Cheese and charcuterie in Palo Alto

A good cheese board is one of the easiest ways to feed a crowd in Palo Alto, whether for a dinner party, a Stanford game tailgate or a picnic in the park. The city does not have a standalone cheese shop in our verified directory. What it does have is a set of specialty grocers with serious cheese counters, a Spanish market with cured ham and a German-style sausage maker a few minutes south. Draeger's, a family-run gourmet grocer, is just over the line in Menlo Park.

This page groups those shops with a neutral description and a link to each directory listing where we have one. We checked every shop on its own website or in our verified directory in late October and early November 2026. Cheese selections change by the week, so call ahead if you want a specific wheel.

Cheese and charcuterie at a glance

Sigona's at Stanford Shopping Center

Sigona's Farmers Market is a family-owned produce and specialty food market that started in 1975 as an everyday farmers market. Its Palo Alto store sits on the Sand Hill Road side of Stanford Shopping Center, next to Pacific Catch. The market lists more than 250 artisan cheeses, the largest number we found at any shop in town. It also sells olive oils, balsamic vinegars, dried fruit, nuts, jams and craft beer and wine. That puts nearly everything for a board under one roof.

Sigona's online shop ships within the United States. It sells cheese and charcuterie gifts alongside dried fruit and olive oil sets. The store notes that online orders are processed on weekday mornings and that hand-packed gifts can take longer when ordered in large numbers. If you need a gift by a date in December, order early. Our Stanford Shopping Center guide covers parking.

El Merkat at Town & Country Village

El Merkat is the small Spanish market next to Telefèric Barcelona, the restaurant from a family that founded it near Barcelona in 1992. The restaurant calls it its adjacent market. It sells Spanish olive oils, Manchego and other cheeses, ibérico ham, conservas and paella kits. Foods and Wines from Spain, the Spanish trade promotion program, lists it as a certified colmado, the traditional word for a neighborhood grocery in Spain.

Conservas and a wedge of Manchego make a tapas spread with no cooking at all. Add bread, olives and almonds. Stock depends on shipments, so ask what arrived that week. The rest of the center, including Trader Joe's for crackers and flowers, is in our Town & Country Village guide.

Family grocers with cheese counters

• Piazza's Fine Foods: the family-run grocery in the Charleston Shopping Center, founded in 1979, lists a cheese department alongside its deli and butcher counter. The butchers make sausages in house and the deli makes sandwiches to order.
• The Market at Edgewood: the family-owned market at Edgewood Plaza lists cheese, including specialty cheeses from around the world. Its catering menu includes artisan platters if you would rather order a board ready-made.
• Trader Joe's: the Town & Country Village store is a budget-friendly stop for everyday cheeses, crackers, dried fruit and nuts.

Nearby: Draeger's and Dittmer's

Draeger's Market

Draeger's lists a combined deli and cheese department among its departments. The two stores closest to Palo Alto are at 1010 University Drive in Menlo Park and 342 First Street in Los Altos. The locations page gives a phone number for each store, which helps if you want a special order. Draeger's also has a wine department and sells gift baskets, so a host gift can come from one stop.

Dittmer's Gourmet Meats and Wurst-Haus

For cured and smoked meats with a German accent, Dittmer's at 4540 El Camino Real in Los Altos has made sausages, smoked meats and lunch meats in house since 1978. Its website lists 2026 state meat processor awards, including a grand champion for lamb merguez and a champion for pepper bacon. Hours changed on June 9, 2026. The shop is now closed Sunday and Monday, open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Building a cheese and charcuterie board

A balanced board mixes textures, milk types and flavors. Use this as a shopping list:

1. A soft cheese, such as a bloomy-rind cow's milk round or a fresh goat cheese.
2. A semi-firm cheese, such as Manchego from El Merkat or a mild alpine style.
3. A hard aged cheese, such as an aged Gouda or Parmigiano Reggiano.
4. A blue, for guests who like strong flavors.
5. Two or three meats, such as ibérico or prosciutto, a salami and a smoked sausage from Dittmer's.
6. Accompaniments: bread or crackers, olives, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, honey or jam and something pickled.

Take cheese out of the refrigerator about 30 to 60 minutes before serving so the flavor opens up. Slice hard cheeses ahead but leave soft ones whole with a knife beside them.

California cheeses to ask for

Northern California has a strong farmstead cheese tradition, much of it a couple of hours north of Palo Alto in Marin and Sonoma counties. Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company is known for its Original Blue, a creamy blue made on the coast near Tomales Bay. Marin and Sonoma dairies make bloomy-rind cheeses, fresh goat cheeses and aged jacks. Cheesemakers in the region also work with sheep's milk, so a California board can cover cow, goat and sheep cheeses without any imports.

Selections at each counter change, so ask the staff which local cheeses are in that week. A board that mixes one or two California cheeses with a Spanish Manchego and an Italian Parmigiano is a good way to compare styles. If you want to taste at the source, our Point Reyes day trip guide covers the drive north. The farm's website describes it as overlooking Tomales Bay. Visitors who would rather not drive can browse Sonoma and Marin food and wine tours.

Where to take your board

Palo Alto's parks make cheese and bread an easy outdoor lunch. Rinconada Park and Mitchell Park have big lawns. Foothills Nature Preserve has picnic tables under oaks. Our picnic spots guide lists the best places and the rules on reservations. Alcohol rules vary by park, so read the posted signs before you open a bottle.

Frequently asked questions