If you are a big foodie, you need to visit the Grand Central Market. Whenever Brea and I travel, we don’t really go out of our way to try new and adventurous foods. But being in LA, we knew visiting this market was a must so we made this our day 10 adventure (October 8, 2018).
Hours & Parking
The market is open every day from 8AM to 10PM. When we went, we didn’t know there was actually a parking lot connected to the market. We first tried to park in an open lot but then ended up parking on the street. There are a lot of parking lots across the street from the market. You will have to pay if you choose to go to a lot. There is also street parking.
The Grand Central Market is located in the Historic area of downtown LA next to other popular attractions like the Bradbury Building. I always like walking around LA because of the buildings and skyscrapers. You really get that big city feel when you visit downtown LA.
Grand Central Market
There are so many different vendors here, you could spend the whole day and not be able to visit every merchant. I know I wanted to try all the different types of food because everything smelled really good. There are also a few bars. If we had more time, I would have loved to stop at the Golden Road Brewery booth (I’m a sucker for craft beer).
Since there is so much going on, it might be overwhelming at first. We just walked around when we got to the Grand Central Market looking at all the different booths.
If you are craving any type of cuisine or food, most likely you can get it at the market! There’s Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Filipino, and American, just to name a few.
Make sure you explore the whole market – there is also a grocery store. It’s a real market where you can buy authentic sauces or dishes from different ethnic backgrounds all in one place.
Once you’ve looked at all the vendors and you decided where you want to eat, you can sit inside or outside – there are a lot of seating areas.
The outside seating area is a great way to relax and enjoy the sun especially if the weather is being nice too. There is also a downstairs! This place is so big that we didn’t get a chance to explore that area but it had additional seating with tables. Very important because it can be hard to find a seat when it’s busy.
I really enjoyed the big neon sign at one of the far walls. However, since this is a walk way, I had to wait quite a bit to get a picture without anyone in it.
If you’re looking for a quick (if it’s not a busy hour) bite to eat or just want a different array of options, this is a good spot to check out if you’re not in a hurry. Scope out the food spots, relax and hang out. Make sure to go with at least one other person to help reserve seating if you must have a seat. Otherwise you might end up looking for a seat with your food for awhile.
