Butchers and seafood counters in and near Palo Alto

Palo Alto cooks have plenty of ways to buy meat and fish, but few of them are standalone shops. Our directory does not list a dedicated butcher or fishmonger inside city limits. Instead, the best counters sit inside independent grocery stores, where staff will cut to order, grind, tie a roast or fillet a fish. Just outside the city, a German-style sausage maker in Los Altos and two village markets in Woodside and Portola Valley round out the list.

Because the in-town list is short, this page includes those nearby shops and says where each one is. We checked each one on its own website or store page, or in our verified directory, in late October and early November 2026. One long-time option is gone: Cook's Seafood in Menlo Park closed both of its locations abruptly in late October 2026.

Meat and fish counters at a glance

In Palo Alto

Piazza's Fine Foods

Piazza's anchors the Charleston Shopping Center in south Palo Alto. John Piazza Sr., who came to the United States from Sicily in 1933, opened the store in 1979. His sons and grandson run it today. The website lists a meat and seafood department and the butchers make sausages by hand in the store. Piazza's lists hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, which makes it the easiest counter for an after-work stop.

The Market at Edgewood

The Market at Edgewood is a family-owned grocery in Edgewood Plaza at 2170 West Bayshore Road, near Embarcadero Road and US 101. It opened in late 2017 and lists a butcher counter with fresh meats alongside produce, cheese and a bakery. It keeps long hours, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Its catering menu includes artisan platters and hot entrees if you would rather not cook. Our Midtown and Edgewood guide covers the plaza.

Real Produce International Market

Real Produce at 501 Oxford Avenue, near California Avenue, runs an all-halal meat counter. The store says its chicken, beef and lamb are hand-slaughtered and clearly labeled and its butcher will cut to order. It is the place in town for goat or lamb shoulder for a curry or biryani, or for kebab meat. See our halal food guide for restaurants.

Draeger's in Menlo Park and Los Altos

Draeger's Market runs full meat, poultry and seafood departments at two stores near Palo Alto: 1010 University Drive in downtown Menlo Park and 342 First Street in Los Altos. Its meat department page says products are cut to order. It lists Midwestern beef, award-winning house-made sausages, free-range and organic poultry and natural beef raised without antibiotics or hormones. Fresh fish arrives daily. The seafood counter also sells live lobster, freshly cooked crab and caviar. Sushi is made in the store every day.

The locations page lists a phone number for each store, which helps when you want to reserve a crown roast or a holiday turkey. Draeger's also has stores in San Mateo and Blackhawk, but the Menlo Park and Los Altos stores are the closest to Palo Alto.

Dittmer's, Los Altos

Dittmer's Gourmet Meats and Wurst-Haus at 4540 El Camino Real in Los Altos calls itself an old-fashioned butcher shop and delicatessen. It has been in business since 1978. The shop cuts meat, makes sausages, smokes meats and makes its own lunch meats. Its website lists 2026 awards from the California Association of Meat Processors, including grand champion for lamb merguez and reserve grand champion for bratwurst.

Note the shorter schedule. New hours took effect June 9, 2026: closed Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and closed Sunday. The shop also has a sandwich menu, so a stop can double as lunch. It is a few minutes south of Palo Alto on El Camino Real.

Village markets in Woodside and Portola Valley

• Roberts Market has stores at 3015 Woodside Road in Woodside and 4420 Alpine Road in Portola Valley. Its website says its butchers offer the highest quality meat and fish. It also runs a deli, catering and a Thanksgiving menu and says it is closed on Thanksgiving Day. The Woodside store is close to the village center covered in our Woodside village guide.
• Bianchini's Market at 3130 Alpine Road in Portola Valley lists daily hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on its store page. The market posts a weekly ad online, so check it for meat and fish specials before you go. It also sells deli sandwiches and hot foods.

Both are a pleasant drive up Sand Hill Road or Alpine Road and pair well with a hike in the foothills.

Across US 101: Cardenas Markets

Just over the freeway in East Palo Alto, Cardenas Markets at 1731 East Bayshore Road is a Latino supermarket in the Ravenswood 101 center. Its store page lists full-service meat and seafood departments, a cocina known for carnitas and a tortilleria, with hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. It is a natural stop for cuts used in Mexican cooking and for a weekend cookout. The store took over the former Mi Pueblo building. Our Ravenswood 101 guide covers parking and the other stores there.

Choosing seafood well

If sustainability matters to you, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program rates fish by how and where they are caught or farmed. Look up a species before you shop, then ask the counter where its fish came from. Local favorites have seasons. Dungeness crab season on the Central Coast usually opens in the late fall or winter, depending on state rules each year. Local salmon seasons have been cut back or closed in recent years. Frozen-at-sea fish can be a good choice when fresh supply is thin.

Which counter for which meal

Tips for buying meat and fish

• Tell the butcher what you are cooking. They can suggest a cut, trim it and tell you how much to buy per person.
• Ask what came in today. At a fish counter, the freshest choice is often not the one you planned.
• Buy whole and save. A whole chicken or a whole fish is usually cheaper per pound. The counter will break it down for you.
• Freeze in portions. Wrap well and label with the date.
• Visiting for a while? A rental with a full kitchen makes a counter run worth it, since hotel rooms rarely have more than a microwave.

Frequently asked questions