626 Night Market Mini - Santa Monica, California

Max M.

Nice idea but really expensive for what you get and level of food quality. A good amount of variety to choose from but the cost brings down the experience. Lots of people and only about 4 very small tables so you are eating everything standing up. Given that almost every vendor sells a meat product chances are you'll leave hungry. Good idea but way too expensive, cannot recommend.

Jeff T.

High prices and lack of good food really makes this a tough place to recommend. There's also a lack of sitting space so you're pretty much required to stand and eat. The two things we liked here which can be hard to find elsewhere were the bone marrow and the spiral fried potato sticks.

Service can be really slow, took over 30 minutes for the spiral potato. The ambiance was crowded and a little dingy.

Highly recommend going to Qin West Noodle instead

Cubao E.

Fun place for adventurous foodies and those longing for the good ol' days of maskless gatherings! . It's a "mini" version of the actual 626 Night Market, but there's lots of vendors to choose from. It's practically impossible to try everyrhing in a day anyway. Mainly Asian street food, and its always great to eat these meals-on-the-go outdoors in the cool, Santa Monica beach breeze. For the daring, there's a stall serving escargot, frog legs and alligator nuggets. For us, we were good with wagyu beef skewers (tender and tasty!), giant fried squid (suprisingly yummy), and fried, seasoned chicken skin (most delicious way to clog your arteries). Also tried yakisoba and beef combo (not as good as it looked, but still OK) and some refreshing agua frescas in giant baby bottles from Sunday Cafe (includes one free refill for the price). Speaking of the price, the food are occasionally a tad expensive, but some are worth it. The kids loved the roaming robots that were either delivering food (?) or passing out candy. Being in a crowd outdoors with loud music, smoke from the grills and the aroma of the food made this an enjoyable hello summer/ goodbye lockdown type of afternoon. Tickets are free and available at their website. Parking is metered on the street, so hopefully you get lucky finding a spot nearby. Cash and card accepted. Various merch and other items also featured aside from the food. No tables and chairs, so just hunker down somewhere in the lot and just enjoy the outdoor summer festival vibes we all missed the last 2 years.

Wendy C.

Was looking forward to this i have seen it all over Instagram but didn't enjoy it food is over priced ther arent many options and food is mediocre .
I won't go again and definitely wouldn't recommend

Petra B.

Asian food tastes good!! But very expensive 😂 I still love them❤️‍🔥 hard to find a seat because it’s too many people there.

Cesar L.

It’s way too packed and there is no comfortable spots to eat at. Especially with kids, it was a mess to eat and no shade during the day too.
Prices are pretty high as well.
If you’re in the area, it’s worth checking out since it’s free admission. Tickets are mobile only by the way.

Gordon K.

Fun range of food items. .ost were a bit pricey, but fun having the unique choices all in one place

K C.

HUGE RIP OFF - DO NOT GO!!

This place closes at 10pm. When we went at 6pm, some vendors were already sold out. Since it's a mini night market, there's also not a lot of variety. On top of that, the prices are ridiculously high. April 2 had free entrance passes, vs VIP entrance passes for $20 for a drink at the bar, quoting "non-alcoholic" drinks were available. The only non-alcoholic drinks they offered were canned soda and sparkling water. So much for a VIP experience.

The agua fresca drink for the small size as pictured is $20, and $27.45 for about the same size for free refills. You won't be spending a lot of time there, so the maximum refills you will get is probably 1.

3 sushi handrolls were $51. They were just regular salmon/spicy tuna/eel/crab handrolls that you can get elsewhere for a much cheaper price.

The flavors and options were not outstanding, they're something you could get anywhere else. I feel like all the vendors here are upsxlaing their prices.

Ultimately 100% would not recommend and would not go to any 626 markets again.