If you’ve ever wandered the back alleyways of a stinky tofu–fragrant Taipei night market, or done a laksa crawl at a Singaporean hawker center, or strolled from yakisoba stall to takoyaki stand amid a sea of yukata at a traditional Japanese summer festival — then you know the power of a night market.
And you also probably know: We’ve never really had a street food culture quite like that in the Bay Area, and maybe we never will. And yet, five years since the start of a pandemic that isolated communities and crippled downtown shopping districts, the night market has emerged as the single most popular antidote to those woes. Loosely modeled after the kinds of late-night, food-centric markets that are ubiquitous through much of Asia, night market events have launched as a way to bring communities together in cities and neighborhoods all across the Bay — from the chilly west end of San Francisco to the vast suburban parking lots of Silicon Valley.
This summer, there are some weekends when a dedicated night market enthusiast can hit up two or three of these street food panaceas. Miracle of miracles, a few of them are even open as late as 10 p.m.
And as we head into the heart of the summer, these night markets are some of the best places to taste a sampling of our region’s diverse, multicultural cuisines. Here are nine night markets we’re excited about:
365 Night Market
June 20–21, July 25–26, Aug. 29–30 and Sept. 26–27, 4–10 p.m. 1111 Story Rd., San José (Grand Century Mall parking lot)
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Set in the heart of San José’s Little Saigon neighborhood, this market replaces the heavily Vietnamese-inflected one that previously held court in the Grand Century Mall parking lot. For its part, 365 Night Market takes a somewhat more pan-Asian approach but otherwise keeps the same format: Spread across a consecutive Friday and Saturday night each month, the event features 60-some-odd food stalls, live DJ sets, a sprinkling of cultural performances, and carnival games like Plinko and Connect Four. The June 20–21 food lineup includes vendors specializing in Chinese candied fruit skewers, northern-style beef phở, dessert crepes and pandan tiramisu.
The Berryessa Night Market’s ‘Oldies y Cerveza’–themed events are a celebration of old soul vinyls and lowrider culture. (Courtesy of Berryessa Night Market)
Berryessa Night Market
Fridays, 5–9 p.m., from April through October San José Flea Market, 1590 Berryessa Rd., San José
Every Friday through October, the San José Flea Market (aka La Pulga) operates a weekly night market at its “Garden at the Flea” beer garden and events space, often with a specific theme. On June 20, for instance, the market will host its annual Kawaii Kpop Night — a celebration of anime, K-pop and J-pop, to go along with a diverse lineup of food vendors serving poke bowls, shaved ice and Mexican-style loaded baked potatoes. Meanwhile, June 27 will be “Oldies y Cerveza” night, a recurring event that celebrates rare soul vinyls, lowriders and cold beer.
Heart of the Richmond Night Market
June 21, July 19, Aug. 16 and Sept. 20, 4–8 p.m. Clement Street (between 22nd and 25th Avenues), San Francisco
The Richmond District has long been one of the best dining destinations in San Francisco, between its well-established (if informal) designation as the city’s “New Chinatown,” status as the historical center for the local Russian-speaking communities, and sprinkling of trendy higher-end restaurants. It’s fitting, then, that the neighborhood’s new night market reflects that vibrancy and diversity.
The June 21 market will have a special focus on kid-friendly activities like lawn games, Lego and temporary tattoos. Meanwhile the food options play to the neighborhood’s strengths: dim sum, Korean barbecue, ube hand pies, dragon beard candy, ice cream sandwiches and more. All that, plus free cartoons for kids at the 4 Star Theater.
A street vendor sells tanghulu, or Chinese candied fruit, at the Chinatown Night Market. (Julie Ramsey, courtesy of BeChinatow )
Chinatown Night Market
July 11, Aug. 8, Sept. 12, Oct. 10 and Nov. 14, 5:30–9 p.m. Grant Avenue (between Sacramento and Jackson), San Francisco
On the tail of several challenging pandemic-era years, San Francisco’s Chinatown now has its own night market, held the second Friday of every month. Hosted by BeChinatown and a fleet of hundreds of volunteers, the Chinatown Night Market now regularly packs three full blocks of Grant Avenue with a crowd that includes a large proportion of young people — a priority for Chinatown legacy businesses hoping to connect with the new generation, says BeChinatown president Lily Lo.
“People just feel the energy,” says Jonathan Sit, president of the volunteer coalition. “There’s lanterns. There’s karaoke in the street.”
Foodwise, the market’s main distinguishing feature is that it’s focused almost entirely on local vendors within Chinatown (“no food trucks,” Lo stresses), many of which offer special items that they only sell during the night market — fried cheese at the Wong Lee bakery, for instance, or tea eggs at one of the sushi shops. Another difference? The prices are set lower than other street food events, with most vendors offering $5 menu items. Fan favorites include tanghulu (candied fruit), coconut pudding served inside the shell, and Xinjiang-style meat skewers — one of the few items that are grilled fresh on the street.
The Valencia Live! night market takes place every second Thursday of the month. (Ugur Dursun/KQED)
Valencia Live!
July 10, Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, 5–10 p.m. Valencia Street (between 16th and 19th), San Francisco
One of San Francisco’s newest night markets takes place on every second Thursday of the month, with a focus on highlighting local vendors in the Mission. Instead of bringing in outside food trucks or other street vendors, the event is more like a street party that promotes Valencia Street’s existing brick-and-mortar restaurants, many of which set up pop-ups with outdoor dining outside their space. Notably, Valencia Live! is one of three new “entertainment zones” in the city that allow, among other things, the sale of to-go cocktails.
Woo Can Cook’s wok-fried rice is one of the Prescott Night Market’s street food options. (Don Feria)
Prescott Night Market
July 24, Aug. 21, Sept. 4 and Oct. 9, 5–9 p.m. 1620 18th St., Oakland
West Oakland’s popular monthly Thursday night market packs plenty of Town energy into each four-hour market, starting with a multicultural lineup of food vendors that might, in a given month, sell Cambodian meat skewers, Nigerian jollof, Cubano sandwiches, Taiwanese night market–inspired fried rice, whole roast pig and more. (The exact lineup for this year’s first market in July is still in the works.)
Prescott Night Market is located in an increasingly lively stretch of West Oakland, on the same block where an affiliated food hall opened earlier this spring and just across the street from the Oakland Ballers’ ballpark, which has created a fortuitous bit of synergy when market nights have coincided with Ballers’ home games.
Indian barbecue courtesy of Hayward’s Wah Jee Wah. (Courtesy of Bhangra and Beats)
Bhangra and Beats Night Market
July 25 and Oct. 24, 5–10 p.m. Battery Street at Clay Street, San Francisco
One of downtown San Francisco’s most unique night markets is essentially a massive, rollicking Friday night block party that shines a particular spotlight on South Asian culture — feet-pounding bhangra folk music and dancing and, of course, a wide spectrum of street food offerings, including charcoal-grilled meat skewers from Indian barbecue sensation Wah Jee Wah, Nepalese momos from Bini’s Kitchen, and championship-pedigreed Nigerian jollof rice from Jollof Kitchen.
Each edition of Bhangra and Beats has its own theme. The July night market, for instance, is being billed as a “Summer Block Party.” Meanwhile, October’s market has been designated as the city of San Francisco’s official Diwali celebration.
The quiet suburb of Millbrae has long been one of the Bay Area’s top destinations for Asian cuisines, so it’s no surprise that the city now has its own Asian-style night market, hosted at the Gateway at Millbrae Station mixed-use complex. The first few markets have featured live music, free yoga classes, axe throwing and, of course, a robust selection of (mostly Asian) street food vendors.
The Liang’s Village Taiwanese food stand at a previous edition of the Cupertino Night Market. (Courtesy of Cupertino Chamber of Commerce)
Cupertino Night Market
Aug. 16, 3–10 p.m. De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino
Cupertino’s annual night market typically features about 20 food vendors. This year’s lineup is still being set, but past participants have included South Bay stalwarts like longtime Taiwanese favorite Liang’s Village and Mexican pizza truck Tlaxiaco’s.
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Fittingly for a Cupertino event, previous editions of the night market have often featured a heavy tech angle, with VR gaming trucks, Tesla test drives and the like — though we’re told organizers are still looking for an electric car sponsor for this year.
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