Nordstrom Cafe has to be one of the best-kept non-secrets at South Coast Plaza.
If you’ve never been there, I’m sure you’re wondering what the big deal is. If you have stood in line to eat there, well then, you know.
Fortunately, the line moves fairly quickly. You grab a tray, then order at the proper counter for your pasta, sandwich, pizza, soup or fresh-tossed salad.
A beverage station is self-serve. As my lunch companion, blogger Eva Kilgore, noted, there are orange and lemon slices to freshen your water. It’s those little touches that makes Nordstrom Cafe stand out.
Plus, the service is superb. Unlike most places with counter service, the folks who bring the food to your table will come back and check on you. Did you want extra parmesan cheese or a drink refill? They’ll take care of it.
And there’s an outside seating area in case you want some fresh air or maybe feel a little weird about dining inside a department store.
But let’s talk about the food.
My go-to sandwich is the California Panini ($8.95), which is roasted turkey, bacon, avocado, tomato, swiss cheese and garlic aioli on crisp country bread. It’s served with potato chips.
The panini is just the right size with the right balance of ingredients. It doesn’t get too messy nor scrape the roof of your mouth.
Eva went with the Chicken Tomato Alfredo ($9.50). The penne is topped with roasted chicken, spinach, parmesan cheese and roasted tomato alfredo sauce.
“It’s very light and creamy with a nice addition of spinach,” Eva said.
It might have needed a side of garlic bread, but you have to order that separately.
At the end of the meal, the servers bring you Ovation chocolate mints. Like I said, the little touches.
Since the service is unusually attentive, I like to leave a couple dollars as a tip.
Nordstrom Cafe costs a little more than other casual lunch spots, but you definitely get what you pay for and it’s arguably the best bang for your buck.
It’s open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Its entire menu, including breakfast, is served all day.
More from the South Coast Plaza blog:
- Restaurant Review: Lawry’s Carvery
- Restaurant Review: Champagne French Bakery Cafe
- Restaurant review: Z’Tejas
- Restaurant review: Quattro Caffe
- Restaurant review: Vie de France
- Restaurant review: Boudin SF
- SCP restaurants open for Thanksgiving
For more on South Coast Plaza, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.
I love this place. My only fear is that now it will be even more crowded than it is. I love the selection…for a quick serve place they have a lot of food to choose from. I think the ambiance, for an inexpensive place, is nice. In warmer weather you can sit out on the patio. The service is SUPERB. Even when I am only getting a beverage I make it a point to leave a tip. Good service is rare in today’s world, and it should be rewarded.
It seems to me that some patrons don’t leave a tip, which I find annoying.
I recommend the salmon with grilled vegetables. It’s quite tasty. Also, get a glass of white wine if you’re having the salmon.
I’ve been to this Nordstrom cafe numerous times, I have yet to have a waiter/waitress bring the chocolate mints! They sell them at the register, but never have I had a complimentary one. At the other Nordstroms around the OC they have a totally different menu. There is no grilled salmon etc. This SCP Nordies also charges MORE for your food and gives you less. They don’t give you a side salad with your sandwich over here, but other Nordies do.
So it’s not the same and I find it kind of fake with this rave review of this best kept secret thing. She obviously told them who she was to receive special treatment.
I agree about the tips. When I eat at Panera Bread in Orange, which has great food and not so great service, I don’t leave a tip for the sullen, sloppy kid who drops off my lunch with a grunt and never returns.
But at Nordstrom I always leave a couple of dollars for the friendly, crisply attired server who drops off my food with a smile, asks if I need a refill on my beverage that is supposed to be self-serve, then checks back with me for anything else, before returning a third time with mints and a warm thank you.
Bravo Nordstrom Cafe! This isn’t rocket science here, but somehow your competitors don’t get the service angle like you do!
I didn’t tell them who I was, and I’ve eaten there several times. Each time was genuinely a positive experience.
I got mints at Brea Mall last time I ate at the Nordies Cafe there. And I didn’t have to tell them who I was to get them, either.
I can attest that we were incognito. Just very good food, good service,
and good company!
The tomato soup is GREAT. I crave that stuff on a regular basis. Also the mushroom ravioli and their angel hair pasta is great.
Wonderful cafe with great food. I also tip because the waiter brings your food to you as well as is “at your service” when you need him. A great experience!
I love Nordy’s Cafe! The ovation mints are the best. I always get the pizza which is delicious and a relatively good value.
good eats… portion’s a bit small for $9.50 though. but high quality food, and that’s roughly the going rate for a lunch entree at South Coast
lol @ Troy