Downtown Ventura Farmer’s Market

Great little farmer’s market located in the beautiful seaside town on Ventura.
It has a nice variety of vendors that sell a nice selection of organic veggies, hummus, cheese, meats, flowers. Etc.
I wish they had more than just a tamale vendor for meals.
The parking can be a bit of a challenge but I got lucky and found one front and center.

McCloskey Nursery has a nice selection of orchids, avocados, and sometimes, cherimoyas.
Fair Hills Apple Farm has fresh stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, apricots, and cherries (available through August/​September). July and early August is when the apple season will start up again, with over 19 varieties of apples to choose from. Apple cider is another one of their products which is also sold at the market and available year round.
Watkins Cattle Company sells different cuts of beef (7-​bone, rump, pot), brisket, tri-​tip, heart, tongue (lengua), ribs (back and short), steaks (flat iron, skirt, New York, ribeye, cowboy, filet mignon), and cut/​ground meats (fajita stir-​fry, stew, taco, ground). They also sell pork (butt/​picnic roast, ham hock, chops, bacon, ground, hot Italian/​jalapeño cheddar sausages) and chicken (whole/​half, breast, thigh, drumsticks, wings).
Buon Gusto Farms sells cold-​pressed extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). They also have flavored EVOO including Peppery-​Basil, Mandarin Orange, Garlic, Meyer Lemon, and Garlic-​Basil. They also sell balsamic vinegars including Special Balsamic, Champagne Pear, Fig, and Pomegranate that pair perfectly with their EVOO. Olive oil can also be made into soap as EVOO is a natural nutritive and moisturizer with scents like jasmine, lavender, lemongrass, and mandarin.

My wife loves this scene. She goes early in the morning works her way through the stands and chooses from the best of local vendors. Last time we went we got some awesome beets and ranunculus. In addition, the strawberries are so fresh and large. Try it out.

What a delight to visit the Ventura Farmers’ Market on a beautiful Saturday morning! What an even greater delight to be there after visiting the snobby Farmers’ Market in Santa Monica! I thoroughly enjoyed every interaction I had with the people there. I ended up making some new friends and discovering some great local food.

This is the perfect-​sized farmer’s market for the «I hate grocery stores» person in the neighborhood with a small shopping list. Plenty of local and/​or organic vegetables to go around. A vendor from Ojai with delicious, locally-​pastured meats (frozen), fresh-​outta-​the-​chicken farm eggs, spring hill butter and cheeses, the Berry Man (yum!), sprouts, a juice vendor, fresh flowers, and an excellent plant vendor with a small but truly healthy, selection of indoor houseplants.
Hearkening back to my days of shopping at larger farmers markets in Northern California, it really doesn’t get much better (or more local/​organic and convenient) than this tiny gem in Ventura. It’s a very tiny market, just four walkways of vendors set up under canopy tents on the blacktop of a corner parking lot downtown. I love that.
If you’re one to crave a wider selection of goods or enjoy fighting for a vendors attention at some of the larger, trendier, Southern California markets pimping their more heavily-​branded organics, the downtown Ventura market may be a bit on the down-​home, hippie-​dippie side for you. However, if you prefer to shop in the morning hours in relative peace and quiet, with free, close parking… you can get the bulk of your organic needs met and be in and out of the place in under 30 minutes. If only there was a milk vendor (preferably raw), then I would never need to fight the crowds or lines at a grocery store again.

I love Farmer’s Markets. But this one was a bit disappointing. It’s pretty small, I love local produce, but here prices are very high. Higher that any Farmer’s Market I’ve been to in California. No samples were offered, not a lot of food that you can get and snack on.
I was expecting better since there are so many farms and fields in the area!

Nice little Farmer’s Market in downtown Ventura. There’s free parking nearby and also paid parking on the streets. Nice vendors with very fresh looking produce. Several were more than happy to offer free samples to entice you to buy. Better variety than your chain grocery store and stuff looks higher quality. I bought some dates last weekend and am very happy!

While in Ventura for a weekend, thought we’d head over to the Farmer’s Market Saturday morning — was surprised that there were actually as many booths as there were and took advantage of some of the offerings. I love supporting small, local farmers and will visit again when in Ventura on a Saturday.

What a great addition that will now be added to my Saturday morning routine. Located on the corner of Palm and Santa Clara St. (Public parking lot behind Rabobank) is this Cute, local and fun farmers market. Coming from a family that used to work at Norcal markets-​this market is a great size with 3 rows of yummy freshness. Parking surrounds the market with street and local parking lots. Note: street parking is metered even on Sat-​Sun.
A ton of veggies stands both organic and pesticide free. Very reasonable on the prices per item and if your nice and not pushy the vendors might even hook you up with an additional discount.
This morning we got a yummy-​not to sweet pumpkin cheesecake latte, hugh plus is the coffee guys accepting debit cards.
We then found ourselves at The Great Harvest stand, which is a local bakery from Newbury Park. We purchased a loaf of sliced sour dough bread baked this morning for $ 5 and 2 Cinnamon chip scones at $ 2 each… another huge plus, is the bread guy also accepts debit/​credit cards. The scones were nice and moist, the perfect pair to our pumpkin cheesecake lattes.
The Juice guy had an array of fresh squeezed juices that consisted of pomegranate, orange and veggie juices. $ 5-​$ 8 a bottle.
Super excited to try the Me Gusta tamales, which I highly recommended. @$ 3 per tamale, they come in different flavors, smothered in red and green salsa. Filled with juicy meat with the combination of salsas make a great breakfast meal!
Great Saturday morning outing for all ages, open every Saturday from 8:30-noon!
Get it while it’s hot and fresh! Happy shopping. #buylocal

I love this particular Farmers Market due to the great location and awesome selection from local farmers. The produce is always fresh and delicious, and the vendors are super friendly and helpful. The prices are also much less steep than what we have in LA. Shopping there just makes me feel good! And they always thank you for supporting local farming businesses. So shop away and stay healthy, my friends!

Really good. Got sausage that is fantastic and eggs that are huge and really good. Nice size market with a lot of vendors.

One of our weekly rituals is to visit the Ventura farmers Market for wonderful fresh veggies and of course those awesome tamales.
Pros: all local produce, much organic, some pesticide free.
Fresh strawberries year round, seasonal fruits, veggies, fresh fish, organic beef, Greek foods, did I mention the best tamales, fresh brewed coffees, range free eggs, breads and baked goods, fresh olive oils, beautiful flowers, various sausages, cheeses, & herbs. It’s got everything. And the vendors are wonderful… friendly, helpful and sometimes very gracious.
Cons: not the cheapest place to buy veggies & fruit. But you get what you pay for.
I grow a lot of my own organic veggies & fruit year round and so use the market to fill in those I don’t grow or that extend the seasons. It’s an enjoyable visit every week and a great place to see friends and neighbors.

I love farmer’s markets because I believe in supporting local business and getting great fresh produce. It’s decent in size and has a good variety of veggies, fruits, baked good, cheese, and food stands. There’s a great stand with a wide variety of sprouts and I picked up a salad mix of sprouts for $ 5!

I’m sorry to give a lukewarm review but this market has hardly ANY organic produce and everything is more expensive then what I can buy at Lassen’s for much less. Try the Ojai farmer’s market it seems to have all of the organic stuff at a better price! It’s worth the drive and you can enjoy the little town and shopping!

A smaller farmers market that happens every Saturday morning rain or shine, year round, downtown Ventura’s farmers market features the typical produce stands, along with cheese, two bakeries (Great Harvest Bread Co. is one of them), honey, hummus, and flowers. Things to look for: local apples, squash, strawberries
While vendors will provide samples, very few are left out for passersby.
Latte 101 provides coffee and hot beverages. Those seeking something warm to eat can choose from Loohoo’s (potstickers), a tamale stand and a kettle corn maker. There’s one bench where you can sit and eat. The tamales are better than the potstickers.

I may be biased because this is the first time I have discovered a decent farmer’s market… well…ever…but I love this part of my new Ventura home (I am originally from the east coast).
My second day in Ventura I ventured to the market with my Joelfriend. We were there for possibly 17 seconds and had alread purchased fresh dill, garlic chives, green onion and cilantro. All for under five dollars. These bundles lasted me well over a week each.
I have had my eye on the Ojai honey, which is said to have a citrusy orange blossom taste, as well as the farm fresh eggs, one of the many colors of carrots, and homemade hummus. I can feel my meal horizons expanding and I haven’t even touched on half of it (mostly because I’m not sure what everything is yet).
I love Ventura.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Be sure to bring cash to this joint as I am pretty sure nobody takes credit cards (except for the egg lady). But don’t bring any more than $ 20 because the prices are great and you probably won’t need it.

I’ve gone twice now, almost thinking I may consider it a new must do on Saturdays.
I suggest parking in the structure, its about 2 – 3 blocks away, I’m horrible with on foot distance, but I know it wasn’t that far off from there.
Grab a pick me up beverage from Latte 101 on wheels that is present and start your adventure (or bring your own also works).
As with most farmers markets tip is go early, get first pick at the bests stuffs, and bring cash.
Small, quaint, and charming, yet packing tons of variety.

Why can’t this be MY farmer’s market? Why does it have to be 5-​hours away?!
For the location, this market is remarkably big and full of diversity. There was even someone selling gorgeous, tasty tomatoes — in the middle of February! I don’t know how they do it, but I’m not complaining. Even the food vendors were all different, and everything I sampled was scrumptious. Make sure to try to the Chinese dumpling stand and grab a bag of kettle corn for a later snack.
If you’re in town, even just for a weekend, stop by this market and you won’t be disappointed!

I watched two teenage girls play blue grass: one on accordion and the other on violin. That experience was a bonus.
Small market, but you’ll find:
Cheese, hummus, tamales, pita chips, brats, fresh baked breads, kettle corn.
Live plants, orchids, fresh cut flowers.
Fruits and vegetables.
It’s quaint and def not like Santa Barbara’s, but quaint is what I love about Ventura :)

I’ve included a list of purchases from today’s first visit to the (Downtown) Ventura Farmer’s Market.
Kiwi
Red plums
Limes
Figs
Garlic
Italian parsley
Thai green onions
Spring salad mix
Bratwurst
Cajun sausage
I really dig the feel of this market including the relatively narrow shopping aisles, its beach-​close, sun-​drenched environment, and discounts for the coolest of reasons.*
Parking is a hassle, so I parked illegally for over ½ hour with no signs of Police rudeness.
Note:
* Deb wore a Grateful Dead t-​shirt & me a Beach Boys t-​shirt which earned us a nice discount from one vendor.