A very different shopping option in OC. There are clothing, furniture stores and eateries all in one place and in one level. This is a new area just off the freeway and not too far from South Coast Plaza. I wish I could have stayed longer and lounged in the area. It is suited for people to relax and enjoy the Southern California weather. There are fire pits and lounge chairs as well as water fountains that invite you to stay longer and relax while your other half of family members shop. There is tons of parking and the place is very well planned and laid out. I noticed there was even a small fence to hide the fixtures that aren't soothing to the eyes. I'll be back again when in the OC. read more

Oh SoCo Collection, where have you been all my life? When I first moved to OC from Long Beach (3 years ago), I came to this area in desperate need of new furniture for my new pad in the south county yet all I found were some old sad looking shops so I bought a futon from this area and did the rest of my shopping at Restoration Hardware and Z Gallerie. Today while wandering around I wanted to redecorate. I could easily spend/drop a few $$$ and be perfectly happy because me and my money part easily when I'm in the spending mood and shopping because if you know me you know how I love to shop. Anyway, I love the new face lift, the farmer's market on Saturdays, and everything else about you. I can see myself fantasizing about a brand new house and furnishing it. For now, I'll just deal with my current decor. read more

This is my new favorite mall. It's an anti mall, but more spacious than The Lab or The Camp. I love how they have done the landscaping and can spend a lot of time just exploring the stores. And, on Saturdays, they have a Farmers Market. Take some time and visit the OC Mart portion of this and grab the best cup of coffee in the OC at Portola, the best gelato at N'ice Cream, the best scones at Christopher Garren's, and check out some awesome and humerous artwork at the Chuck Jones gallery. Ahhhh... read more

Man Costa Mesa you are awesome! I never thought much of this place after driving by on my way to Oceanside a bunch of times. Well I finally had the chance to see what's behind the iconic SOCO sign. The mall itself has a very modern touch - bright white sidewalks line the stores with geometric square vases housing variety of succulents greet you whilst you shop about. It has a very 'Santa Monica feel' without all the rude people! Iron Press, Chuck Jones Gallery, Paul Mitchell, Uni, Rolling Greens, Organic Wood store, Easy Life Furniture, and so much more! This is a neat area to go for furniture shopping. Yes it's more expensive, but if you want more quality not quanity (like IKEA) this would be your place to go to. read more

I am not sure what designates part of the place and the Collection and the other part as the OC Mix, but maybe the rim is the Collection? If it is, then you are looking at furniture row, and expensive furniture at that. Well, plus Surfas and a high end beauty place. And I think some other things as well. As I was saying... it is tough to call this place a Shopping Center. It is a trendy collection of shops that are too expensive for me to shop at. If you count in the OC Mix, then you can add restaurants that range from mediocre to overrated to truly excellent, specialty food shops that seem like a good idea but may not be, and my favorite outdoor retailer that still has a brick and mortar presence, Gear CoOp. So when I come, I usually am popping into Gear CoOp, I may be grabbing a bite at one of the various restaurants, and I window shop for things I just can't afford, would never wear, or am going to buy somewhere else, for less. But it is a lovely space. There is also a weekend Farmer's Market, which means that a good chunk of the parking lot is taken up by vendors that may or may not be selling local produce and reduced prices. read more

This is an upscale furniture row and most of the places here pretty specific types of furniture or other goods and services that they offer. You're not going to find quite as many basic, practical, nuts and bolts type places here, but if you are looking for a particular style such as modern furniture or shabby chic or the like, you're likely to find some very interesting places here. read more

This is an eclectic mix of stores from some seriously ghetto furniture to a few high end stores. They are tossed together sort of like a tornado hit and they all live next to each other. I missed the farmer's market, but was impressed with the Portola Coffee Lab and their cool $18,000 espresso machine. I like that some of the stores are unique and the owner/buyer was often there. But, why mix in the chain stores? It seemed rather bizarre to see such an odd mixture of stuff. Maybe, I was having sensory overload. The place still has a number of empty/deserted spots and seems to be running at about 75% occupancy. There's also a Paul Mitchell hair salon school and some other random businesses tossed in which have nothing to do with the theme. Net-net: A long way to drive to see "stuff" read more

Super cool little mall with furniture art and trinkets and lots of food including chocolate neat dirt road and plants kid friendly

Cool area, with lots of little boutique shops, (super expensive, as I am sure so is their rent). We Olive is my new favorite place! The bruschetta is to die for! 5 stars just for that place! There's a cheese shop!!! I didn't go in, but I wanted to! There are a lot of different restaurants there and I will go back and try them, it's a nice area to take someone, a friend, a date or go solo for a mental escape. 4 stars because it was missing something for me, it's almost like they're still building and creating the place so somethings are missing. read more

When I first saw them rebranding this shopping center and calling it SoCo all I could think was, "Really? That place with all the furniture stores? Umm... I've been there. Nothing special." ...but then I went again and saw that all these new stores had opened up, and OC Mart Mix was there, and food trucks were there, and they had a cool farmer's market, and so on and so on. They really did change the place up and it looks like there is more happening every time I stop by there. Most recently I noticed the Vintage Wood Floor Company. Okay, I'll save the details for another review, but I'm IN LOVE with this store. And one day when I'm a full-on yuppie with a house that I really own, that house will have reclaimed wood floors from a turn-of-the-century old red barn, and I will be ever so smug about my awesome, eco friendly floors. Until then, I'll just do what I do best: covet. Of course they've got OC Mart Mix here too, which is arguably the anchor of the place. It looks like the whole shopping center is going for this upscale, modern, eco-friendly design theme with the businesses that are opening up. And with plentiful parking, and Portola Coffee available too... well, yes, I am indeed a fan of South Cost Collection. read more

I love this conglomeration of shops and restaurants here. Yes, it's a little more high end but a place to peruse unique merchandise. I loved the spice and herb shop where I bought Italian black truffle sea salt (for my popcorn). Lots to look at including architecture-inspired jewelry and a coffee brewery that has it down to a science. read more

LOVE THIS PLACE! Found this place on a Saturday and had a blast walking through the OC Mart Mix. The lay out is just like New York where there are studios and lots of home made gifts. There is also the Farmer's Market located outside with tons of Food Trucks. A great place for couples to spend some quality time together! http://southcoastcollection.com/html/stores.php read more

A very hipster place but with awesome restaurants. When I first came here, I only went to the furniture galleries and Portola Coffee. My first impression was that the place couldn't offer me much besides really awesome coffee. Luckily, my friends took me back to try some of the restaurants. We ended up restaurant hopping for a very delicious and very full night. I will write more detailed reviews of the restaurants on their individual yelp pages. My restaurant hopping included sushi at Waiiha, olive oil and vinegar tasting at We Olive, oysters at Shuck and waffle cookies at Iron Press. All the food was great and it was extremely convenient to be able to hop around to try all the foods. I like the layout of the mall indoors and outdoors. They mix natural materials with artsy mod decor. There are also lots of outdoor seating areas. Can't wait to go back to hop some more! read more

I love the concept for this shopping center...it is a gigantic cluster of design showrooms for furniture and home accessories with sprinklings of other businesses thrown in, like a cake shop and Paul Mitchell The School. Here is how this place falls short...you would know at first sight from the 405 freeway, but only heading north. South Coast Collection calls itself SoCo for short and has big letters sticking up out of the storefront that faces the freeway declaring this nickname. When one heads south on the 405 the letters are in order S...O...C...O. It makes sense, it sounds cool, it might even make you wonder if they got permission from Southern Comfort. Here is the bad...when one heads north on the 405 the letters read O...C...O...S because whoever put the letters on the storefront put the same letter on BOTH sides of the metal panel that they are attached to. This is a HUGE annoyance for me and I am not normally as observant as this, so there must be more people that have noticed. Drivers coming up from the south must wonder what the heck an OCOS is...I would! I am surprised that they haven't noticed this...or if they have why they haven't fixed it yet. You just can't leave it to me, the 405 north driver to figure it out on my own...it's not fair to my braincells to have to concentrate on the road and THEN figure out your signage. 2 cents. Given. Onward. read more

Some high quality furniture stores here and I've yet to see a crowd. Some of the stores give you free coffee, so don't buy it if you can get it for free. You probably can't get deals here since they seem to cater towards the high end clientele, Nonetheless, it's nice to see high end products read more

Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm. They have multiple vendors including a couple of food stands. Food trucks are no longer at the farmers market which is a bummer. I bought some fresh produce and almond dips. Yums! Support your local businesses and stop by on a Saturday morning. SOCO has plenty of other shops and restaurants to explore. I've been to the wine bar, Iron Press, and shucks. All are recommended. read more

Plenty of different stores to visit here.. Places to hang out, and they have events going on almost every week!

This hip collection of cute boutiques, restaurants and a nice new bakery, Susie Cakes is the best kept secret in Orange County! The location is just a short hop off of the 405 FWY, and I was very impressed with the overall vibe and style of this little outdoor collection of the cutest shops! My family and I ate lunch at the Press and had coffee at Portolla Coffee Lab, while enjoying some of the BEST BAKED GOODIES from Susie Cakes!!! We ate the wonderful chocolate cream pie, the cheese cake goddess, and the incredibly delicious apple crumb pie!!! The apples inside the pie are perfectly cooked...not mushy but nicely stand up to the bite. MMMM and double-MMMM!!! Susie Cakes is new to the SCC and you have GOT to get in there and buy a sample of their delicious cakes, cookies, and pies. Please go soon.the entire outdoor mall is just so country-ish and beachy, and you will feel very welcomed there. Plenty of free parking to boot. Have FUN!!! X O read more

love this center and all they have to offer from excellent food choices and shopping to cool coffee lounging.

Definitely is a fun place to go. Farmers Market on every Sat from 9 to 2. A lot of great restaurants, coffee lab, nice structure, a good place for chilling. read more

I'm not a big furniture shopper, but it looks like they have a beautiful collection of mid to high end showrooms. I really stopped by to check out the OC Mix. Try the Olive Oil Gelato at We Olive (Amazing! So delicious with a very nice owner) & Christopher Garren's Bakery (also spectacular with a very nice owner). There is a big patio where you can enjoy your treats and the whole place has a really nice, relaxed vibe. I also love that it's right off the 405 freeway (Harbor exit) and there is lots of parking! I just missed the Farmer's Market on the Sunday I visited, but I will be back to check it out. read more

Some really great shops and food. Only thing I don't like is the farmers market on the weekend and that they allow dogs inside where people eat. Other than that it is a nice center. read more