In House

This was no doubt one of the smallest «Nordstrom Cafes» or this case, the «In House» Café located just outside but attached to the Nordstrom department store. They open up earlier than the shopping mall does, well at least the businesses, so it’s a good place to come and hang out and have a beverage and snack while you wait and already beat the crowds in the parking lot.
I did just that and ordered a pomegranate iced tea and a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. The tea was great because they did not add any artificial sugars and simply relied on the natural sweetness of the pomegranate juice which tasted great. The tea had a pronounce pomegranate flavor and a ever so slight sweetness. I usually only drink unsweetened teas, but this one, won me over.
The peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie was a little slice of heaven for me, given I am a big fan of those two main ingredients. The peanut butter flavor was great and the cookie itself had a bit of a crust and was moist throughout. The semi sweet chocolate chips were quite the large chunks and soft morsels filled with a mildly sweet chocolate. It was almost the perfect cookie!
The girls running the House were great. one in particular took the time to explain the items they offer and how they made the pomegranate tea. Great little place indeed.

Every time that I’m shopping in the UTC mall I went to Nordstrom house coffee. I really like the people who works here! They doing the best coffee! And they so kind and nice. The coffee house is always clean!

Perfect day for coffee! Celebrating my daughters Birthday. Staff and drinks were perfect. Nice patio areas to eat & drink. My favorite mall in San Diego.

In House has better quality, service, and cookies than Starbucks.
Nordstrom’s company expectations are set very high. If they’re not better in service and quality than everyone else they’ve failed. So when they designed «In House» they knew it was going toe to toe against the self proclaimed top coffee shop, Starbucks. In House had to be better.
I was at UTC and just needed something quick to take back to the office. I’ve see In House before, but never ventured inside until today. When you first walk in you see the grab-​and-​go sandwiches and salads. I looked through their case and saw a nice looking Cobb salad. It cost 7.25 which is high, but only 30cents more than Starbucks. I ordered a ginger peach iced tea (unsweetened thankfully). The tea was really good, much better than any Starbucks iced tea offering. The cobb salad had romaine lettuce and chicken that wasn’t chewy. The blue cheese was nice and strong. Bacon was thick cut. The salad didn’t need any dressing actually, the favors alone were enough for me.
Regrettably, I didn’t fall into temptation and buy one of their cookies this time, which were also better looking than their Starbucks counterpart.
— This is a coffee shop, no pizza or hot meals here. Only grab and go items.
— Craving a cookie? come here
— Iced Teas are recommend. In fact, I want those jokers at Roy’s Waterfront to come here and see what real Iced Tea tastes like. Bitter Lipton tea is NOT a nice, cool, and refreshing beverage!

I know IN HOUSE is the official name, but there should be Nordstrom somewhere in the name.
Anywho, even though being a Gold level Starbucks member [side note: who isn’t…I’m not boasting since it ain’t nothing to boast about… almost like «my kid showed up to school today so I got this bumper sticker”], I always forgo my star accrual when I’m working in the UTC area and make a beeline to the Nordstrom Café, for 3 simple reasons:
1. Better coffee. The Americanos are hands down better. Other beverages are also delicious (Mexican mocha, e.g.)
2. Better pastries, snacks, sandwiches, food. I’m sorry, but Starbucks offerings are uninspired. Might as well be wrapped in cellophane since that’s how they taste (wait, some stuff is wrapped in cellophane!). Nordstrom In House Café pastries are always fresh, flaky and better priced than *$
3. Employees — they are welcoming and efficient. It probably helps that the place isn’t super busy since it is off the beaten path (not at the food court and outside Nordy’s 2^nd floor).
Beverage prices are comparable to any competitor but this place beats out on quality, for sure. I will forever be IN da HOUSE when I am in the area.
Forgo your star accrual and give this place a try, you’ll love it!

Kicked my expensive $ 10 a day Starbucks habit when I discovered there was something WAY better & half the price!
I always get an iced coffee with soy & extra extra white chocolate mocha to make it sweet! It comes out to about $ 2.60. It’s better than Starbucks & costs less than half what that drink would cost me there. I also always get the everything bagel double toasted… yum!!! Staff is always friendly & nice & always makes sure that you leave completely satisfied! I’ve also fallen in love with their mango smoothie, their raspberry lemonade, & their HUGE $ 2 cookies! They also have a nice selection of chips that I snag from time to time!
They know me by now & I love coming here for my morning fixes!
See ya later Starbucks!!!

This place has really good coffee, and Nordstrom service. Great little place to grab coffee when you’re in the UTC area.

From the moment you walk into the café you can tell it is kept up very nicely. The floors are always clean, the shelves are always stocked, and smiles are always worn. They seem to make all the food the day of and all is very fresh. Much different than frozen food at Starbucks. The coffee is very strong and amazing.
I have heard stories about Starbucks purposely burning their coffee to make the same cup every time. I don’t know how true this is but I believe something is different. Try out the same cup you get at Starbucks here and notice the difference. Love this place.

The best in the business, a café with class and good attitude. This place is the best, everything Nordstrom does, they do it right. First time every time. I love there coffee and fresh pastries. I wish they stay open late. Thanks to all there employees, for a job well done. Ciao

Great spot. Friendly people. Perfect for someone wanting a little privacy in this crowded place.

Great place to stop while shopping. They have a nice little selection of pre-​made salads and sandwiches. I had a tuna sandwich and it was really delicious and fresh.

I love this place! It’s waaaay better than Charbucks. I come here every so often on the way to the beach. I see some familiar faces working here, and they are super.
I always get the cold brew iced coffee, which is almost always perfection. One day when it wasn’t up to par, I told the barista: he took a sip and was like, «You’re right!» And then offered me an americano.
Very clean, lovely ambiance … leave it to Nordstrom.
p. s. Don’t leave without getting an organic peanut butter chocolate chip cookie (or gluten free chocolate-​chocolate chip). And some Voodoo Zapp’s!

You desparately need an iced tea and to sit down after a long day of shopping. Nordstorm café is your place if you are shopping at UTC.
Patries, gourmet coffee, and people watching! Friendly staffs too!

I can’t say enough about the excellent customer service I received from the Nordstrom’s In House Café team, especially Matt. I am currently undergoing chemo therapy. I took a short trip to San Diego because I was finally having a good week and the change of scenery is always nice. I purchased an amazing (and quite expensive) eye mask at UTC and I accidentally left the shopping bag with the eye mask in it on the café table after we picked up our delicious green tea smoothie (favorite!). I didn’t realize I had forgotten the purchase until I got arrived home to Orange County. I called the café the next morning. They had my shopping bag on hold and offered to send it directly to our house. They were more than accommodating and made the whole experience completely stress-​free.
It’s the little acts of kindness that make one’s day a little brighter. I love Nordstrom and have been a patron for many years. Their customer service is consistently excellent. Thank you again to the team at In House Café and Nordstrom at UTC for all your help. I’m getting the rest and healing that is much needed at this time. Will be back as soon as my treatments are done!

I was very pleased to find the café open early. The service was so quick & everyone so friendly & chipper so early in the work day.
I also loved the protein snack I was able to find & tuck away for later.
By far the best foam on my latte I’ve had in years!

Not exactly inside Nordy’s or in an obvious spot, but the view outside is interesting to say the least.
Had the spiced chai latte. It didn’t taste any different from your local Starbucks, unfortunately. Had it served in a large white cup. No foam art whatsoever, so I’m guessing it’s either only done on request or the barista was lazy. However, their drinks come out quickly and its not as crowded either.
Service leaves more to be desired — the barista could’ve even give us a proper recommendation (I guess she doesn’t even have a favorite drink?) and she seemed really out of it.

This is one of my go-​to spots for lunch. I work in Sorrento Valley and it’s just one quick freeway exit away. Also, it’s very rarely crowded, and perfect on cold days for something hot to drink.
They offer a bakery with the usual bagels/​scones/​cookies/​other coffee shop fare, and also premade sandwiches, salads, and a few other food items like fresh fruit cups, a «protein plate», and lately they’ve also had edamame. They almost always offer cobb salads, tuna salad sandwiches, chicken caesar wraps, and turkey sandwiches amid other offerings. They also have some of the Nordstrom house dressings, which I haven’t tried.
I usually get a cobb salad with the Newman’s Own Light Italian dressing or a Chicken Caesar Wrap. The tuna salad is pretty good, and lately they’ve had it in a bowl with veggies and boiled eggs. I suggest steering clear of the protein plate because the crackers used in the plate are very high in calories!
Their drinks are really, really good– much better than Starbucks or any other local coffee shop I’ve been to. Lately I’ve been loving the red tea latte. I just tried the almond roca latte yesterday and it was really delicious, and surprisingly low in calories. (The stats can be found via Nordstrom’s website.)
I definitely suggest you give this place a try!

The staff here all seem pretty pleasant, which is a nice change from other cafes (Ahem, STARBUCKS, ahem)
For some reason they have five drinks listed under espresso drinks (like mocha, caramel, cookies and cream) on the menu that don’t actually include espresso. I ordered the mint chocolate chip and it tasted more like a shake than anything else, so I asked and she said nope, no espresso in it. Hmm.
The salads look good but seem kinda pricey. I’d like to try one one day though.
I wish they had more seating, but what can you do.
It’s fun to watch all the fufu people coming in and out of Nordstrom’s.

Ix-​nay on the Afy-​cay.
This isn’t a café, it’s a slice of an aisle in the middle of a giant outdoor mall. You can’t plug in or sit down and read a book.
This is more the place you come to grab a cup of coffee in between Hollisters and that store that sells trendy flip-​flops.

What does it mean when the best coffee shop in the UTC area is attached to the Nordies in the neighborhood mall? It mean you can forget about ambiance.
While this spot does suffer from a sterile location and atmosphere, the beverages and grub served here are actually really tasty. I came here on a whim while doing my errands (on foot) and found myself walking towards the pedestrian bridge going over La Jolla Village Dr. I was thirsty and sugar-​deprived, and Nordstrom Café sounded like it just might hit the spot. I had a basic chai, which was served promptly, and it was warm and delicious. While I was waiting for the beverage, I smelled all kinds of delicious things wafting my way, and the soup seemed especially appealing. (That’s on my to-​try list for next time, perhaps when I find more disposable income to spend on soup.)
Nice work, Nordies! I’m impressed!