Café Bistro

Food was great! Had the Warm Chinese Chicken Salad. Everyone was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Will be back! A healthier option to the chain restaurants found at the mall.

This is my favorite place to eat at Southpoint. I am obsessed with the olive aioli that comes with the fries. The chicken and goat cheese panini can be a bit on the greasy side, but in a delicious way.
Service is order at the counter but then you have a server who confirms your order, brings/​refills drinks, etc. Bring cash, because if you want to tip our server that’s the only way. Sometimes service can be a miss — last time we are we got ZERO drink refills, but it our server was busy the whole time, so it seemed like they could have benefited from another staff member. The bring you a chocolate mint at the end of the meal, which I appreciate.

Always a good option to eat here if you’re looking for a break from shopping. Southpoint can get especially busy, so this is a great option if you’re looking for something that’s not too crowded, generally quiet, tasty and healthy food, and quick service. You order at the counter and then are seated and served your food, so you still get a dining out experience, but it’s much quicker than a sit down restaurant which is good if you want to get back to shopping.
The food is tasty here, but it is pricy for what you get which is my sole reason for the 3 stars. I always order the strawberry salad, which comes with chicken, candied nuts, and fruit. The strawberries and fruit are always fresh whether it’s in season or not. The dressing is tasty too. However, for the price of it the salad isn’t that big and the chicken is okay but not very flavorful. They do sometimes give chocolate mints with your check that are a very good treat at the end of the meal!
I would overall recommend this place to eat while shopping at the mall. It is definitely a healthier option than the food court, just be prepared to spend a little more money.

I look forward to coming here every time I come home to visit my family. Their fries are really crispy, shoestring fries seasoned to perfection. I usually get the citrus turkey sandwich which has actual turkey, not deli meat, with this super delicious chutney that I wish they sold in a jar. It’s a wonderful little café getaway in the mall that I hope doesn’t become too popular. Carla is the best waitress and we ask for her every time we eat there. Love this place.

Café Club Sandwich was delicious! No doubt I would get this again. Crunchy fresh bread with just the right amount of sauce. Meat was tender and the lettuce crisp. In and out… NOM NOM.

I’ve been eating here for years, use to be my favorite, would have given it 4 stars, however with the current staff I rarely visit. The staff in the department store are quite amenable, yet in the bistro is not up to par. There is one ray of light in of the bistro serving staff, Thomas, an excellent waiter, polite and ready to please. If the management upgrades their servers with more like Thomas, I would make this bistro my regular once again.
With this said the food is usually tasty. However, they changed the menu early this year and removed some of my favorites like, salmon with gazpacho. The menu offers me less healthier options currently.

It’s probably not good for me to know that they serve food and wine at Nordstrom, but now I do so that’s that. I was always vaguely aware that there was a café somewhere in the store, but it’s tucked away on the north end of the second floor where I never go, so I had to seek it out. It actually makes a nice respite from the craziness of the food court and is a different option than the larger stand-​alone restaurants in the «streets» part of Streets at Southpoint.
You order at the registers right up front and then pick a seat – either at a short bar area in front of the cooking area or at one of the tables. (There’s a huge window on the back side, but it overlooks Macy’s and exit 276 on I-​40, so meh.) Then a server will bring your food to you. My first time there, I didn’t know how everything worked, so I’m not sure if you can add a tip when you pay at first or not. They close the ticket then, so I guess if you don’t happen to have cash, the server gets stiffed. I guess just be aware to ask about that up front or have a few bucks on you.
The menu has a selection of sandwiches, pizzas and salads in the $ 10-​$ 15 range, then some specialty dishes in the $ 18+ range. I got the grilled ham and cheese with bistro fries and it was very tasty, with nice quality cheese perfectly melted and thinly-​shaved ham on good bread. The fries came with a nice bistro-​style dipping sauce. They have a few wine and beer selections as well. My only criticism of the menu is that they don’t have any real options for lower-​calorie meals. The calorie count for each dish is printed on the menu and there are a few «Eek!“s on there. But overall, it’s a very civilized place to sit down and enjoy a fresh-​cooked lunch well-​served.

Nordstroms deserves some praise. Obviously attuned to the dining needs of their hungry shoppers, they asked themselves, «You know, why don’t we just put a Sizzler IN the store?» And the execution here is near flawless.
In fact, they’ve elevated the concept inside a comfy, modern eatery where diners can enjoy those familiar, mediocre flavors (albeit for a bit more). Protip: Don’t forget to ask for the AI to make the well-​done steak palatable! Unfortunately, service on this occasion didn’t quite meet the usual Sizzler standard we’re accustomed to, but I’m sure it’s a minor hiccup. If I had anything to truly complain about, it’s that in the transformation they had to remove the soft serve ice cream machine and the salad bar.

One of the best kept secrets. I haven’t had a single meal that wasn’t absolutely delicious. Try the French onion soup or nicoise salad. All of the sandwiches are perfectly crafted and you can even enjoy a glass of wine.

I completely agree about this place. The salads are delicious, Its a very kid friendly place and OMG… the fries and tapenade dip are incredible. I never liked olives before having that dip. I didn’t know I was eating olives. If I had known it was an olive dip, I wouldn’t have tried it, but now I can’t get enough of it. Yummmmm.

Well, I’m going to have to join the crowd on this one and give a really positive review. Tucked up in the 2^nd floor of Nordstrom (this isn’t the little coffee shop by the entrance on the first floor), it’s an upscale lunch spot. It’s priced like you shop at Nordstrom, with no entrees under $ 10, but it’s also very friendly table service after you order with a great décor and atmosphere, plus free Wifi if you’re lunch-​working (lurking? no, that can’t be right…). While pricey, everything was delicious, prepared very well, and the purple olive-​mayo-​dip thingy with the french fries was deliciously decadent. If you’re looking to impress someone for lunch and you’re in the mall, this is the place to go. I’ll be back as often as my wallet permits.
(Also, I was fine in casual attire, but felt under-​dressed compared to most patrons)

It’s a bit pricey but I love the Café Bistro at Nordstrom in Southpoint. Excellent service, delicious food, a menu with something for everyone, an open kitchen and a cozy, cool (as in temperature) environment to relax while shopping.
It was difficult to choose, the pizza looked fantastic, but I settled on the roasted chicken and goat cheese Panini with arugula and caramelized onions served with fries. The Panini was really good, but the Kalamata aioli that came with the fries was over the top. Overall it is a wonderful place to eat and get out of the buzz of the mall.

Yes, this place is hidden in Nordstrom, but it’s not as much of a secret as you might think. This place gets very full around lunch.
The steak w/​frites is a good bet, as well as the cilantro lime shrimp salad. You’ll eat well here.
I just am not a big fan of the concept: Order at the counter, with waiter service after the fact is a somewhat muddled implementation of what I like in a restaurant.
If I order at a counter, I am well capable of getting my own drink, along with refills.
The waitstaff seemed wholly unnecessary. I take that back. They did manage to break up the flow of my conversation.
The round dining room is uncomfortable to me, and it’s just not my thing. I don’t want a full view of everyone eating around me. Just no.
4* for food.
3* due to the fact that I just don’t care for it. I’m sure this is the height of class and elegance for some. It just doesn’t work for me.
3* for value.

Um yum! This place is awesome! Who knew such a delicious restaurant was hiding inside a department store in Durham?!
Now that Nordstrom has kind of become my second home, I eat here as much as I can. They have delicious pizzas, salads and sandwiches. They are flavorful and not super expensive. I think I could honestly eat here everyday. Everything I’ve tried has amazed me. It is just that good! I wish I had known about this place longer. I will now be taking full advantage of eating here as often as I can. May I suggest the roasted chicken and goat cheese panini? And the fries. I try not to eat fries in general but you can’t pass these ones up. They have truffle oil or rosemary or something devine on them! The olive aioli is even good! (and olives are the one thing in this world that I don’t like). If you stop by southpoint you have to come eat here.

Love this place… try the bread pudding! Oh to die for! And, I don’t even like bread pudding… until now.

Forget Starbucks, best place for coffee in the area. Downfall, it is inside the mall which means you have to decide… great coffee or your sanity.

Nordstrom’s Café Bistro is a hidden gem — and I mean hidden because I brought 2 friends here for lunch and they had no clue this place existed, despite having shopped here multiple times. A great escape for a long work lunch b/​c it feels extra special. It’s a small café on the 2^nd floor of Nordstrom where you check with the hostess for a table, then when one is available you go to the counter to order and pay. You are then seated and can patiently wait for your order in cozy booths and tables. They offer a nice selection of salads, sandwiches and pizzas. I’ve tried the shrimp salad with cilantro lime dressing, zesty turkey and the chicken panini with goat cheese. All very good. My only complaint is they have trouble seating parties with odd numbers. My party of 3 waited 30 minutes for a table, while groups of 2 arrived behind us and were seated right away. So, it may not be a spot if you have a fixed lunch hour, but if your time is flexible you’ll enjoy your meal at this café.

This place has great reviews on Unilocal,and my SO and I were looking for a place to eat that wasn’t fast food, but not terribly expensive. Nordstrom is a fairly classy place, so we were excited to go; however, the results were «plus minus». These are the things we tried:
Turkey cranberry sandwich: This was a pretty standard sandwich, nothing special. Personally, it didn’t have to be special in order to taste good, as the thanksgiving special in sandwich form never really gets old for me. That being said, the fries that came with it were delicious. I love when my fries are wonderfully topped with seasoning, garlic, salt, etc. They were shoestring and crispy, but not hard. And the olivey aoli? that it came with tasted good. Had to ask for ketchup, but I love ketchup.
Rustic vegetable pizza: This was a-​ok. It had sun-​dried tomatoes, that was the main flavor. It did have good melty cheese which was very good. Aside from the strong sun-​dried tomato flavor, I couldn’t seem to drink enough water while eating this pizza.
The standard sandwich, plus the a-​ok pizza made this place not as good as the other places that I’ve given four stars and you can’t give everywhere good reviews. I’m glad that I went, as I was nourished when I left; however, I don’t think I would return here or bring guests here.

I generally don’t like places where you order at the counter, but since I’ve seen so many good reviews I thought I’d give it a shot.
Atmosphere: OK. We sat at a tiny table along the wall in a line of tiny tables (because there was nowhere else to sit) so this meant having some strangers butt in your face when they sat down next to you or having the server’s butt in your face as they serviced the surrounding tables. I’d much rather have one of the tables in the center of the room but they were busy.
The Food: I had the Arugula and Steak Salad, my dining companion had the Chicken Caesar Salad. My salad could have been better if the steak was served warm. I was surprised to find that it was cold! My friend’s chicken was served warm. Was there a mistake in the kitchen? The Dijon and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing was delicious tho’, and my friend really enjoyed his salad.
The Service: I was a bit ticked off that the people who sat next to us got their food before we did when we’d been waiting for 10 minutes already before they even sat down. Other than that it was OK.
I’m not sure I’ll make any special effort to go back. As I mentioned earlier, I really don’t like the whole «order-​at-​the-​counter» thing. But who knows? If I happen to be there sometime and it doesn’t look too busy …

What an amazing surprise that awaited me when I went to an impromptu lunch today with a coworker friend! The service is phenomenal. The waitstaff is attentive and friendly, and let me just talk about the food…
I had a steak sandwich with melted gruyère cheese and shallots on super-​tasty foccacia bread. It was to die for. The fries that came with it were out-​of-​this-​world!
I’ll definitely be going back again. I might have to wait at least a week, though. I’m stuffed as it is!

Sometimes I go to Nordstrom’s just for the café…
Fun wine selection plus imaginative salads, sandwiches and light entrees. Often I use it as a little haven in the hustle and bustle of Southpoint. They keep it simple and they keep it good. When you need a decent glass of red wine and want some fantastic fries to enjoy with your wine, you can order a side of fries and savor your delicious fries and your sophisticated wine. Great for a business lunch, a girls’ get-​together or just because…

Nordstrom’s bistro does not disappoint with it’s elegant, dimmed-​lighting interior and beautiful, oval ornaments that hover on the ceiling.
My friend and I came here for dessert, ordering a Triple Berry Shortcake. Our waitress was impeccable, despite the fact that we only came in for dessert. She consistently checked on our table, ensuring that everything was to our liking. The shortcake was very light and flavorful, not overwhelmingly sweet. There were FRESH blackberries, strawberries and raspberries on the dessert, which I really appreciated.
Originally, I didn’t really think much of this place. The idea of a bistro inside a prestigious store like Nordstrom only reverts to typical and expensive gourmet food. I’m glad they proved me wrong because now I won’t have to resort to mushy/​greasy mall food when I get hungry while shopping! The bistro is actually very affordable and the food is of good quality. I definitely recommend trying this place out (beats anything you’d find in the food courts)!