Windmill Food Hall — Restaurant in Carlsbad

We came to the Windmill on a Tuesday night and we had 5 in our party. We all are at different places. Had a Mediterranean dish. Can't go wrong with that. She loved it. She had Thai tea. That was very good.

Ate beef broccoli from Secret Sauce Wok and said it was really good. He had a strawberry mango (I think) drink that was supposedly great.

Ate from the Mexican food place. She got loaded nachos and said they were so good! She also had the strawberry drink and loved it.

Had a Banh mi and fries. The sandwich was meh. Not a lot of pickled veggies, and it didn't taste like the tofu was marinated. The french fries....those were perfection. Crispy! He just had a can of Coke.

I had a vegan bbq sandwich with choice of side. The Mac n cheese had very little cheese flavor. Really, it tasted like cooked noodles while someone whispered "cheese" next to the pot. The bbq was ok. Nothing to write home about. Little dry. I will not be spending $13 or whatever for that burger. I too had the yummy Thai tea!

There's a bar that was popular and seemed to have comfy chairs. There's also a patio with fake grass and corn hole.

Seating might become an issue. There is a cute little "library" in the back and a bigger area with tables squished together. Perhaps that's there for big parties? They even have little picnic tables for kids.

Go check it out. It's a good place to go when you know everyone in your party eats something different. If it's busy, beware of a busy...

Super disappointed with this place. Let me preface by saying the lady that worked here was very nice and helpful, but the food was AWFUL. And very expensive...not the best combination. We went for the Sunday buffet and I urge anyone who wants to try this to reconsider. It is $30 per person first of all, so you would expect this to be a rather decent buffet. Barely any options (the pictures of the buffet are false advertisement because they don't have half the stuff they advertised) It was cafeteria food at best, which might not even be fair to say because my high school's cafeteria had WAY better food than this. I think they may have just bought a bunch of stuff from Food for Less and dumped it into metal trays. The orange juice was 80% water and 20% juice. Not an exaggeration. It was orange in color but tasted like water with a faint hint of orange. You're really going to cheap out on the only beverage option (besides gas station tier coffee)? Sunny D would have been a major upgrade. I wouldn't visit this buffet again if it was $10 per person..or heck, even free. This didn't come anywhere close to Denny's quality with a worse atmosphere and double the cost. I fully understand now why we were the only patrons for...

New review -I’ve always wanted to take my mom to visit this Windmill food hall. While food halls aren’t usually known for amazing dishes, the architecture and interior design here are stunning, and there’s a good variety to try.

We ordered a burrata thin-crust pizza, and it was surprisingly delicious—just as good as a nice Italian restaurant! The arugula and pesto combo was perfect, and the crust was spot on. Highly recommend!

We also tried Thai chicken noodles and Vietnamese spring rolls, which were just okay. Cocktails were decent but nothing special.

The atmosphere, though, is fantastic—very family-friendly with lots of kids enjoying the space. A lovely spot to spend a weekend and stroll by the beach afterward! Previous review - We’ve been here a few times. The first time was when here just opened not long during pandemic, there were only several food options. My favorite was Cross Street Chicken sandwich, while it’s still one of my favorites. I also loved the Secret Sauce Chinese food. The Pad Thai is nice too! I remember the BBQ place is not very impressive. And the watermelon salad was bland…. But it’s a so fun place to visit, especially if...