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.