Let me start off saying that I'm a huge fan of night markets in general. Nothing will be like the OG ones in Taiwan, but I love that more and more locations are following suit. I was extremely excited to hear that the 626 mini night market was going to hit SD again. I checked out the night market (not mini) in Costa Mesa a few years ago and I was pleasantly surprised. This was located in a parking lot that was part of the Mission Valley mall. There were only a handful of stands, I realized this was a 'mini' night market but I expected and hoped for more options. It had a range of food options: lobster, Jamaican, ramen burger, funnel cakes, boba, Mexican, Hawaiian honey Cone, mochi desserts, ube desserts, Filipino street food, hibachi.. Let me tell you the prices were INSANELY too expensive. I want to say most things were in the $15 -$22 range. That is a lot of money to spend for one item. In the end, we didn't want to pay all this money and be disappointed if the food was not so good. Things we did try: 1. Taiwanese popcorn chicken- this wasn't too bad, I think the flavor was pretty on point but the pieces could have been bigger, meatier and a little bit less cooked. (overall 7.5/10) Should lower rating for the filler fries 2. Jamaican chicken pattie, we wanted the beef one, but they were sold out. This was very good, it reminded me of an empanada. Spices were good, it did not seem overly cooked or greasy. (rating 8.5/10) 3. Mochi desserts- Mochi Nutella waffle pop: this was very delicious, basically it's mochi waffle on a stick, it was sweet and chewy (8/10) Mochi Malasada bites- small dough balls fried with sugar. These were ok, not horrible but probably nothing i would order again. (4/10) We were there on Sunday night towards the end near closing time. We snagged some $2 Thai tea drinks and Viet iced coffees! I would say that was a major score, I got 4! They also had a stand if you were in the mood to drink. There were some non-food stands that were cute, but not many in general. I saw other reviews for the first SD mini market SD,(downtown) that one looked much bigger and better. (there is a separate yelp listing for this event) (more vendors and better vendors) I understand they need to make some money but honestly $15-$22 for one item is really too steep. I think the most outrageous thing I saw was the Boba bears. They were water bottles that were pretty ok size, but they were $40!?! That's just way too much, I think you could get unlimited refills or one refill but either way, the price is too steep. The $12 funnel cake was the most reasonable thing I saw that night. So to sum it up: not enough vendors and prices too steep. I hope these reviews do help for future events since I'd love to have the SD mini night market keep coming back, bigger and better. Food 2.9/5 Service 4.5/5 Ambiance 2/5 (I realize this is a night market, but maybe more vendors would make the ambiance better)
Andre Mendes
Their website gives very bad directions on how to find the location of the market. Food was expensive and mediocre. If there is no price on the menu ask before placing your order. Minimal seating to you'll likely have to eat
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Michiko L.
No live music or craft vendors, as was advertised. Lots of food and beverage choices, but very expensive. Plan to spend $30-50 for dinner with a beverage. Not enough tables considering the bulk of the event is food. Adequate amount of portapotties with hand-washing stations. Parking in the surrounding mall area was generally available as people were coming and going. We weren't impressed and won't be back. The juiced drinks were really good though (Sunday Cafe). Sign said service dogs only, but regular dogs were in attendance. Crowd was friendly with kids and families.
Aaron Rolando Alvarez
Not clear on the event information. Decided to check it out and wasn’t let in due to not allowing our dog inside. Organizers should put that information on the event site as it is very common for outdoor markets to allow dogs.
Let me start off saying that I'm a huge fan of night markets in general. Nothing will be like the OG ones in Taiwan, but I love that more and more locations are following suit. I was extremely excited to hear that the 626 mini night market was going to hit SD again. I checked out the night market (not mini) in Costa Mesa a few years ago and I was pleasantly surprised. This was located in a parking lot that was part of the Mission Valley mall. There were only a handful of stands, I realized this was a 'mini' night market but I expected and hoped for more options. It had a range of food options: lobster, Jamaican, ramen burger, funnel cakes, boba, Mexican, Hawaiian honey Cone, mochi desserts, ube desserts, Filipino street food, hibachi.. Let me tell you the prices were INSANELY too expensive. I want to say most things were in the $15 -$22 range. That is a lot of money to spend for one item. In the end, we didn't want to pay all this money and be disappointed if the food was not so good. Things we did try: 1. Taiwanese popcorn chicken- this wasn't too bad, I think the flavor was pretty on point but the pieces could have been bigger, meatier and a little bit less cooked. (overall 7.5/10) Should lower rating for the filler fries 2. Jamaican chicken pattie, we wanted the beef one, but they were sold out. This was very good, it reminded me of an empanada. Spices were good, it did not seem overly cooked or greasy. (rating 8.5/10) 3. Mochi desserts- Mochi Nutella waffle pop: this was very delicious, basically it's mochi waffle on a stick, it was sweet and chewy (8/10) Mochi Malasada bites- small dough balls fried with sugar. These were ok, not horrible but probably nothing i would order again. (4/10) We were there on Sunday night towards the end near closing time. We snagged some $2 Thai tea drinks and Viet iced coffees! I would say that was a major score, I got 4! They also had a stand if you were in the mood to drink. There were some non-food stands that were cute, but not many in general. I saw other reviews for the first SD mini market SD,(downtown) that one looked much bigger and better. (there is a separate yelp listing for this event) (more vendors and better vendors) I understand they need to make some money but honestly $15-$22 for one item is really too steep. I think the most outrageous thing I saw was the Boba bears. They were water bottles that were pretty ok size, but they were $40!?! That's just way too much, I think you could get unlimited refills or one refill but either way, the price is too steep. The $12 funnel cake was the most reasonable thing I saw that night. So to sum it up: not enough vendors and prices too steep. I hope these reviews do help for future events since I'd love to have the SD mini night market keep coming back, bigger and better. Food 2.9/5 Service 4.5/5 Ambiance 2/5 (I realize this is a night market, but maybe more vendors would make the ambiance better)
Their website gives very bad directions on how to find the location of the market. Food was expensive and mediocre. If there is no price on the menu ask before placing your order. Minimal seating to you'll likely have to eat
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
No live music or craft vendors, as was advertised. Lots of food and beverage choices, but very expensive. Plan to spend $30-50 for dinner with a beverage. Not enough tables considering the bulk of the event is food. Adequate amount of portapotties with hand-washing stations. Parking in the surrounding mall area was generally available as people were coming and going. We weren't impressed and won't be back. The juiced drinks were really good though (Sunday Cafe). Sign said service dogs only, but regular dogs were in attendance. Crowd was friendly with kids and families.
Not clear on the event information. Decided to check it out and wasn’t let in due to not allowing our dog inside. Organizers should put that information on the event site as it is very common for outdoor markets to allow dogs.
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