Best Local Food Markets in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia — updated August 21, 2026
Richmond's market scene runs from a full organic grocer in Carytown to counter-service market cafes in Church Hill, Lakeside and Ashland. Here's where the shelves, the produce and the prepared food are worth the trip, ranked by how well the reviews hold up.
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In Richmond, "market" rarely means a row of grower tents. It usually means a shop you can buy groceries in and also eat in: an organic grocer near Carytown, a corner market with a kitchen in Church Hill, a rail-side market cafe up in Ashland. The list below is ordered by how completely each place delivers on both halves of that idea, with review counts noted so you can tell a settled reputation from a promising one.
1. Ellwood Thompson's
This is the closest thing on the list to a full market: organic groceries, local produce, artisan cheese, fresh fruit, vitamins and wellness products, plus prepared foods for people who came in for lunch rather than a shop. It also carries the sturdiest evidence here, a 4.6 average across roughly 2,600 reviews, which is a rating that has had plenty of time to settle. The store sits at 4 N Thompson St, a short walk from Carytown, and opens at 8 a.m. every day of the week, so it works for a morning run before the neighborhood parking fills.
2. The Caboose Market & Cafe
A market and kitchen in one room beside the tracks at 108 S Railroad Ave in Ashland, holding 4.7 across more than 600 reviews. Richmond Magazine's review singled out the gumbo as the most elaborate thing on the menu, along with the Small Town Beef sandwich and a custardy Dutch baby. The market side runs free wine tastings from 5 to 7:30 p.m. as a weekly special, and the kitchen advertises a three-course date-night dinner for two that includes a select bottle of wine. Note the schedule before driving up: closed Sundays, open from 11 a.m. the rest of the week, until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
3. Blue Atlas Restaurant and Market
The highest-rated entry here, 4.8 from 495 reviews, and the one where the kitchen leads and the market follows. The menu rotates seasonally and reviewers repeatedly flag the range of vegetarian and vegan options. It sits east of downtown at 1000 Carlisle Ave in Fulton. Hours are the thing to plan around: closed Monday and Tuesday, breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. Happy hour runs Wednesday to Friday, 3 to 6 p.m.
4. Union Market
A Church Hill corner market at 2306 Jefferson Ave that keeps the longest and simplest hours on this list: 9 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. daily, with breakfast served 9 to 11 a.m. and everything else from 11 a.m. onward. That makes it the reliable option when the Ashland and Fulton kitchens are dark. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 3 to 6 p.m., with $2 off draft beer and wine by the glass plus snacks. The 4.4 average comes from 599 reviews, so it is a well-tested score rather than an early one, and it is the lowest-rated place here that still clears the bar comfortably.
5. Revel Market and Bar
Lakeside's market-and-bar hybrid at 6223 Lakeside Ave, leaning harder toward the bar side than anything else on this list: specialty cocktails, charcuterie boards, a happy hour menu and a kids menu. It opens Monday through Saturday at 3 p.m. and runs late, with seating first come, first served, so a group arriving at peak may wait. The 4.7 rating is strong but rests on 163 reviews, which is thin next to the thousands behind Ellwood Thompson's. Treat it as promising rather than proven, and go on a weeknight if you want a table without standing around.
6. the urban Farmhouse market & café (Shockoe Slip)
Included for its hours and its location rather than its reviews. At 1217 E Cary St in Shockoe Slip, it is open 7 to 7 daily, with a menu of seasonal, locally sourced food, coffee, tea, smoothies and juices, plus prepared food to take home and options for vegans and vegetarians. There is a patio, it is pet friendly, happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and brunch is served weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Be straight with expectations: the 3.8 average across 872 reviews is the weakest and most thoroughly tested score here.
What we left off
Kroger came off the list as a national supermarket chain, which is outside the scope of a local market guide. We also cut the Midlothian branch of the Urban Farmhouse to avoid listing the same business twice, keeping the Shockoe Slip location because it sits inside the city.