The glitzy new Nordstrom occupying the western reaches of the Cherry Creek mall has been mobbed solid for weeks.
And it’s not just the shoe department that’s overrun. The in-store eatery, the breezy, bustling Nordstrom’s Cafe Bistro, is equally jammed.
Smaller and less service-heavy than the California Cafe (you order at a counter here, then choose a table and wait for a server to bring you your meal), Cafe Bistro is also louder and less linger-friendly. Whereas folks at the California Cafe are likely to order dessert and chat over coffee, the Cafe Bistro crowd is on a mission: Fuel up for shopping.
Happily, the fuel here scores above average.
The wild mushroom pizza is lovely to look at, with its rustic shape and an embarrassment of shiitake, oyster, cremini and porcini mushrooms tossed around with balsamic-roasted onions and a light toss of cheese: parmesan, provolone, mozzarella and fontina. Eat it quick — it’s better hot — but take home whatever leftovers you have to warm up later on your pizza stone.
The thin, crispy-on-the-edges chicken paillard, under a mustardy arugula toss, made for a healthful, flavorful lunch, but I missed the fries that came with the steak frites, which revealed itself as a lunchtime- friendly dish, filling but not drowsiness-inducing.
Don’t make either of these two ordering missteps: the French onion soup, puckeringly salty, and crab cake salad, not inedible but well-overpriced at $13.95.
If you really need a glass of sauvignon blanc there’s a glass of Jax Y3 for you, but you’d be better off ignoring the tiny wine list and saving your pennies for a nice bottle from The Vineyard over on Fillmore Street to enjoy at home later with the rest of that pizza.
Big points for tart, fruity, fresh-squeezed lemonade, which is unfairly associated with summertime. Have a glass on a cold day; you’ll see what I mean.
My only emphatic gripe here: the seating system. I’d much prefer being shown a table rather than having to claim one for myself. I’m not sure why the restaurant functions this way, perhaps there’s a flow-of-traffic principle that I’m not hip to, but the system makes me feel like the new kid in the lunchroom, and I don’t like it.
Bottom line: The food here outshines other Cherry Creek mall grub, making Cafe Bistro a very good, relatively civilized middle-of-the-shopping-day pit stop if you already happen to be in or near the store.
Nordstrom’s Cafe Bistro
Contemporary 2810 E. First Ave. (at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center), 720-746-2424Very Good
Atmosphere: Airy, neat department-store bistro, contemporary furniture, prominent open kitchen at one end.
Service: Once you figure out the system, everyone’s pleasant and the food arrives hot.
Wine: Just a few wines on offer, none particularly special.
Plates: Salads $8.95-$13.95. Sandwiches $9.25-$11.95. Entrees $11.95-$16.95.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Details: On second floor. Credit cards accepted. Wheelchair accessible. Can get crowded with strollers midday.
Three visits
