Night Markets Are Bringing Back Bay Area Nightlife, One Neighborhood at a Time

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, four years into a pandemic that has 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. There are some weekends this fall 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 Bay Area’s relatively balmy autumn months, these night markets are some of the best places to taste a sampling of our region’s diverse, multicultural cuisines. Here are 10 night markets we’re excited about:

Prescott Night Market

Sept. 5 and Oct. 3, 4–8 p.m.
1620 18th St., Oakland

With its 8 o’clock end time, West Oakland’s popular new monthly Thursday night market might not be the most nocturnal of the Bay Area’s new nighttime street food events. But it does pack plenty of Town energy into each four-hour market, starting with an especially multicultural lineup of food vendors selling Cambodian meat skewers, Nigerian jollof, Cubano sandwiches, Taiwanese night market–inspired fried rice, whole roast pig and more.

Prescott Night Market is located in an increasingly lively stretch of West Oakland, on the same block where an affiliated food hall is expected to open later this year 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. Other highlights: a beer garden courtesy of Almanac Beer Co. and vertical dance performances from Bandaloop Studios (known for its high-flying side-of-building choreography).

Story Road Night Market

Sept. 6–7 and Oct. 11–12, 4–10 p.m.
1111 Story Rd., San José (Grand Century Mall parking lot)

What sets Little Saigon’s first night market apart from the crowd of generically trendy food truck festivals is its organizers’ close collaboration with the neighborhood’s two big Vietnamese shopping plazas — Grand Century and Vietnam Town — which means the sheer variety of both traditional and more fusiony Vietnamese street foods can’t be beat. Add a sprinkling of cultural performances and Vietnamese-style night market games, and you’ve got a winning formula: The inaugural Story Road Night Market drew such large crowds that the organizers decided to make the September and October editions about 30% bigger, adding even more food vendors (both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese) to the roster. Newcomers for September include perennial favorite Pho Ha Noi (one of the Bay Area’s top phở spots) and vendors specializing in bánh xèo and fresh-pressed sugarcane juice.

Lucky Cat Night Market

Sept. 7, 4–9 p.m.
501 Buckingham Way, San Francisco (Stonestown Mall parking lot)

Co-organized by Annie Zhou of the Haight Street retail and events collective Everdaze and Sabrina Chan of Lovestruck Vintage, this new night market in the Stonestown Mall parking lot draws inspiration from hawker food markets in East and Southeast Asia — though its combination of street food, local artists and well-curated vintage fashion should feel right at home in SF. The tag line? “Good food, good finds and good vibes.” Foodwise, notable vendors will include Filipino street eats from Sarap Shop and Fairy Bites, rolled ice cream from Cool Rolls and Latin American flavors by GAX.

Oakland Chinatown Night Market

Sept. 7, 5–9 p.m.
8th Street (between Webster and Broadway), Oakland

Oakland Chinatown business owners and activists have long talked about how amazing it would be for the neighborhood to have its own large-scale night market. Now, finally, it’s happening. Two blocks of 8th Street will be glammed up with string lights, roll-up door murals and pop-up art galleries; rappers Seiji Oda and Dtrue will take the stage; and, to kick things off, local squads representing China, Laos, Japan and the Philippines will duke it out in a pan-Asian basketball tournament.

Mostly, though, this night market is all about food. For the market’s overarching “Dumpling Wars” theme, one of the neighborhood’s newer restaurants, Shunde Tastes, will cook up six different Asian dumpling styles, allowing visitors to vote for their favorites. Lounge Chinatown will set up several outdoor stations hawking street-style stinky tofu, grilled oysters and five-spice popcorn chicken, creating a Taiwanese night market vibe. All told, there will be at least 18 food vendors, from both within and outside of Chinatown, selling everything from ube mini pies to Latin American–influenced sushi rolls.

For the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, which is organizing the free event, the inaugural night market is a proof of concept. If all goes well, the nonprofit hopes the city will provide enough funding for it to put on at least four night markets a year — and, more importantly, to once again make Chinatown a vibrant night-time destination.

Bhangra and Beats Night Market

Sept. 13 and Nov. 15, 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 biryani and chaat from the Pakistani food truck Lahore Di Khushboo and charcoal-grilled meat skewers from Indian barbecue sensation Wah Jee Wah.

Each edition of Bhangra and Beats has its own theme. The September night market, for instance, will incorporate a number of Latin American vendors and performers to celebrate Latino Heritage Month. And November’s market will be a full-fledged Diwali party — the first one of this scale in San Francisco.

Chinatown Night Market

Sept. 13, Oct. 11 and Nov. 8, 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, a coalition of Chinatown business leaders and other stakeholders, the Chinatown Night Market typically features big crowds, lion dancers, fun carnival games and a host of local vendors showcasing one of San Francisco’s most iconic food neighborhoods.

Cupertino Night Market

Sept. 14, 3–10 p.m.
De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino

Would it surprise you to hear that Cupertino’s annual night market has a tech angle? But if the VR gaming truck or the big raffle for a chance to test drive a Tesla for a week don’t get the lithium ion–fueled engine of your heart pumping, there will also be lots of food — about 20 vendors in all, including South Bay stalwarts like longtime Taiwanese favorite Liang’s Village and Mexican pizza truck Tlaxiaco’s.

Ultimately, the core of the event is its strong community focus, which means instead of recruiting high-profile headliners to perform, the market’s live music and entertainment will mostly consist of local amateur acts and school clubs.

Moon Fest 2024

Sept. 20, 5–9 p.m.
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 new “Garden at the Flea” beer garden and events space, often with a specific theme. Of particular note is the market’s Sept. 20 edition, which will be San José’s sixth annual Moon Fest — a modern Mid-Autumn Festival celebration hosted in collaboration with Asian American nonprofit EM Collective. A lion dance troupe and other local performers will take the stage to complement the night market’s crafts vendors, photo booths and a diverse lineup of food vendors serving pork sisig, poke bowls and Mexican street corn.

Heart of the Richmond Night Market

Sept. 21, 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.

While the food booth lineup for the Sept. 21 market (the last one of 2024) has yet to be fully set, previous iterations have played to the neighborhood’s strengths: dim sum, Chinese barbecue, rice dumplings, dragon beard candy, Uzbek-Russian pastries and more. All that, plus folk dance performances, mahjong, facepainting and free cartoons for kids at the 4 Star Theater.

Sunset Night Market

Aug. 30 and Sept. 27, 5–10 p.m.
Irving Street (between 19th and 26th Avenues), San Francisco

Probably the largest and most ambitious among San Francisco’s new batch of night markets, this year’s editions of the Sunset Night Market have doubled in size, now spanning seven city blocks (!) after last year’s inaugural market already drew more than 10,000 visitors. With over 100 art and retail vendors and 50-plus food vendors, there should be something to suit every visitor’s tastes. The emphasis, though, will be on Asian street foods — garlic noodles, crispy pork belly, halo-halo, Thai-inspired larb burritos, extra-large Taiwanese night market–style fried chicken cutlets and more.

The itinerary for Sept. 27 is still a work in progress, but guests can expect a bit of extra razzle-dazzle as well. The Aug. 30 night market, for instance, will feature a stinky tofu eating contest and a guest appearance from Martin Yan.

Update: A previous version of this article stated that DJ Qbert would perform at the Sept. 5 Prescott Night Market. He is no longer performing  — instead, the Phat Luv band will perform at the event.