Marketplace Café at Nordstrom — Restaurant in Brea

Delicious food and amazing staff! (LOCATED ON 3RD FLOOR of Nordstorm's) I have always loved Nordstorm's Marketplace Cafes, but I haven't lived close to one in years, so this was our first and second visit to this location. Now, this is located within Nordstorm, so of course parking at any of Nordstorm's parking lots would be an easy way to reach this restaurant.

Our first visit was on Mother's Day, and while it was a bit busy, I didn't think it was overly crowded. Our youngest is autistic and can be a little too active and loud, so we asked to sit outside so that we could relax and not have to worry about him accidentally interrupting others' Mother's Day meals. There was no one outside, so it was like we had our own private room. The atmosphere was amazing, both inside the cafe and out on the terrace. It is mostly quiet with maybe a medium conversation noise level. Even outside is nice, warm, and quiet. To order, you generally view the menu and pay for the meal before you are seated, so most of the wait is done before you even sit down. This can be a plus for families with energetic kiddos!

The food was delicious! As it always has been... My only complaint is that they no longer offer the Chicken Tomato Alfredo (over 10+ years ago, but I am still upset about it, lol). However, I did find a new pasta dish that I love! Everyone enjoyed it here, and I loved all the healthy options on the kids' menu. Nice full plates with healthy and delicious food options that even my picky eaters loved!

Our second trip was a few days later. We were staying at the nearby Embassy Suites, so I wanted to try to visit at least once more before we left the area. It was the same amazing experience, but this time, it was just the Hubby and me, and we had our meal indoors.

Overall, this is a great place to have a delicious and relaxing meal with...

Nordstrom’s is my favorite place to shop and eat because the service is unbeatable. I don’t typically come to Brea often but i have come this direction a few times these past few weeks. My grandma loves the Clam Chowder. The last time I visited didn’t sit well with me. I dined in and ended up coming back after shopping to get some soup Togo. My server Sabrina while dining in was amazing. Only dine in complaint is that a guy was vacuuming while we were eating. The entire restaurant and close to all the tables. The rest of the staff not so much. Very much not the Nordstrom culture or vibe. As I was doing a Togo order the staff behind the counter was extra on their socializing about their personal lives. Which made it hard to place my order with the cashier. Another employee wearing two pigtail braids was eating a slice of cake behind the register as another employee was ringing people up. Yes I got to see her take a few bites, while i was waiting for my order. The order was ready and waiting on a counter without letting me know. I got up and asked a guy hey is this mine and went to show him my receipt and he was like you can check. I grabbed my order and left. To get home and my desert was a missing that i paid for. I called the store and got my money back from the “manager” of the cafe. I don’t remember her name because she wasn’t pleasant like the rest of the team. I explained to her about the employee eating and all she said was I’ll speak with her. No apology or Nordstrom feel of that this will be taken care of. I will return to this location because of coarse Nordstrom has amazing food. Especially their soups. I just won’t have any expectations...

Every time I eat here I'm like how do they not have a Michelin star. I had the French dip and the bf had the mushroom ravioli, the frech dip would 100% be my last meal and the bf said this is the best italian dish he has ever had beside a italian place he went to in Dubai. The magic bar made me roll my eyes and get mad at how good it was. I asked the server to heat it up a lil and I couldn't eat more then a few bites because, like you know, I was full of the best french dip on planet earth... the service was excellent. The girl working the register and some of the other register people had a bit of a attitude but like, I get it we were not cute as we had just come from a camping trip. All to say, eat here and you will never be...