Asheville has a remarkable array of international markets, especially when you consider our city’s size and location.
Whether you’re crafting an exorbitant seven-course Chinese Thanksgiving dinner, looking to broaden your culinary horizons, or searching for an ingredient that tastes like home — we hope this guide to international markets helps you map out a delicious meal.
African + Caribbean
Kente Kitchen Market, Virtual
Find extraordinary West African flavors, including sauces made from okra, palm butter, and palava from this e-commerce grocery service.
Wadadli Dessert Oasis, Virtual
Find specialty, vegan + plant-based items like wild harvested sea moss, mushroom patties, island chai tea, and hot pepper sauce.
Asian
Radha Indian Grocers, 813 Patton Ave.
Find piles and piles of spices, ghee, and rice, along with plenty of pre-packaged curry, chutney, samosas, and other fun flavors to feast on.
Foreign Affairs Oriental Market, 611A Tunnel Rd.
This cozy shop is Asheville’s oldest Asian market and it has all the essentials, from dumpling wrappers and hefty bags of rice to a bright array of candies + snacks.
Kim’s Oriental Foods & Gifts, 5 Regent Park Blvd. #110
A go-to spot for fresh veggies, frozen buns, sushi rolls + other pantry items.
Lee’s Asian Market, 1950 Hendersonville Rd. Suite 7
Find a grand selection of miso, chili crisp, and other cooking oils + sauces, plus fresh veggies like baby bok choy.
YZ Asian Market, 22 New Leicester Hwy.
There’s no lack of choice at this labyrinth of a marketplace, which includes walls and walls of pantry goods and spices, fresh fish on ice, a live tank of crab + lobster, and a colossal frozen food section.
Latinx/Hispanic
Taqueria Muñoz, 1438 Patton Ave.
Come for the best tacos in town (yeah, we said it) — and while you’re there, explore the attached tienda which is brimming with fresh mangos, avocados, papayas + stacks of Latin American pantry goods and spices.
Tienda los Nenes, 1341 Parkwood Ave. Suite 110
This spot has it all: a butchery, a salsa bar, specialty spices, and gorgeous, towering shelves of freshly baked pastries.
Tienda Hispania La Catrachita, 791 Haywood Rd.
Tamaleria y Tortilleria Molina, 809 Patton Ave.
Middle Eastern
Gypsy Queen Cuisine, 807 Patton Ave.
This Lebanese eatery and small grocer has scratchmade pastries, honeyed nuts, pomegranate molasses, Lebanese cheese, fresh pita + beyond.
European
European Market #10, 9 Brian Blvd., Arden
Cuisine from 25+ countries, including Armenia, Austria, Italy, Ukraine + Latvia, are represented at this recently opened marketplace.
Euromarket, 1341 Parkwood Ave.
Find cold cuts, European cheeses, specialty chocolate, teas, smoked fish, red + black caviar, and beyond.
European Food Store, 1483 Patton Ave. B
A small but formidably-stocked pantry of freshly sliced cured meats, dumplings, pickles, and bread.