Granada · Spain
San Agustín Market
A practical guide to Granada's San Agustín Market: hours, what to buy from the Sierra Nevada and the coast, how to order Trevélez ham and why the upstairs floor is a different thing.
It's a small, real market, not a spectacle. It's worth ten minutes downstairs to take home Trevélez ham and goat cheese from the sierra.
The San Agustín Market is Granada’s main food market: two floors behind the cathedral, on the site of a former Augustinian convent. Downstairs is the real market, with fish from Motril, butchers, Trevélez ham, Sierra Nevada cheeses and produce from the Vega. Upstairs, since 2014, is San Agustín Gourmet, a cluster of tapas counters.
Our experience
We got there at 14:05 on Thursday, May 21, coming from the Corral del Carbón. It was a shopping stop: Trevélez ham and Güéjar Sierra goat cheese for a snack at the hotel during the afternoon break. At that hour some stalls are already starting to pack up, so it pays to go straight to what you want. From there we walked to Pastelería López-Mezquita for piononos before it closed at 14:30. See our Alhambra day.
A bit of history
This was the site of the Convent of San Agustín, built between 1553 and 1593. Napoleon’s troops used it as a bread oven and warehouse from 1810 to 1812, the 1835 confiscation of church property took it from the order and in 1837 it was torn down. Street vendors set up on the empty lot. The covered market opened on May 28, 1881. That building was demolished in 1988 and the current one opened in 1998 on the same spot, with a parking garage underneath; during the work, Arab baths turned up on nearby Calle Mercaderes.
The honest take
It’s small and you can walk it in ten minutes. If you’re expecting something like Barcelona’s Boqueria or Madrid’s San Miguel, it will feel provincial. Its strength is regional products, not variety, and downstairs the shoppers are mostly locals.
What to see, in order
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The ham stalls
Trevélez ham, cured 17 to 24 months above 1,200 meters in the Sierra Nevada. Ask for 100 g "cortado fino": the slices should look almost translucent.
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The cheeses
Goat cheese from Güéjar Sierra, from goats that graze up to 2,200 meters, made with raw milk, rennet and salt.
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The fish counters
Fish bought daily at the Motril auction, 40 minutes away: anchovies, white shrimp and sea bream. Even if you don't buy, it's the best window into what Granada eats from the sea.
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Fruit and vegetables
In May, citrus from the Lecrín valley, cherimoyas from the Costa Tropical, loquats and the first stone fruit from the Vega.
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Oils and preserves
Extra-virgin olive oil from small producers in the province and green asparagus from Huétor-Tájar.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Prices are per kilo. 100 g is a tenth of that: a €280/kg ham comes to €28 per 100 g.
- If someone offers you "Trevélez" for much less than €180/kg, it's probably not PGI-protected Trevélez.
- Order in Spanish, "cien gramos," and check the price on the chalkboard. Some ham stalls have a more expensive English price.
- Ask "¿Puedo probar?" before picking anything up; some stalls offer tastes and others expect you to buy.
Do
- Go to the ham counter first if you arrive close to 14:00.
- Ask them to wrap it well if you'll eat it in a couple of hours. In May the ham keeps 3 or 4 hours without a fridge and the cheese 2 or 3.
- Bring a tote bag and some cash for small purchases.
Don’t
- Don't come on Sunday: the whole market is closed.
- Don't expect a free tapa upstairs at San Agustín Gourmet: boards there run €18 to €25. For Granada tapas, head to the bars in the center.
- Don't accept the "free" photo with the hanging ham at the entrance: afterward they ask for €5 to €10.
Frequently asked questions
What are the San Agustín Market's hours?
Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 15:00. Closed Sundays. The gourmet floor upstairs stays open into the evening.
What should you buy at the San Agustín Market?
Trevélez ham, Güéjar Sierra goat cheese, olive oil from the province and Huétor-Tájar asparagus.
Can you eat at the market?
Upstairs, at San Agustín Gourmet, there are tapas counters, but they cost more than the bars in the center and there's no free tapa. Downstairs is for shopping.
Is Bar Aliatar inside the market?
No. One of its locations is on Calle San Sebastián, about a four-minute walk away, and it has two more in the city.