Marketplace Café

Great service! Came in a couple months ago and was disappointed. Was given a couple complimentary meal cards (huge surprise!) so we finally came back and I am so glad I did. Great food, awesome servers, happy workers and dessert I’m coming back for. We had carrot cake and a white chocolate cheesecake I’m telling everyone about. I’d come back just for that. Thank you Marketplace Café for the lunch, I’d choose them before the food court upstairs.

Came here with my husband to eat before shopping and ordered the oriental chicken salad and my husband ordered the shrimp pasta. Was given a dirty unwrapped, chewed on straw (so gross) with my drink. My husband was served a shrimp salad and I told the server it was the wrong order but she insisted it was correct and left. Thank goodness you pay first and I had my receipt so I showed it to another server who brought us the shrimp pasta. The salad I ordered was a bit wilted but edible and the pasta was small. I did like that they list calories on the menu which we both keep track of. Probably won’t be back considering there are so many other options at 5^th ave.

The Marketplace Café in Nordstrom is one of those types of places that people tend to forget about when visiting the Anchorage 5^th Avenue Mall and perhaps engaging in some shopping. In fact I know I have been to be guilty of such a thing as well. After all its kind of hidden in the corner on the second floor next to the restrooms and most people when they think food think about venturing to the food court or one of the nearby restaurants outside of the mall.
Its existence actually crossed my mind when I decided to escape work yesterday for my lunch hour and indulge in a bit of gratuitous shopping. What people may not realize about the Nordstrom line of restaurants is that they are not all the same. In reality it depends on what location you are visiting. They have everything from fancier full service restaurants featuring fresh local ingredients to restaurants that offer tapas. In the Anchorage Nordstrom case we have the Marketplace Café. Which is a small sit down café offering a casual meal to include soups, salads, sandwiches and other specialties. You place your order at the counter and then you will be greeted by a server a bit afterwards who will take a look at your order and bring it to you when it is ready. Yes folks, normal table service!
One of the Nordstrom locations I last visited with a market café had a great grilled pesto chicken sandwich that I was hoping the Anchorage location did. They did in fact and that is what I offered as my lunch. Your choice is either a fresh spring salad or chips. I was craving something salty so chose the chips. But have had the salad as a side before and it was fabulous.
I arrived relatively early in the lunch hour and there was one person in front of me picking up a bunch of to go orders. So it did take a bit of time for me to get my order placed. But when I did the process flowed smoothly The Marketplace Cafes also happen to be known for their scrumptious desserts and they certainly looked good yesterday. Over the years I have had their various pasta dishes they offer as well as their salads. I see they offer pizza as well now. After I placed my order I was told it would be about 10 – 15 minutes. I just took the time to go and pick my table and start reading the news on my iPhone.
The server came over shortly thereafter and introduced herself and brought out my beverage. My 10 – 15 minutes did turn out to be 20 minutes in fact but I wasn’t in a big hurry. The pesto chicken sandwich includes sliced chicken, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, provolone cheese and pesto aioli on a country bread and was as good as I remember it. I also enjoyed the fact that the café was not bustling and there was a bit of quiet down time.
If you happen to be shopping at Nordstrom and want a bit of a different meal from your typical mall food, you might consider giving The Market Café a chance. I’m glad I did.

I’m torn on my review. Usually they’re so quick but since The holiday season I’m starting to think they have a new staff that doesn’t know how to quicken the pace and nobody will bother to check back with me. I have an hour long lunch and even when it’s slow it’s taken that entire hour for them to get something as simple as a cup of soup out to me. I’m better off grabbing something from the espresso bar.

Always fabulous though often extremely busy at lunch time. The food is great and service excellent.

20 minutes for someone to grab the piece of chocolate cake in the cake display refrigerator at the entrance. Great service… not.
Honestly, I think I celebrated 3 birthdays waiting for service.

Good food and great service. However, there never enough seats and a line to order. Suggestion to others… One person order and the other scope out a table and hold it hostage.

Service is pretty good, and food is TOP NOTCH. So my all time favorite is the Tortilla Soup, but the soup is changed daily so you can’t plan to go and order it — just have to get lucky. The tomato soup is great also, and you get little breads or something to dip in it which is really good.
The foccacia bread is really good and I’m a big fan of the tuna sandwich. I’ve eaten here at least 8 times in the last year and never had a bad meal. {though I will admit sometimes they do serve wilted lettuce, just send it back, no biggie.} The soup/​sandwich combos are about the right size to leave you hungry for a cookie soon after the meal — which is perfect, since I like their cookies also.
The lemonade is really a treat I can’t resist! I agree with other reviewers — leave a tip. Those waiters work really hard and are very nice.

So disappointing that not all Nordstrom Cafes are the same. The Sacramento Nordstrom Café seriously feels like fine dining! The service and food here is not on that same level. The food for starters was pretty bland. Nothing really made it pop. The tomato basil soup tasted off. That’s one of my fave items on the Nordstrom Café menu too. The sandwiches didn’t taste very fresh either. The bread was pretty nasty. I had to just pull everything out the sandwich to discard the bread. I really wished all their cafes were held accountable at the same level of greatness.

i always loved this place but their quality has taken a dramitic dive! the salads are wilted and they raised their prices. im very disappointed with the lack of consisitancy

This Café is located on the 2^nd floor on Nordstrom. It is smaller, but very cozy. You place the order with the cashier, pay and be seated. A server comes to you, takes your ticket and brings your drink and water right away. I have been here about 12 times now over the years. Everything is always very good. I have never had a bad meal here. The wait staff is very good and you should always leave them a tip. I have noticed that people do not.
I always enjoy the peacefulness of it all and the very good really fresh food. Prices are very good for Alaska as well.