The LAB stands for “Little American Business” and that’s exactly what they are, although they do have a few chain stores. The LAB opened in 1993 to try to counter retail monotonies. It is super cute, not huge with okay parking.It is clean and all the stores have great service. We loved it and will be back. There really is a need for an original, indoor-outdoor unconventional mall packed with a super cafes, restaurants and retail. The LAB pushes creative art installations and local artist features and musical events. It has rotating murals, graphic design, a walk thru gallery and other installations. It is a great place for coffee with family or friends and some super shopping. It is not inexpensive, but what is in Costa Mesa. It is really nice and we like it ever so much.

This is the type of “mall” I enjoy. Small artisan cafes, Buffalo Exchange and Urban Outfitters. It’s small but a nice place to enjoy coffee with friends or remote work/read.

quirky and kitchy, worth checking out if in the area, but I would travel just for the sake of it. several eateries, a coffee bar, and Urban Outfitters anchor it

I really like coming to the Lab (despite parking always being difficult even with a parking lot). It has a lot of great local restaurants with different types of food and different artisans for all kinds of goods and a local brewery is also there. The Ruin is a cool spot for cocktails complete with amusement park seats being given new life. There’s ton of recycled materials used and displayed as artwork which is really neat (like bottle caps, CDs, etc). You can get anything from barbecue to poke to vegetarian food to Cuban food and this is a really neat and unique area.

Saw this place on a travel show and thought it would be good for unique gifts and interesting artisan shops. It had a few shops which were unimpressive and some restaurants. I was worried at the start when the anchor store in the front was Urban Outfitters.