What a fun and gorgeous addition to SJC! We visited on a busy Saturday and parking is a challenge…read morebut we were able to find a spot after circling around for a bit. Love the open air feel and selection of shops, restaurants and bars. The huge lawn in the middle of the center is a gathering place for families and kids along with groups of all kinds. Lots of tables and chairs available for hanging out or bringing food purchased at the food hall which has some delicious selections. I love how this area seamlessly connects to the Los Rios Historic District and the train depot. You could hop on the train, take it to SJC and spend a couple of hours wandering around both, shopping, getting a meal and grabbing a few drinks. A perfect place for families, couples and friends to spend time together in the beautiful weather.

River Street Marketplace is a development and shopping area located in San Juan Capistrano. There…read moreis ample parking ($2/hour) but you can also take the train as the Metrolink station is right there. It reminds me of the SoCo plaza in Costa Mesa but it has a pretty common vibe where there are indoor shops, outdoor seating, play areas, and restaurants. This place in particular also has some old school charms like the River Street Ranch (a petting zoo) with modern boutique shops and a food hall. It's a place to hang out when it's nice outside and it's packed with people.

In the day and age of online shopping it is harder for the traditional brick and mortar malls to…read moresurvive. I see the effort that the company is making to draw more shoppers to visit the mall. They have been doing lots of improvements on the property and new tenants into the space. I've visited several new shops in the mall. Going to Round1 and Chagee to speak of a few new locations. They also hosted several community events to bring more traffic to the space.

There aren't many indoor malls in the OC area so I decided to check out The Shops. The mall is…read morehidden away from view from the Main Street but parking is relatively easy to find. The mall reminds me of the malls from the 80s except a lot more run down. It was fairly empty for a Saturday which is when I would expect to see the most people. A lot of nostalgic stores were there including a Spencers. There was a decent selection of stores from high end to normal. Majority of stores were on the normal side. The food court was a good size with a large selection. It is large and spacious with plenty of room to go mall walking on those really hot days!

A very calm and quieter outlet in the most southern part of the O.C. It's an outdoor outlet, with…read moreabout 100 or so shops. It's a great place to take a nice walk, while doing your shopping. Of all the stores I visited, the customer service was very chill or beachy, where no one really bothers you or try to sell you anything. Visitors and shops all seem pretty friendly. There's multiple parking lots in the area. You can also take the trolly to the outlets, if you're traveling by train. Only takes about 25 minutes if it's not too busy, or a full trolley ride. I didn't see much food choices here. but a few coffee shops. There's a noodle place that I saw that looked interesting. Maybe at my next visit.

The shops aren't too busy which is nice (expect for cars and coffee Sunday mornings from 8am-11am…read moreit's packed). The bathrooms are VERY nice and even have a lounge area! The trolly is sometimes delayed so don't relay too heavily on the timing estimate of 15-25 minutes but it's still worth waiting for if you want to head to the beach! I recommend parking in the back of the outlets for the parking is normally empty!

I walked here after getting off the trolley and it's a beautiful strip mall with 2 clothing…read moreboutiques, a market, Genkai sushi, the Monarch Beach market and a few other cool spots. It's close to both the Ritz Carlton and the Waldorf Astoria resort.

The service was low key and informative. The merchandise was hands on for kids and quality! It…read moresparked memories and imagination. So glad we stopped in.

Very beautiful, peaceful! Surrounded by Lake Mission Viejo! Mountains, and gorgeous homes. They…read morehave several stores, a gym and an Italian restaurant just to name a few. I will vvusut aguan soon andd check oUt more places a few more stores and will share my experience. S stay tuned!

Very nice shopping center here! The bagel bistro is nice for breakfast. In-N-Out is great for a…read morequick lunch. I like the nectar juice bar because they always have good healthy drinks to take in midday. They have a very nice fire pit outside that you can sit outside after dinner and eat your ice cream around a warm fireplace. In and out and bagel bistro have great value and you can get food for pretty cheap. The service is always great at all of the restaurants in the shopping center anytime I have been in. Great service.

Located in one of San Clemente's most affluent communities. This place has Carlsbad vives, in my…read moreopinion, which I love! Hopkins Real Estate Group, is the developer and I gotta say they did a great job! With 103,000-square-foot Talega Village Center opened on the fall of 2007. Ralphs Fresh Fare is the anchor store and has 46,000-square-foot. I love their layout and happy with the products they carry and large selection on pretty much a lot of stuff we use at home. The grounds are manicured and well taken care of. I love the mature landscaping and the overall feel of the area. There is a Peet's Coffee, Panera Bread just to name a few. Cool place to shop and dine!

These are four anticipatory stars, mind you. My nose would be pressed up against the glass if any…read moreof these places had windows yet, but check out this list of deliciousness soon to be in my very own nabe. Very VERY excited. I was terrified that they were going to put in a Claim Jumper or CPK but they have wisely chosen, in my opinion. Somewhat melancholy, our little SC is growing up...sniff. Maybe some high-end sushi will take the pain away. RESTAURANTS/FOOD First Class Pizza 821 Via Suerte, Unit 104 First Class Pizza is a regional chain with eight locations throughout Orange County. Devotees of First Class give the restaurant high marks for using the freshest ingredients and loading the pizza with toppings. First Class will offer dine-in, carry-out and delivery options. Juice It Up 821 Via Suerte, Unit 103 http://www.juiceitup.com JUICE IT UP!, Orange County's most popular juice and smoothie bar, with over 60 Southern California locations, is a healthy alternative to fast food, offering smoothies blended with delicious fruits including acai, the Brazilian fruit taking California's health conscious by storm. JUICE IT UP! also serves up fresh squeezed juices, organic coffee, hot teas and such delicious snacks as soups, stuffed breadsticks and pretzels. Maggie Moo's 821 Via Suerte, Unit 102 http://www.maggiemoos.com MaggieMoo's award-winning ice cream starts with the finest ingredients to make super premium ice cream fresh in the Treatery every day. Menu features freshly made super-premium ice creams, mix-ins, smoothies, sorbets, the country's first ice cream cupcakes and custom ice cream cakes. Panera Bread 802 Avenida Talega Unit 101 http://www.panerabread.com The specialty bread/bakery-cafe wide menu of offerings including sandwiches, soups served in bread bowls, and salads. A full array of cafe, signature and hot panini sandwiches are available at lunch, dinner and throughout the day, made to order on Panera's signature loaves and priced from $5.40 to $6.25. The bakery-cafe also offers ten varieties of bagels, pastries and sweets, plus specialty coffees and espresso drinks. Peet's Coffee & Tea 801 Avenida Talega, Unit 101 http://www.peets.com Founded in Berkeley, California in 1966, PEET'S COFFEE & TEA, INC. is a specialty coffee roaster and marketer of fresh, deep-roasted whole bean coffee for home and office enjoyment. Sea Smoke 831 Via Suerte, Unit 101 http://www.bluefinbyabe.com Sea Smoke is a new sushi restaurant from one of Orange County's top chefs, Master Takashi Abe and partner Ted Lee, who also operates Bluefin in Newport Coast's Crystal Cove shopping center. Sea Smoke will offer some of the classic and creative sushi and specialty rolls diners have come to love at Bluefin and will introduce them to some new offerings only available at Sea Smoke. Sundried Tomato Caf 821 Via Suerte, Unit 101 http://www.thesundriedtomatocafe.com The first of the three new restaurants is Sundried Tomato. A local favorite since 1993, Sundried will be opening its third Orange County location at Talega Village Center. Chef/Owner Mark Jacobi and partner Rob Quest have made a name for Sundried by serving up creative California cuisine like their pork tenderloin enchilada with goat cheese and a sweet enchilada sauce and their lamb burger with gorgonzola cheese offered in a contemporary and casual atmosphere.

I may have only been to Irvine Spectrum Center maybe twice or thrice, but no more than that. For…read moreall times, I still have not seen the giant ferris wheel. The magnitude of this shopping, dining, and entertainment center is beyond compare from what I've heard. It offers over 170+ specialty stores, major department stores, well-known restaurants, and entertainment venues. That's gigantic! The premier outside shopping venue is anchored by Nordstrom and Target sharing space with so many more top brands, boutiques, and unique shops. Just to name a handful... Anthropologie, Apple, Bacio de Latte, Barnes & Noble, Build-A-Bear, Cotton On / Cotton On Body, Din Tai Fung, Fabletics, FOGO de CHAO, Georgia's, H&M, lululemon athletica, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, MINISO, Nike, Sephora, Silverlake Ramen, SomiSomi, The Melt, Urban Outfitters, Vuori, Yard House I was recently here for dinner at Yard House. Parking was a challenge for sure. Come early to make it easier for you. Anyway, I'm coming back to spend one full day exploring this place in the near future. Ferris wheel and I shall meet once! Join me in the fun and food.

I think this is a nicer shopping area than most others. It has a decent blend of popular/big-chain…read morestores, smaller stores, restaurants, and other things (like a movie theatre, carousel, and jungle gym). We went into a few stores to look around and enjoyed our time here. They basically have something for whatever you're in the mood for. It definitely is a very crowded place. There's a reason why they have soo many parking lots/areas. I'm glad we were able to come at a less busy time, but I'm sure weekend are extremely crazy. I liked the mall enough where I would come back.

Located within the Kaleidoscope Center, this place has so much potential. I came here with friends…read moreon a Saturday evening, and this area had a lively atmosphere happening. The selection of little shops, some were open and some were closed, are so cute. The shops that were open, looked inviting and friendly. The prices on items were somewhat reasonable. During the day, depending upon which day, this place can seem dead or bleak. I don't know how some businesses survive here. Overall, I enjoyed my experience. As much as I want to love the Kaleidoscope, I really liked Union Market, and I would return to this spot, just for the adorable small businesses located inside. The Kaleidoscope, itself, is really run down and disappointing. Please read my separate review on my opinion of Kaleidoscope. If you ever consider going here, most definitely head to Union Market. Enjoy!!!

I was really surprised to come to Union Market around 6pm and see how empty it was. It was…read moredisappointing to see there were only 2 restaurants open, and one of them you had to ring a bell for the people to even greet you. This space is huge and really cool with a lot of artwork on the walls. There's great potential, but I think malls are a dying breed since covid. This spot has a couple really cool retail stores, including candle making and events with crafts. They also have a good sized bar, hangout areas, foosball, corn hole and more! They even have live music! It was just so sad to see how empty it was and how many businesses have shut down. I'm thinking this space is probably used more for private events.

For a good month, I was visiting the San Clemente area for some therapeutic massages. I would go to…read moreSugar Blossom Bake Shop to get their delightful cookies amd cupcakes. I found myself in a very quaint place with lots of little shops and restaurants. It was Del Mar Plaza. It doesn't look too big of a space from the outside, but once you walk in it, there's quite a lot of businesses inside. Free parking is available for customers only. Or you may park on the streets. Please read the signs for any parking restrictions. I just took a stroll through and looked. I didn't do any shopping besides getting my cookies and cupcakes as I was short on time. I'll have to return here the next time I'm in the area again.