Parnell Farmers Market

Every Saturday, Parnell hosts their own Farmers Market just behind the Parnell library with fresh, organic fruit, veges, deli good, bakery things, fish etc from 8am till noon– rain or shine. Not very well known but well worth a stop in– winning The Auckland’s Best Inner City Market for Foodies (Denizen, Nov 14). Very cool New York Times rave also!

This market gets forgotten at times I think as the La Cigale markets are much larger and have a café and this market is in a carpark behind the Jubilee building. Don’t let this put you off, it may be small but what is on offer is very good.
The first time I came I needed picnic supplies, I have to say I got most of it from here. Pukeko bakery have a stall here, I love their bread and I bought a very nice ciabatta and some other artisan delights and moved on to the cheese man. I myself don’t eat cheese, it was for someone else but to let you know, he has cheeses to sample and it all smelt rather good. Not knowing anything about cheese I just asked him to tell me what his favourite was and I bought that. There is fresh produce which was superior to that of which I have seen at other markets. There was a man there selling honey, someone else had conserves and dips, overall I thought the quality of what was on offer was really good. Like a boutique market. The dog cookie people were here too, the same ones who go to the Grey Lynn and French markets, my dog loves the blueberry cookies and licorice cookie twists from here. Check this one out, only on Saturdays though!

I really like the Parnell Farmers market. It’s pretty swanky and there are always stalls with good quality produce. And they have eftpos! This is a big plus for me because I never carry cash around with me. The bread and pastry place is amazing, we go to the market in the morning and buy a nice bread for our lunch, it’s always a winner. The only thing that would make this market better would be if there were more fresh vegetables for sale! I’d love to be able to buy a bit of smoked garlic or some veges straight off the farm here but it seems to be something they don’t often have much of here.

Not super big, but they sell a nice selection of fruits and vegetables, assorted meats, smoked fish, cheeses etc. As well as pot plants, pastries and a small caravan selling coffee hits to go. Near by (walking distance) is also La Cigal, a French farmers market, which you could also check out. I really love the smoked muscles here, sold by ‘Seakai’, who specializes in New Zealand seafood. The last time I spoke to someone about the muscles, I believe they came from the Coromandel. It’s definitely a good place to look at and try out good quality, boutique, new Zealand produce.