Nicole’s Market & Cafe

Great little French deli and wine bar in South Pasadena. We stopped here for wine and cheese during the Thursday night Farmers market. Very relaxing and enjoyable in the patio. The guy behind the counter (who is actually French!) recommend a nice red blend for us and some cheese to try. Average prices for wine. They have a good looking dessert and pastry bar along with a good selection of paninis and other deli type food. Nice spot if you are looking for a patio with wine!

We had lunch here and it was nothing too exciting. Service was very slow and the food was mundane. We got a goat cheese salad and it was very small, soaked in oil, and the only goat cheese must have been melted on the bread. The kicker was that it was without flavor and definitely was not was we expected for the price. Our tab was $ 50 for lunch and we were quite underwhelmed.
It was very busy and a lot of people took away baked goods, so maybe it is worth it for the right things, but a salad and small sandwich were not those things.

We stopped in for brunch on saturday.
Glass of champagne, Croque Monsieur, Pan Bagnat. Delicious.
Wife smiled all day! Had the other half of the Croque for breakfast the next day.
Quite a treat…

Love this place, reminds me of my days in Paris…

Delicious food that is always incredibly fresh! Favorites are the salmon on brioche for weekend brunch, grilled eggplant panini on five-​year bread, and the toasted goat cheese salad with side of hearts of palm.

This place feels and smells like France! I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years because they have the best French food/​cooking products in town… The cheese selection is amazing! They have fresh bread and desserts every day. Nicole and her staff and nice totally too. And the outdoor seating area is a win on a nice spring or summer day! They even serve beer, wine and champagne (great to accompany a Cheese plate)!

You must try this place, words won’t do it justice! Been coming. Here since 2004 back when I went to SPHS.

I not only Iook for the best cocktail, but also the best coffee
So here I only got an espresso, it was perfect, smooth, me bitterness. I will be back.

Pâté sandwich and smoked duck salad were simple but delicious. Smoked duck was cooked perfectly. The green pepper pâté was yummy and baguette was a little chewy. I wish it was just a bit toasted. Kir Royal was refreshing. It’s champagne with berry syrup. Service was a little slow.

This place is perfect if you’re looking for a French, low key, no frills café. The sandwiches range between $ 7 – 12. Personal favorites include the caprese (perfect on a hot summer day) and the pâté sandwiche.
Tip: If you’re sitting outside, you have to go inside to order and get water!

The address for this place is really the French restaurant, Bistro de la Gare. So, don’t enter at 921 Meridian, but around the corner on El Centro. Even the waiter at the bistro didn’t realize that Nicole’s was the neighboring business. That’s how impressive the storefront is.
When I walked in, I realized that I had been here before about five years ago before I started Unilocaling. That’s not a good sign. Not only for my memory, but also for the business.
Based on the cheese and exterior of the baking chocolates, the market appears to have low turnover. The cheese selection was nicely varied and good stuff, but there was nothing I haven’t seen before. That was the case with most of the market which had high-​end yet commonly found products (particularly for those who visit the Epicure Imports warehouse sale).

One of the best (if a little pricy) places to just sit and enjoy a good sandwich or soup. Everything I’ve had here is great but I particularly love the smoked salmon sandwich and the crème brûlée — the flavor changes daily. The lemonades are also delicious.
The take-​home frozen boxes of pastries also work wonderfully. Sadly I had to call in because the frozen mini croissant variety pack didn’t come with directions. No problem — bake at 375 degree with egg wash. Just as delicious and fresh and crumbly as in the store. Amazing!

This is a cute little french place for brunch! The moment I walked in smelled the fresh bread and cheese and they instantly elevated my appetite. I went with my aunt and she got the Croque Monsieur and I got the smoked salmon omelette. The croque monsieur was just a basic bread with ham and melted cheese on top. But this basic dish is absolutely delicious. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that are most unexpectedly good! The smoked salmon omelette was pretty impressive as well. The reason I got it is because there is goat cheese in it and it sure didn’t disappoint me. I thought I needed ketchup for my omelette (I’ve been to too many American brunch places!) but the flavors and tastes from the salmon and the goat cheese was perfect with the eggs and did not require anymore condiments. After finishing our plates, we ended up sharing one chocolate croissant, vanilla berries crème brûlée, and mini lemon tart (we both love sweets!). And again we finished everything coz they were all delicious and we left with filled stomach and happy smiles on our faces. It’s a really nice place to just come and chill and hang out with friends in a sophisticated way. The seatings outside of the restaurant are just like those in Europe and the view of the quiet Pasadena streets is definitely something you don’t want to miss.

i found a shard of glass in the pâté my wife and i bought here. we were eating it at home and i noticed something hard as i was chewing. i pulled the object out of my mouth, it was glass that was about ¼″ and extremely sharp.
I immediately called nicole’s. an employee answered and i had told her what happened. she was of no help so i asked to talk to the manager, she said that was nicole, but she was pretty busy. i paused and reiterated i just found glass in my food that i had bought from them and never in my life has this ever happened. she reluctantly went to get nicole. after a couple minutes, the employee came back on the phone and told me nicole was very busy with their bastille day celebration and that i could bring it in for a refund if i wished. busy, bastille day, the owner not even caring. this is crazy for a small business owner to do to a customer who just had a found and nearly ingested a shard of glass found in their food.
we’re very done with nicole’s.

I’ll tell you a secret. I think Nicole’s Market is the best parisian café in Southern California. Love the pâté. Love the sandwiches. Love how it’s like a neighborhood market with indoor and outdoor sitting. If you love the low key neighborly French style of eating, you have to visit this place.
Famous for: French café foods.

Came here with a friend for their DESSERTS only around noon.
Server was welcoming and very thorough with his explanation of the dessert.
Crème brûlée (⁵⁄₅):
Sweetened to perfection. The crunchy sugar part is made right after you order. Creamy. Even my friend who doesn’t like crème brûlée loved this.
Pear tart (⁴⁄₅):
A little on the sweet side! Almond sauce on the bottom was a little too strong in flavor that covered up the aroma of the pear
Hot chocolate (⁵⁄₅):
OMG i love this. With some foam on top, their hot chocolate is not too sweet at all. Creamy and rich, but not overwhelmingly heavy. You should definitely check it out.

We tried to buy raclette cheese today, like we’ve done many times before, but a man named Frank refused to do it for us. He said that it’d be too dangerous for him to use the slicing machine, which is absurd as we’ve never run into this issue here before! He tried to sell us the cheese as a chunk, which is practically useless for the raclette grill we’re using for dinner. We ended up finding raclette cheese for a cheaper price at Whole Foods in Pasadena.
When I called later in the afternoon to inquire as to what happened, the manager Theresa was very sweet on the phone and said that she was aware of what happened this morning. She assured me that all of the staff has been trained as to what to do and even offered to meet me after she got off with the cheese (which I declined as we were able to purchase the cheese elsewhere)! Although I greatly appreciate the gesture, I will be going to Whole Foods for the raclette cheese due to the price and assurance that I won’t be wasting my time while running errands.

I’ve been driving by this little gem for awhile now and finally decided to stop and try it out. It was an overcast day so I decided on the soup of the day, it was just right and totally different from other soups I’ve had. Be prepared to pay high prices because this place isn’t cheap, but you will end up with some quality food.

Highly recommended ! They have the most delicious sandwiches and cheeses that you will ever try! I recommend the red sangria and the sandwich with boiled egg !

We stopped in here for dinner last week after a trip to the South Pas Farmer’s Market (5-​stars easily).
I had the croque monsieur with split pea soup, and my wife had the French shepard’s pie with salad.
Now, mind you, I am not an expert on French food, but that croque monsieur was really, really good. And the shepard’s pie was decadent.
The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because it is a bit pricey for the amount of food you get, but I am certainly not denying the QUALITY of food that you get.
4.5 stars.

As my husband and I were walking the dog one Sunday morning, we saw a flurry of activity at this place and decided to head over (its next door to the Bistro). Imagine my delight, walking in and finding a French gourmet market. What? This corner of South Pasadena makes you feel like you are in a little European town. Nicole’s is now one of my favorite weekend morning spots.
Parking: There is free street parking.
Staff: Very friendly.
Seating: I prefer sitting inside because its too much sun for my lily white skin. Inside décor is cute, but I wish it was more open (windows/​air flow).
I love having the ability to purchase items for wine/​dinner parties.
Market items I’ve purchased:
good selection of Pâté
Great selection of cheeses
French wines-​I usually purchase a bottle of Sancerre
Restaurant items I’ve tried:
Ham, Egg, Gruyère Cheese on Croissant-​very good
Smoke Salmon Omelette-​very good
Nicoise Salad-​very good
Toasted Goat Cheese Salad-​very good
Drinks:
Sangria-​my husband really likes their sangria
I usually stick to a good french white wine.
Will definitely be back.

Love this little café around the corner from Bistro de la Gare!
I was hungry for lunch after coming out of an appointment at South Pas Optometric, and asked Unilocal where I should go. I lived in Pasadena 91 106 for three years and have always loved South Pas, but I never noticed this place before. What a shame, because it is fabulous.
Rows of racks of imported biscuits, chocolates and other confectionery along with coolers full of different cheese and olives. Takeaway for a lovely meal to be sure, but I decided to peruse the menu and have a seat in the dining room. Amongst several salads and sandwiches listed the smoked salmon and goat cheese on pumpernickel jumped out at me, with an added side of salad greens and an iced coffee to round the meal out.
The bread was sour and soft (yum), and all the ingredients were fresh. Tart goat cheese slathered with thin-​sliced red onion, capers and greens on top of thick chunks of savory salmon created a nice crunchy/​chewy texture combination. The iced coffee was strong and tasted fresh, not needing sugar or cream.
I really wanted to try a pastry or a dessert of some sort, but the place was busy and the woman at the register a bit cranky/​impatient, so I opted out of that. Speaking of the woman at the register, as I was waiting in line to order, I checked in here and a Unilocal coupon popped up that offered a free side with any sandwich. When I showed it to her she said that I could not use it because it had expired in December. Well, if you know it’s expired since December, maybe you could take it down? Or maybe honor it instead of being snippy with a new customer who was up until this point pleasantly charmed by your business?
Mildly rude staff abiding, five stars for having great food, ambiance and people watching in South Pasadena (at pretty reasonable prices).