good dip for chicken saté.
The jam and jelly lady sells a unique variety of jams/​jellies and offers free recipes that features them. I love the jalapeño jelly (try it with a cheese plate or baked Brie).
The soy candle lady sold me my favorite scented candle called «New York» that smells a bit like Replica-​Jazz Club perfume from Maison Martin Margiela.

2 blocks of farmers & related goods. Nice selection of goods.
My opinion is based on on how I was treated by three different merchants & the environment.
Edith’s:
A reasonable selection of bread & sweets. We bought one loaf of bread & 2 sweets. It is an open air location with some vendors offering fresh food (lunch) to eat now. It is natural to want to eat the sweet NOW. It was a large serving so we asked them to cut it. They do not do that. Ok (not really). I see a metal serving tool. Would you please slice them with it? No, we can’t do that. The health department won’t let us. (I doubt that as they can easily touch it & we wouldn’t touch the tool.) Do you have plastic knives, forks, or similar that we can use to cut the sweets? No.
We shouldn’t have bought but we’d already made up our minds.
Then, since we clearly weren’t getting any satisfaction, my wife said we’re buying 3 things. Can we have a discount. No. I work for a boss who won’t allow me. But we accept CREDIT CARDS. I had $ 500 cash with me & that wasn’t the issue but a farmer accepting credit cards says a lot.
We aren’t returning but I also will avoid them should I see them at any other farmers market. I think I’ve seen them at the Pinole Farmers market but am not sure.
Stuffy attitude.
I should add that my stepsons liked the bread. I liked the chocolate brownie type something. I didn’t hear reviews on the blueberry something. Doesn’t matter. I buy good bread all of the time. I have a Reno bakery ship me 6 loaves about every 2 months. I don’t need the poor service.
Honey Booth:
They had BLACKBERRY honey. Interesting. Did you ever have BLACKBERRY honey? Neither did I. I asked for a taste. They do not offer tastes. I walked.
3 older men selling apples:
Nice selection of apples. They didn’t do anything particularly wrong but I felt stuffy & not friendly. We bought some apples. Farmers at most markets usually round the totals to a round number but not these guys.
Perhaps wealthy Walnut Creek was a factor in my feelings from these farmers.
Oh, the parking is metered even on Sunday. I have decided to avoid Walnut Creek period.
There is an equally good, perhaps better farmers market in Oakland in the DMV parking lost. There they give samples for tasting & are not stuffy but friendly. Free parking.

It was OK. I’ve been to better. It felt like it was the same farmer’s market as they have all over. Sorry.

Although you can find deals here, the markup for almost all the fruits and veggies is astronomically high, regardless of quality or freshness. But. and this is a big one, this Farmer’s Market is practically one of the only ones in Contra Costa where you can find a decent selection of produce which means it’s as close as it gets to being a one-​stop produce market for your cooking needs. In addition tot he size of the venue, it’s very nice to attend as well, features live musicians and has some very friendly merchants. I come all the way from East County to attend about twice a month. It’s worth it.

I’ve been meaning to visit this market for some time and finally got to before church on Sunday. They’ve got awesome vendors with a beautiful sweet summer fruit. I also visited the popular Chicks & Love pizza stand (will dish in a separate review). I particularly like how most vendors now use the Square so you can use your card to buy and don’t have to carry cash. That made my spending here possible because I think I only had five bucks on me. I just might make visiting this market a weekly thing!

We love the WC farmers market. They have fresh produce and pretty flowers. Not to mention the yummy food!

I am writing this letter with all due respect to the Walnut Creek Parking Enforcement Department. The ticket I am paying for has me questioning, «Why aren’t their posted signs clearly indicating the city of Walnut Creek requires meters to be used on Sunday?»
My family and I look forward to the Farmer’s Market, but this ticket really put a damper on our enjoyment and we will think twice about coming next time.
Sincerely,
Beth
Lafayette resident

Several good booths with traditionally fresh produce that looks and tastes inviting but still spendier than it needs to be. Seems like we’ve had a lot of non-​farm oriented booths jumping in lately. Little girl ballerina tu-​tus? Not exactly what you’re shopping for when you’re looking for fresh fava beans.

This is a solidly good farmers market. They offer a good selection and pretty good samples. As with most farmers markets, you get great deals when they’re closing up shop. All that said, i prefer the cute and cozy atmosphere of the Danville Saturday farmers market.

It is a pretty popular farmers market here in downtown walnut creek. It is right next to target off the Bart station.
The organic produce selection is limited to a few stalls. I usually like to look for organic vegetables that I typically cannot find at a local super market, but again the selection is limited.
One fruit stall goes on sale around 12 pm selling their fruits for only 1 dollar a pound (compared to 2 dollars a pound). It’s a great deal.
Kettle corn is delicious.

Love this farmers market! It’s very big compared to most of the markets around the Bay Area and they always have a nice selections of fruit and veggies. I like that I can even get hot coffee here especially when it can be chilly in the mornings.
I love getting to try all the different apples around the market, even though the best tasting ones always seem to be the same farm!
Overall great place farmers market, the food options look good, but not for me since I have celiac and a dairy allergy. So none really are friendly in regards to both of those.

FALAFEL!!!
FALAFEL!!!
FALAAAAAFFFFEEELLLLLL!!!
Seriously, Delicia’s is just the BEST ever, I’ve never ever had one as good anywhere else, in my life. Missing a Sunday LITERALLY breaks my freaking heart. The nice man who runs it with his little boy is just the nicest, and remembered us after the first time there. He always remembers to make our sandwiches extra spicy. We’ve never broken the habit since. His baklava (I don’t even like honey!) and watermelon juice are also to DIE for.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the mexican food stand next to it is really sub-​par. I’ve not bothered going there in a year, easy. Burritos are super lack-​luster, papusas have gone down hill, tamales are hit and miss I guess, salsas weak. If you honestly love mexican food, just head to Concord.
Back on a positive note, Rainbow Orchards we also adore. Apples are standout, especially the Pink Lady variety. BEST apple juice ever, it’s literally nothing but crushed apples, and unpasteurized… just the way it should be. Be warned — if you start drinking their apple juice, forget ever having it anywhere else. Generic pasteurized bottled apple juice with tons of added sugar just tastes so flat and over-​sweetened I want to puke it all out.
Hummus Heaven is also worth a visit. Kicks the pants off anything you’ll buy in a grocery store. We almost gave up trying to find a decent one off the shelf… now we just go here and it’s great. Spicy Black Bean hummus is my personal favorite.
***PRO-​TIP: If he’s busy or seems distracted, double check what you’re handed. I frequently get something other than what I asked for.

Typical farmers market but much smaller when compared to the Concord or Pleasant Hill ones.

After reading the other reviews, I had very high hopes for this market. It had some pluses and one big minus.
Plus:
Cute! Lots of interesting vendors, including food, coffee, fish, lamb, and of course a ton of seasonal produce with helpful farmers.
Average:
Parking. Apparently you’re not really supposed to park at Target, which others have suggested. So plan to drive around hunting.
Minus:
The PRICES! Maybe if you’re going for just a few things this is fine. But if you’re planning to buy a week’s worth of produce for 2 people, plan to spend $ 60-​$ 100 depending on what you buy. I cut myself off at $ 40 and got about half of what was on my list. Most things are around $ 4/​lb… Not the bargain I was hoping for from my local farmers.

My Sunday Ritual. The vendors are fair and always have a great selection. Try the Bee soap, its amazing.

If you are a first-​timer, do NOT use a GPS to find the market! It will lead you to the middle of some neighborhood. It’s located right behind the Target parking structure on Lacassie St/​Locust in Downtown Walnut Creek. Feel free to park on the streets (watch out for meters) or try your luck at Target parking (but that’s not advised).
Beside the location, I have to say I love the festive, lively atmosphere and live musicians on both ends. The first half of the market has all of the farmers – fruits, vegetables, etc. while the other half has your local organic coffee (Marley’s Coffee – yum!), soap, honey, artisan chocolates, organic granola (Way To Life Foods – fluffy and delish!), ice cream (Lottie’s Creamery – a Walnut Creek gem!), flowers and other ready-​made foods. There is a good number of vendors overall and a great variety of products. The people are generally friendly and there is a good amount of locals shopping as well – lovely to spend Sunday afternoons here.
The only thing I don’t like so much is how it operates on a Sunday, since that’s usually my stay-​at-​home be-​with-​family relax day, and would rather visit Saturday markets. But, this is one of my favorite local markets. Luckily, they operate from 9am-​2pm, so latecomers won’t miss out. I’d def love to come back if I’m willing to make the stop to WC early Sundays!