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Napa may be known as an upscale destination for wine lovers and fine dining, but if you want a more laid-back and casual food experience in Napa, check out the Oxbow Market!
I always love to visit food halls and food markets when we travel as they have a variety of different foods (and drinks) to choose from – often at more affordable prices than your typical sit-down restaurant.
At Napa’s Oxbow Market, you can find everything from burgers, pizza and beer to oysters, sandwiches and even empanadas!
It’s nearly impossible to hit up all the spots in the market in one visit – I’ve actually been to the market four or five times over the years, trying to find the best eats from all the vendors. Also, sometimes vendors close and fresh ones open in their place, which means my list is always evolving!
What to Eat at Oxbow Market
From all of my visits here, I’ve put together a list of what I think are some of the best bites of food at the Oxbow Market. Enjoy!
Fatted Calf
If you only have time for one stop at the Oxbow Market in Napa, let it be the Fatted Calf!
Fatted Calf is more than just a butcher shop, they also make excellent sandwiches – among some of the best I’ve ever had. In fact, the best bite of food I’ve had at the Oxbow Market to date is their muffuletta, layered with salami, mortadella, ham, giardiniera relish, arugula, and Pt. Reyes Toma cheese.
I did a little dance in my seat after I sunk my teeth into the layers of salty meat complemented oh so well by the tangy relish.
A close second: their thinly-sliced porchetta served on a crunchy baguette with radish, carrots, herbs, and a lemon chile vinaigrette. This thing is packed with flavor and reminiscent of a Vietnamese banh mi.
You can also get any kind of deli meat and sausages imaginable here, along with charcuterie and cheese boards. We even got a whole porchetta to roast back at home!
Pro tip: call ahead to order sandwich lunch boxes to take out for a day of wine tasting.
Live Fire Pizza
Live Fire is a great spot for bar top-style seating where you can order a drink (like a tall ice cold beer) and chow down on a pizza.
Our pizza of choice: the Sausage, made with tomato sauce, Fatted Calf pork sausage, mozzarella, grana, spinach, red onion, garlic, oregano, chiles, and olive oil. Since we like things spicy, we also added some fresh jalapenos. The dough was a great consistency and the pizza had just the right amount of cheese to sauce ratio. It was delicious!
Truthfully, this Live Fire Pizza does has some mixed reviews online. From my personal experience though, our pizza tasted great and our server was friendly and attentive!
El Porteño
One of my favorite stops in the market is El Porteño for some flaky Argentine empanadas and alfajores cookies. These empanadas are baked (my personal favorite preparation) and there are many meat-filled and vegetarian empanada options to choose from.
My picks for empanadas here are the jamon y queso and the champiñones (mushroom). For the alfajores cookies, they excel with the traditional-style dulce de leche and raspberry.
If you never had an alfajor, this is a great place to try them. Alfajores are shortbread cookies most commonly filled with dulce le leche (a light, creamy caramel). These delicate delights are one of my favorite sweet treats!
Gott’s Roadside
Gott’s is one of the most popular and busiest spots at the market! Because of this, I highly recommend getting there right when they open or you risk a bit of a wait to get your food.
I’ve eaten here a couple of times now (along with some of their other locations around the Bay Area) and I think the shining star of the menu is the seared ahi sandwich, with a close second being the cheeseburger. They also know how to do garlic fries and onion rings well!
Want something to sip on? The strawberry milkshake is heavenly and their shakes are all handspun with organic ice cream and milk. They also serve alcohol here so you can get local beer and wine to pair with your meal.
Fieldwork Brewing
Beer lovers should make a stop at Fieldwork – a longtime Bay Area favorite of ours! I’m generally a fan of their hazy IPAs and sours, but they also make a great milk stout and have a pretty extensive NA collection for those going alcohol-free.
Get a flight and try a handful of different things!
Hog Island Oyster Co.
If oysters are your jam, Hog Island is one of the best places in the Bay Area to enjoy them. Come here and get a dozen and pair them with a crisp glass of white wine. I also suggest trying their seasonal small plates and daily seafood specials.
Hog Island’s menu does change regularly so be sure to check online to see if there’s something special you might want to try. On our visit, we had rock cod sliders and a chorizo-stuffed squid dish that were both very delicious!
On my wish list to try: their Manhattan-style clam chowder served with whole clams in the shell. It looks amazing!
We’ve also eaten at Hog Island’s Boat Oyster Bar in Tomales Bay, along with their partner restaurant Tony’s, and their oysters are always top notch. Check out this post if you ever want to venture a bit north!
Napa Valley Distillery
This is a spot for spirits fans! Napa Valley Distillery’s tasting bar at Oxbow is a great stop for those looking to try new spirits. Majority of what we have had here include brandies, flavored vodkas, and different types of gin. They also have a variety of pre-mixed cocktails. Just pour and enjoy!
You can get also bitters and syrups here if you’re into crafting your own cocktails at home, and they’ll provide you with recipe cards to whip up their own creations.
A tasting here will set you back $25, but you can just pay for one if you’re visiting with a partner and share the tasting. The hosts are always super friendly and great to chat with!
We actually ended up signing up for a membership for a year and it was worth it to be able to come back and visit for a tasting for two at no cost, plus enjoy free member cocktails at their sister bars.
Model Bakery
Hello best English muffin I’ve ever had! Get yourselves a pack of Model Bakery’s English muffins to take home, or order a sandwich made fresh at the bakery. These English muffins are unlike anything I’ve had before – large and fluffy, and way less dense than traditional muffins you find at the grocery store.
And I can confirm they make an excellent vessel for a breakfast sandwich! We took a pack of six home and enjoyed three days’ worth of deliciousness.
Seating Around the Market
Oxbow Market has a variety of different public seating areas, including patio seating and tables congregated in the middle of the market. Additionally, some of the restaurants have their own sections for dining just with them, like Hog Island, Gott’s Roadside, and Live Fire with bar/counter seating.
Some spots are takeaway-only, so you’ll either need to eat while you wander or find an open table somewhere around the market to have a seat.
Oxbow Parking
Parking at Oxbow is one of the most challenging parts of visiting the market. They do have an adjacent parking lot, but it fills up very quickly! If you are up for getting a few steps in, there are side streets and other city parking lots available. Pack your patience, especially if visiting on a weekend or at peak lunch hours.
We have parked over at Napa Yard across the street, but you have to actually visit their establishment in order to park in that lot. I think it’s worth it though as it’s a lovely beer garden where you can grab a pint and sit by the river when the weather is nice! It’s one of my favorite stops in Napa.
Wish List Eats
Even after all of our visits to the Oxbow Market in Napa, we still have yet to visit every spot. Some of my wish list eats for our next visit to the market include:
- Smoked salmon bagels, dumplings and latkes from Loveski’s Deli
- A charcuterie and cheese board from Bar Lucia paired with a Napa Negroni
- A spread of sushi from Eiko’s
- Moro’s chicken shawarma wrap with their piquillo pepper dip
What would you order first when visiting the Oxbow Market in Napa?
If you’ve been before, leave me some recommendations in the comments below of other things I need to try.
Happy eating!
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