Reviewing Oxbow Public Market – Napa, CA

posted on : May 11, 2020

Oxbow Public Market

610 & 644 First Street, Napa, California 94559

GRADING
Overall Score: A
Food: A
Atmosphere: A
Vegetarian options?: A
Recommended?: Yes

Important Info:

Open 7 days a week
9:00 am – 7:00 pm (some merchants open early and others, like restaurants, stay open later)
Stores stay open until at least 8 pm on Tuesdays
For specific merchant hours, check out Oxbow’s website
No pets, only service animals are allowed
Outdoor seating available

(This review is based from my visit during November 2019.)

Oxbow Public Market is a unique food and dining establishment near downtown Napa. Quality dining, fine wines, craft beer, unique gifts, and delicious food, all in a fun and friendly community setting, can be found here. Most of these vendors are under the same roof in the main building, but others are located in adjacent buildings.

It’s a great place to visit when you’re with people who have different tastes and/or diets. With so many different food vendors to choose from, everyone can eat what they want. Choose your food vendor and sit at their counter, or in the open seating area indoors or grab a table outside. Obviously, during my visit, I didn’t sample each and every vendor here, but I did add some personal comments (listed in red) below for the merchants we visited.

Restaurants & Food Merchants

Hudson Greens & Goods

One of the more prominent merchants within Oxbow is Greens & Goods. This central market sells local and organic fruits and vegetables, including various pantry and household items. In addition to the beautifully displayed produce, Greens & Goods carries fresh flowers, fresh breads, grab-n-go foods, and fine wines. You can even get smoothies, juices, and bowls, made to order. See Hudson’s photos below:

The Model Bakery

Enjoy their delicious artisan breads, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, quiche, and Model Bakery’s famous English muffins. Head here for lunch and choose from delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches.

Ritual Coffee Roasters

Stop by this coffee shop for fresh coffee and espresso. Pastries and coffee beans are also available for purchase.

Three Twins Ice Cream

My daughter could choose any shop at Oxbow Public Market for something sweet, and she chose Three Twins Ice Cream. She absolutely loved this organic ice cream and was impressed at how rich and creamy it was. I was impressed that the ice cream is produced sustainably and is free of artificial coloring and flavors.

Eiko’s Fish Market

Eiko’s is a seafood and sushi market, but also has a sit-down sushi bar. When in town, stop by for some Japanese beer, sake, soup, salad, poki bowls, and sashimi.

Oxbow Cheese and Wine Merchant

This vendor is sells wine and cheese, but also serves the same at their bar. They also carry beer and a variety of charcuterie meats.

The Fatted Calf

The Fatted Calf is a butcher shop that carries pasture raised meats and only buys from small farms that care about the quality of their animals. As a vegetarian, I passed on the Fatted Calf. However, they do sell the best honey I’ve ever had, citrus blossom honey, from Katz Farm.

C Casa

My husband dined on some delicious tacos at C Casa and we indulged on their delicious chips and guacamole. (See photos above) So, so good! C Casa serves Latin food that’s fresh, sustainable (fish), and free range (cattle and poultry). They’re open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and serving delicious food that’s made to order.

Live Fire Pizza

The margherita pizza here was amazing, reminiscent of the numerous margherita pizzas I had in Rome and Naples, Italy. In addition to wood fired pizza, you can also get sandwiches, salads, wine, and more.

Kitchen Door

This is a full service restaurant that specializes in serving local, seasonal, and handmade comfort food. Enjoy wood-fired pizzas and flatbreads, chicken, beef, or head here from 10 am – 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch.

Five Dot Ranch and Cookhouse

Five Dot Ranch focuses on raising free range cattle in a humane way, free of antibiotics and hormones. At their cookhouse in Oxbow Public Market, you can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner with an array of artisan dishes made from local ingredients. You can even select a product in their meat case, get it cooked just how you like, and get served with your choice of side.

CRU Tasting Lounge

Taste various wines from CRU and Vineyard 29. Get wines by the glass, flights, or by the bottle and enjoy snacks that pair with your wine selections.

Fieldwork Brewing Company

If you’re looking for a wide selection of craft brews at Oxbow, stop by Fieldhouse. Enjoy beers by the glass, filled growler (to-go), or by flight.

Kara’s Cupcakes

A modern, albeit pink-themed storefront, Kara’s Cupcakes sells gourmet cupcakes as well as other pastries like cookies, cakes, and handmade marshmallows. The cupcakes looked absolutely beautiful, but were a little too pricey at almost $4 per cupcake to get me to splurge.

Annette’s Chocolates

Enjoy artisan chocolates, candy, sauces, and other sweet specialities all made with quality ingredients at Annette’s.

Hog Island Oyster Bar

Take a seat and enjoy oysters, shrimp, mussels, and various seafood specialities. Also serving salads, chowders, and sandwiches, Hog Island Oyster Bar offers fresh seafood, sustainably caught.

Gott’s Roadside Diner

I didn’t eat here during this visit to Napa, but I had visited about two years prior. When I visited then, I really enjoyed Gott’s Diner. Find Gott’s right next to Oxbow, in its own building. They specialize in great burgers, and their veggie burger was wonderful! They also carry salads, seafood, beer, and wine, and are famous for their amazing onion rings and delicious soft serve ice cream.

Boutique Merchants

Napa Bookmine

Napa Bookmine has a small nook within Oxbow Public Market that sells books, greeting cards, unique gifts, magazines, and children’s books. Specializing in culinary and Napa related books, Napa Bookmine also hosts book signings and author readings. (photo, above left)

Whole Spice

Find over 300 different spices from around the world here at Whole Spice. Not only are the spices fresh, many are certified organic, and you can buy them in bulk or pre-packaged. Grab yourself some custom spice blends available to add to your favorite dishes. (center photo above)

The Olive Press

Stop by the Olive Press to get high quality, tasty olive oils and vinegars. They also sell handmade foods, dips, tapenades, and more. (photo, above right)

Napa Distillery

Here, you can find small batch craft spirits and vintage barware. Napa Distillery carries unique bitters, tonics, and syrups as well. You can enjoy their tasting bar at Oxbow Public Market.

Tourists, locals, foodies, wine connoisseurs, and even kids will enjoy Oxbow Public Market. Enjoy fresh meals made with local ingredients, unique gifts, delectable desserts, quality drinks, and vendors that believe in humane farming and environmentally friendly practices.

Oxbow Public Market is one of my favorite places to visit in Napa. Do yourself a favor and come visit – and come hungry! I guarantee you’ll leave Oxbow with a satisfied hunger and a smile.

Happy Travels!

Julie

Related Links:

Reviewing Oxbow Public Market – Napa, CA

Oxbow Public Market