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17 years ago

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Westfield UTC

Westfield UTC

3.4(901 reviews)
0.0 mi•University City
•$$$
Established in 1977
Luxury

Every time I come down to San Diego to visit my daughter, I usually stop by Westfield UTC. I really…read morelike this place because it's clean, nice, and there are a lot of food options, so we can just walk around, relax, do a little shopping, and eat all in one area. There are a few restaurants here that I personally like, especially Din Tai Fung and Haidilao. There's also Starbucks and plenty of other spots depending on what you're in the mood for. The whole area just has a comfortable vibe to it compared to a lot of other malls. Parking has honestly never been too difficult for me either. Even when it gets busy, I can usually still find a spot without too much trouble.

Apocalyptically awful parking lot!…read more This parking lot is a chaotic, soul-crushing labyrinth that may very well be the single worst design I've encountered in my 79 long, well-traveled years on this planet. Upon entering, you're handed a cheerful little ticket promising a free first hour--how generous! What they don't tell you is that you'll spend roughly two-thirds of that hour trapped in a slow-moving purgatory just trying to escape. You've got about 20 blissful minutes to enjoy yourself before trying to join the line of cars that moves slower than a sloth on melatonin. I genuinely cannot tell if the exit gates are malfunctioning, cursed, or if the drivers ahead of me were participating in some sort of cognitive endurance experiment. Multiple cars took a baffling 4-5 minutes each at the gate--an interaction that should take about 10 seconds unless you're attempting to solve a Rubik's cube while blindfolded. By the time I escaped, I had aged another decade. I will absolutely never return to this parking lot. Bring a helicopter. Hope this helps.

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Westfield UTC
Westfield UTC
Westfield UTC

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UCSD Bookstore - UCSD Bookstore at Price Center West

UCSD Bookstore

3.1(55 reviews)
1.6 mi
•$$

Both of my parents are retirees of UCSD, so I like to visit the UCSD BOOKSTORE when I'm in town. To…read moremy knowledge, they've never purchased merch or received any swag during their years of service. Just an employee badge or lab coat. So, now that I am a current, remote employee, I like to pick things up for the fam...and for me! ;-) There's quite a huge selection of clothing, hats, pennants, and coffee ware. For my dad, I picked up a dad hat, which he wears often. For my mom, a hoodie and a tote. Not only are the designs cute, prices are reasonable, and are of good quality materials. I recently completed an employee survey and scored a free mini tote, similar to the ones at Trader Joe's! After my shopping spree, I like to head outdoors to lay in the hammocks near the fountain. Very therapeutic!! My heart will always belong to SD! Stay classy San Diego!!

Such a fun store! Not only do they carry nearly everything you can think of emblazoned with the…read moreTritan name (their mascot), the store also carries a vast selection of things from computers, clothing, study aids for everything from 101 classes to medical school, really fun and eclectic stationary items, and also a superb selection of books, both academic and general, including children's, graphic novels, best sellers, more. If you have the inclination, you could easily while away an entire afternoon (or even a day!) just looking at the books. There are nearby eateries, should your blood sugar start to wane.

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UCSD Bookstore
UCSD Bookstore - UCSD Bookstore!

UCSD Bookstore!

UCSD Bookstore - UCSD Pennant's

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UCSD Pennant's

Red Brontosaurus - Old store stuff

Red Brontosaurus

3.5(2 reviews)
1.7 mi
•$

Went to go check this place out with a friend because according to Yelp it's a "Record Store"…read more All I can say is WTF Yelp? While this is certainly a unique and interesting little spot, there's virtually zero reason to visit here unless you live on the UC San Diego campus. Finding parking anywhere at the school is a real B, and it gets pricey very quickly if you have to purchase an hourly pass. As far as "records" are concerned, they do have a handful of vinyl here, however, seeing as how I was looking for CDs (I don't have the six figure salary seemingly required to collect decent quality vinyl these days) the aforementioned sonic dinner plates are likely the basis of Yelp's inaccurate recommendation, and lemme tell ya, the vinyl selection was nothing to write home about. What Red Brontasaurus TRULY is (I know, it should be obvious based on the name, right?!) is a GENERAL STORE for students who live ON CAMPUS. Great place to go if you're looking for scantrons, blue-books, pencils, random dry foods which can be stored/cooked in a dorm room, etc. But wait! Don't think this place is just for squares to gather study supplies. No, they also sell old video games (which I guess would qualify for vintage by now?) for the Original Xbox, Playstation 2, Playstation 1, Gameboy Color, and a few cartridges for older consoles (if I recall correctly). There's also a random Sega Dreamcast controller if you're in the market for one of those. There was additionally an offering of used DVDs which were at a great price (don't recall exactly but it was somewhere around 3 DVDs for $5) and some extremely random dorm-room decor. There are comic books too, but they're overpriced so don't even bother. Oh yeah, and they also sell graffiti artist quality spray-paint. I'm not joking. This business is a student-run co-op, so it's pretty difficult to describe. It certainly defies expectation, and I find it ironic that there are marijuana references on the pricing signs all over the store, seeing as how most of the items for sale were likely pawned off on them by students who've run out of weed money. When I went to check out, I just kind of stood there awkwardly for several minutes waiting to be noticed, as two students behind the counter just kind of tangentially ranted to each other a la "Omg, college!" "Omg, I know rite? Hashtag!" Funnily enough, the only person (of THREE) behind the counter who acknowledged me was some dude so far towards the wall that I figured he was one of the other two's friends just loitering around. I guess I can't blame them though, I mean if I was a teenager running my own business and there was zero chance of failure, I'd probably just hang out and do nothing too. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a coooool spot maaaaan. It just doesn't offer much value to outsiders besides a through-the-looking-glass view of what it would be like if Peter Pan's Posse ran a junk shop nicknamed "The G-Spot" (You think I'm joking about the name too, don't you).

Place is great if you are looking for old school video game systems/games. They also sell records,…read moreDVDs and other stuff. Staff is nice and friendly and are willing to help you out however they can. This is one of my favorite spots to visit from time to time for classic PS1 or SNES collectables.

Pop Mart

Pop Mart

2.6(83 reviews)
0.1 mi•University City
•$$
Luxury
Walk-ins welcome

This store is dangerously dangerous! In the last two weeks, I lost count of how many times I've…read morebeen to the store. It's insanely addictive! Help that the staff are very pleasant and friendly. They are very welcoming when I'm there. Probably got me all happy and spent more than I should. Hijhihi When I couldn't find what I'm looking for, I simply ask a staff and I got help from the whole team. IThis is my experience on Jan 10th, 2026. Thank you team!! I'm looking forward to going back soon. :D

Called on the phone to confirm that they had certain figurines in stock, which they did…read more The lady on the phone failed to mention that the store works off a capacity process so if too many people are in store, you're stuck outside waiting in line as if this is Gucci, Chanel, or Hermes. I wasn't aware of this so I drove a good 30 minutes down to the store in UTC just to be stopped at the front door saying there was a "line" which was quite ample to which I promptly left disappointed without the figurine I was hoping to get as a gift. Looking inside it didn't really seem that busy so it was definitely staffing issue related. Not sure why we're still working off of capacities in the big 26, either hire more workers or expand the size of your business if it cannot allow that many people to enter at one time. Won't waste my time coming back here until something changes.

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Pop Mart
Pop Mart
Pop Mart - Dimoo

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Dimoo

STUDS - Added a lil one. Thanks, JAMIE

STUDS

4.5(77 reviews)
0.0 mi•University City

I'm shocked how this place more than exceeded my expectations! I did not expect much for a place…read morelocated at the mall. Don't get it twisted though! This ain't no Claire's! I went in just to get some jewelry and came out w/ a piercing! I wanted to change out my forward helix jewelry for a piercing I had recently done at a "reputable" tattoo/ piercing shop. I was unhappy how concealed this piercing was and thought just a change of jewelry might make me like it more. The piercer came out and spoke to me. She even made sure she had gloves on before examining my piercing to see if it was in any condition to change out the jewelry. She let me know she wanted to give me her honest opinion that the piercing was done in a very awkward area. I agreed w/ her since this did not look like a forward helix I've ever seen before. It was not really towards the front but more tucked away in a spot where u couldn't really see it and in a position that kept catching my hair. Well Liv (was her name) pierced me w/ a fresh forward helix piercing that I'm in love with and the jewelry is so cute! I was also shocked how much more reasonable their prices were compared to a tattoo/ piercing shop. They don't nickel and dime u either for the post or flat back like other places that charged me and never disclosed this in their pricing. She also changed out a couple of my other piercings for free since I paid for the piercing service. I just want to go on and on how amazing this place is and how top notch the service is starting w/ the associate at the counter. So glad I came here on a whim. My new piercing spot! Used to go to, rhymes w/ "Blabsolute," in the clairemont mesa area, but no more. This is a legit piercing spot that does several different cartilage piercings and they have a whole slew of jewelry at different price points. They even carry 14k. If you are thinking about getting a piercing done don't hesitate to check Studs out!

Went to Studs yesterday, the store is very cute and my piercer, Jamie, was so sweet and did an…read moreamazing job! I will be going back.

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STUDS
STUDS
STUDS

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Squishable

Squishable

3.3(16 reviews)
0.1 mi•University City
•$$

I was walking around at the Westfield University Town Center (UTC). I came across a shop named…read moreSquishable. I love Squishmallow so when I saw Squishable, I had to walk right in to see what soft and fluffy plushies that they have in stock. At first, I thought they sold Squishmallow. They look very similar, but actually they are not the same. Two different brands. Their designs are different. Their plushies are indeed cute and soft. However, I didn't see any to my liking for me to buy one. They have lots of different selections. They also have themed plushies. They had a few baskets that contained plushies on sale... buy 1 get 1 50% off. The prices were a tad higher IMHO. If I saw a really cute one or two, I probably would have still bought them, but none resonated with me unfortunately. The lady working here was very friendly and helpful. I asked her if they had any frogs. She showed me a few. There was one that looked okay, but it didn't match the frog that my eldest daughter currently has. I wanted to buy her a smaller version of it. Oh well... the search continues. If you're into cute and soft plushies, Squishable may have what you're looking for. Come on by and check them out!

Came here many times as my little yelper is a collector. Haha not sure if that's a good or bad…read morething. We have many of these characters hanging around our home from the gaming room to bedrooms and hallways. Love the set up, mainly all in what looks like ikea Kallax cubbies which make it easy to find what you want. Very well organized and set up Similar to squidhmallows but better I'd say as it has a larger selection and characters that appeal to boys and not just girls. Each time we've been here it's been a good shopping experience from selection to the staff. Love that there's air purifiers too specially considering everything is plush inside (think allergies!) Price wise be ready to drop some bucks because these aren't cheap. But they're also well made! Super plush and soft!

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Squishable
Squishable
Squishable

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Crown Books - media - Updated May 2026

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