The Market at Santa Monica Place

If you’ve been to the Anaheim Packing District, then the Market is very similar to that concept: an indoor swap meet for merchandise and food. But, a bit more high class, and definitely leaning towards the hipster side of things.
It’s located on the highest level of the mall, on the north-​east side. Super-​clean, but there’s only around a dozen stores in this part of the mall. I think all are food-​related in some way, whether it’s wine, cheeses, chocolate, oils, etc. The concept is cool, but it’s not something you can feasibly go to every day. Maybe once a week, but more like once a month.
It’s kind of cool to walk past the shops and see what they have to offer. But the prices are high, even for Santa Monica. Not too much foot traffic, either, so at least you won’t need to worry about any crowds

Cute place for lunch in Santa Monica. It was ok. Food was good but portions were small for the price. Service was good. View was nice. It was just ok overall. I recommend it for a casual meal.

This place is neat, it’s almost like an indoor farmers market with cheese shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors and such. I walked through here on a Saturday shopping day with my daughter, we were looking for a new exciting place to venture out to. I only wish I would have bought some cheese but my day was just starting. Nevertheless, walk through, check it out, it’s located right outside of Bloomingdales on the third floor.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this place existed here for many years and I only recently visited it.
It is tucked in the corner at the top floor and for some reason, I never noticed and went straight into Blue Stove at Nordstrom for food while shopping at the Third Street Promenade.
From a cooking school, fresh baked bread, cheese shop, third-​wave coffee shop, excellent macarons, truffles, vegan restaurant, gelataria, and a farm-​to-​table restaurant, this is a food lovers paradise.
Highly recommended for nerdy food lovers and adventurers.

This place is really cool! It has a wide variety of great quality shops, and everyone was friendly. Chocolates, pastries, fresh bread, cooking classes and other cool shops to check out in one of the cleanest markets I have been to. Everything seems to be one of a kind and freshly made with fresh ingrediants.

We stopped in here after dinner to grab a coffee and some chocolate for dessert. It was close to 8:00 pm so it seemed like some of the places were getting ready to shut down. Lots of different, gourmet shops you can pick up some nibbles at. There was some open seating as well — we sat at a big table with a glass top, filled with coffee beans — seems a waste of beans though…

Love it

Great place to get away from the crowds and enjoy some tasty treats, be they macaroons at Chocolate Opulence or some gelato or coffee from some of the other vendors, it’s awesome for a snack. There are a couple of places to get meals too so we’ll have to come back to try them.

Not impressed. If you been to markets in san fran, chicago or other big cities this might disappoint you. Very bare bones. Concepts are pretty much run of the mill but local concepts but are better at the grove’s farmer market or santa monica’s farmer market. Chef Mathew Kenney’s raw kitchen has a meatless raw vegan menu which looks quite exciting but I didn’t try it. It is the anchor in the Market area. It is cool that it has a culinary school attached to it which uses its kitchen. People are very friendly but the market vibe nor big selection you would expect are here. Even a wild oats or trader joes would have more «market» type choices and shopping value. Good concept but half baked with not enough ingredients to keep one’s interest.

This place definitely has potential. It was designed by the group behind the Ferry Building in San Francisco, and you can for sure sense that vibe.
When it first opened, this place was totally dead. I’ve come back here several times, and I’ve seen several restaurants/​shops close and new ones open. But I think that’s all part of the process, and this place will definitely pick it up!
In the Market, you can get Groundworks coffee, check out some bread bakeries, get some macarons to go with your coffee, and there are a couple of restaurants and fun little shops inside.
I think this place is one or two more stores away from being a prominent fixture at the Santa Monica Place

I keep coming back to see if anything’s changed, and while it does from time to time it’s hard to say if it’s for the better. There’s not many people up there, even when Third Street Promenade is packed. It’s a great idea — the gourmet shops are decent enough — but it just doesn’t seem like a place you want to see and be seen. And let’s face it, that’s what successful LA establishments are all about. Oh, and the escalators are obviously positioned to drive pedestrian traffic past the shops on the way to the top floor, where The Market is located. Unfortunately, I think this ultimately reduces the number of people who are even aware The Market exists.
Friendly suggestion: put some advertising on the ground floor for those potential patrons who have walked the length of the Third Street Promenade, have discovered «Santa Monica Place» and are wondering what I did, «What the heck is this?»

The Market at Santa Monica place is going through a bit of a transition. Their key players on the far end, Venokado – Wine and gifts; Groundworks-​coffee shop; Curious Palate and the Gourmandise Cooking School seem to be doing well which some notable spots such as Rockenwagner are gone :-(
I hope the market will attract some more eclectic and interesting purveyors and bring folks in!

It’s a pretty new place. There are different stores, mainly coffee or ice cream for snacks. But things here are quite expensive comparably.
But there is a cooking class which looks very interesting.

Nice to see this place finally open! There’s a gelato stand, coffee, sandwiches, etc.
A few of the places weren’t open yet though.
It looks good but it’s a little too small. They should make their food court area (get rid of all the food over there) the market.

This is definitely an artisan market. The décor is beautiful dark wood and features some amazing shops.
Get coffee, ice cream, cookies, French macarons and chocolate, baked goods, pasta dishes that your family shares — looked like people were having a family dinner at home, cheeses and meats, etc.
Sit down, use the wi-​fi, and watch others cook and bake.
I love the food and the vibe.

Been in here a couple times now. It’s cute… it’s no Ferry Building but it’s cute.
There’s an ice-​cream sandwich place but I’m apprehensive to try it after having the most delicious ice-​cream sandwiches at Cream in Berkeley, CA for only $ 2. These are pricier and there’s no way their cookies are warm… is there?
I reaaaaally want to try a cooking class at the adorable Gourmandise School, and will soon give the N’ice Cream Gelato a whirl. I’ll review them once I do but for places I’ve tried:
I bought some adorable gifts at Venokado (It’s mostly wine but I got an amazing soap there as well as the softest little onesies for a friend who’s having a baby), and had Macarons from L’Artisan du Chocolat… a french chocolatier. Next time I’ll try their chocolates.
All in all, it’s a cute little Market to kill some time, do some snacking, or grab some sweets after eating in one of the nearby restaurants.

It’s about time something like this came to Santa Monica! As others have mentioned, it’s slightly reminiscent of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, though it’s obviously much newer so I think it still needs some time to curate all of its vendors and add more. Right now it looks a teeny bit empty and still very new, as if the paint is still drying on the walls.
However, I love what they’re going for here and I can definitely see it getting even better over time if people know about it and start frequenting it. I love the idea of little independent vendors setting up shop around a huge space, so it feels like you’re in a fancy European market. My favorites are N’ice cream, one of the best parts of Abbot Kinney, Groundwork coffee, and L’Artisan du Chocolat with their little mini chocolate art pieces and their macarons. I’d love to try one of the classes at the Gourmandise space one of these days, too!
It’s a much quieter and more mature vibe I’d say than the rest of the mall or even the rest of the Promenade, which is always prone to making me feel a little crazy. It’s a nice place to take a break and feel like you’re not quite in a mall for a couple of seconds as you enjoy your salted caramel treat from N’ice cream!

I FINALLY visited the Market at Santa Monica Place last night after wanting to go since they opened. Love the concept of the place! I think it would be such a great place to walk through for a casual date, they have a cheese bar, artisanal chocolates, baked goods, ice-​cream, and a great sandwich shop! ANDDD the gourmandisse cooking classes are held there too! Oh man, I really want to try one of those!
I will definitely frequent this place now I know what goodies they’ve got!

I was pleasantly surprised!!! I wasn’t expecting much, as i had seen some previous meh feelings on this place. It’s not quite Ferry Building, but it is reminiscent of it. The rows of artisanal shops– you can find gourmet chocolates, cheese/​salumi/​wine, gelato, cookies, icecream sammies, coffee, pastries… You can even find MACARONs at L’artisan du Chocolate. (i had a sample, and they were pretty light and yummy)
The main reason i finally came here, was to check out Cast Iron Gourmet which was doing a pop up showing here for the weekend.
In the little corner by the entrance, they also had a couple of other pop up shops to check out as well. Which i think is a cool idea to have rotating vendors. Overall, I think it’s a great addition to Santa Monica Place!

I’ve been waiting so long for The Market to open that I wish I could give them a better rating. Unfortunately, it ain’t no Ferry Building. Nor is it Faneuil Hall. It has the prices to match but not the quality of the food, sad to say. I’m willing to overlook any problems in service, given that they just opened. And hopefully they’ll be able to bring in more (and better) vendors over time. I have to caveat this review by saying that we didn’t sample everyone’s wares, so I’m sure there will be repeat visits to test out the rest. Here’s the lowdown on our haul:
Beachy Cream: We had the Ginger Wipeout ice cream sandwich. I must say the flavors were quite good, but it was one of the smallest ice cream sandwiches I’ve had in a while and it cost $ 5, which seemed way too expensive for what it was (and I’m all about paying for quality). Candied ginger ice cream sandwiched in between two dark molasses cookies. The style was reminiscent of Diddy Riese but with homemade organic ice cream, the flavors were more aligned with Milk. Good but not worth it. They would also do better to serve it in a cup like Diddy Riese — instead, they hand it over in plastic wrap that is difficult to open and as you eat it, the ice cream is constantly getting pushed out to the edges and you worry about losing part of your sandwich on the floor.
L’Artisan du Chocolat: Exciting flavors (mango wasabi, anyone?), but far from among the best chocolates I’ve ever had. You would be much better off heading to Jin Patisserie on Abbot Kinney for smooth, delicious chocolates with intense flavors.
Rockenwagner Bakery: Pretzel bread was pretty good, though it didn’t rock my world. I really want to come back sometime and try one of their souffles, though.
As you enter The Market, there are a few tables set up to the right where some non-​permanent vendors were offering samples and selling their food. We bought a $ 16 salami from one of them that was pretty good but very salty and nowhere near the quality of Boccalone (in the Ferry Building).
The real win was from a vendor called Le Bön Garçon — they were handing out samples of their macadamia nut caramels. What can I say — they had me at first bite. Smooth! Delicious! Melt in your mouth! (practically). We bought a 2-​oz bag of assorted caramels for $ 5 (in this case, pricey but worth it) and had the mango-​passionfruit caramel last night — sooo good. I really hope they set up permanent shop at The Market.
All in all, great concept, beautiful stores, but most of the food is not living up to the promise. We’ll be back, though.