River Street Marketplace — Attraction in San Juan Capistrano

What an absolutely delightful plaza! I’m still amazed that this gem was hidden away, we stumbled upon it almost by accident. From the outside, it just looks like a charming barn, and you can’t even hear the music. But once you step inside, with all the food spots and the lovely courtyard, it feels like a whole different world opens up before you.

This is truly a place worth visiting: whether you’re going for brunch with a friend, having a quiet meal with your parents, or grabbing lunch with kids (there’s even a great landscaped lawn for them to play on). It works perfectly for any occasion.

Inside the plaza, the food options are wonderful: definitely not your typical fast food. Here are some food options:

Pastalia: a spot where you can try all sorts of pasta (prepared fresh right in front of you!) and pizzas.

The Sushi Stand: fun little bites, including their delicious onigiri - you might want to grab two instead of 4.

Kozan Boba & Tea House: absolutely fantastic and flavorful boba drinks.

Plus, there’s Mexican and Californian cuisine to choose from as well.

If you walk a bit further inside, you’ll find two sit-down restaurants with outdoor terraces, one of them even featuring live music.

There’s also a tempting ice cream shop that smells of freshly baked waffles, a flower shop, a surf-style clothing boutique, and a couple of cowboy-inspired stores with everything from shirts and jackets to boots and bags.

All in all, I was incredibly impressed with this place. I wish there were more cozy urban spaces like this one. Between the shady outdoor seating, two pretty fountains, and the vibrant atmosphere, it’s simply beautiful. Parking is available too, though you might need a little patience to...

UPDATE: Its mostly open now and its amazing. So many families and kids playing around. The shops are beautiful and restaurants and bars are very nice. Just a beautiful place to hang out anytime during the week. The only small negative is parking once again was not considered like many places in OC and theres not enough spaces for people to just drive in and enjoy. Cars are circling around waiting to get a place to park, that is frustrating. However get here early and you wont have an issue. Photos added.

Original: I cant wait for this place to open!!! They did a modern barn retail design. It has large glass windows and a very sleek look. Its going to be a mixed-use area where people can hangout, shop, enjoy, chill and kids can play. Its long overdue and we are happy its coming to fruition. The San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point and San Clemente communities dont have much stuff to do other than the beach (which is of course nice!) but people would love to enjoy multiple types of outdoor enjoyment and activities so we are thankful to the city and all the builders that made this...

Great for a day trip or to stop along the way from between upper OC/LA to San Diego. This area was already super cute before the RSM opened up, but even moreso now with this addition of plenty eateries. Very family friendly. We didn’t make reservations and there were some private events, so ended up eating at Mendocino and enjoyed Ice Cream at McConnell’s afterwards.

Parking was the only challenging part. We arrived around 11am and it was already packed on a Saturday/3-day wknd. The RSM lot and public lots were all full, so we decided to valet, which was $12. This was worth it to avoid circling the lots, hangry children and possibly running ppl over. 1 star off for that.

We didn’t do the petting zoo, but I did notice an open playground in the public parking area. My kids (3yo and 5yo) were tired from just walking around and enjoyed seeing the train pass. Could def take the train in also to avoid the parking situation....