Nestled in an eco-friendly retail campus surrounded by the 73, 55 and 405 highways is a glass building with a logo reminiscent of the pirate flag. It’s none other than Blackmarket Bakery!
Allow me to introduce you to the unique bakery serving scratch-made treats, fresh bread and savory sandwiches.
The CAMP at Costa Mesa
Blackmarket Bakery is a small, locally-owned business located within the CAMP, a green, eco-friendly shopping center in Costa Mesa, CA. It’s located near South Coast Plaza, LAB Anti-Mall, Mitsuwa Marketplace, and John Wayne Airport.
It really looks and feels like a camp in the middle of the city, with lots of wild plants, old trailers and camp-related decorations scattered about:
With around 25 stores that focus on healthy, active lifestyles, the shopping center hosts a bunch of events designed to bring awareness to the environment and the local community. (Plus arts & craft classes, free movie showings and drive-in concerts!) *For a full list of shops and services, visit the CAMP’s website HERE. For their calendar of events, HERE.
Now, back to Blackmarket. The bakery sits at the tip of the CAMP, right in front of the main parking lot that’s painted with feel-good messages in white:
I highly recommend choosing and parking at your favorite message! 😁
The Vibe
The first time I visited, I was taken aback by the exterior. From the outside, it didn’t look anything like a bakery with its modern glass windows and wild plants growing outside. I mean, I couldn’t see a single trace of baked goods. But the logo of a cake shaped like a skull, words “Bakery” pasted here and there plus these UFO-shaped cakes let me know that I had come to the right place.
Jolly Roger cake. ☠
Though it didn’t look at all like a bakery, it was plenty chic with its unique logo and vinyl stickers. As I entered, I expected the interior to be more “normal,” with clean walls in warm colors and baked goods neatly displayed in glass countertops like other bakeries.
But the interior was as eccentric and chic as the exterior:
The bakery was like an industrial factory with metallic lights hanging from above. I honestly didn’t know where to look with all these cool merchandise and aesthetic chocolate bars lying about. They had these cool periodic table lunch boxes, cookies shaped like dragonflies, metallic trailer displays and treats that all look good.
Menu & More
After being overwhelmed by all the products and standing dumbfounded for about a minute, I was able to make my way towards the counter to order. As I stood at the very end of the line, I got to watch bakers kneading the dough by hand:
When I moved a few inches closer to the cashier, I saw this huge menu board:
Having witnessed all the tasty-looking cookies and bread at the entrance, I had confidence in all the menu items. In fact, I wanted to try everything on the menu plus all the treats displayed. But as I physically and financially couldn’t afford to do so, I narrowed down my choice to the Hot Potato Egg Sandwich, i.e. Hot Potato “Eggywich,” as called by the crew.
Along with the Berry Basque Tart and latte.
The Food
By the time I received my orders, I was too hungry to remember about blogging it. So… I devoured the Hot Potato Eggywich without taking any photos of it! 😫 But I remember and can say with confidence that it was good. The over easy eggs, bacon, and hash brown patty made it a hearty meal – an excellent breakfast. The pickled onions and garlic aioli sauce made it very savory.
Despite my overall satisfaction, I personally found the Eggywich to be a bit overwhelming. It was too much to eat the aforementioned ingredients with its butter croissant bread. I didn’t realize while I was eating it, but once I finished, I really was feeling overwhelmed.
The Berry Basque Tart was VERY good. It had a crumbly tart crust with fresh raspberries, thin almond slices, and lemony cream with powered sugar sprinkled on top. And the latte was smooth, with a good amount of foam. Both the tart and the latte were excellent. HOWEVER, I wouldn’t drive all the way to Costa Mesa just to have these again – especially with the insane gas prices these days. I would if I happened to be in the area and wanted some good tart and latte.
A few weeks later, I had another chance to visit Costa Mesa and so I went again to Blackmarket Bakery. This time, I ordered the Fresh Prince Eggywich. I liked it better than the Hot Potato Eggywich:
+ Update 6/18/22: I visited the bakery yet AGAIN and this time I got the Plain Jane. It wasn’t overwhelming with just cheddar cheese, eggs and brioche bun. It tasted great with fresh orange juice:
A Bakery Worth Visiting
Blackmarket Bakery is definitely worth visiting – at the very least once. They’ve got good food and superb treats – made fresh every day. And equally importantly, they’ve got unique, clever decorations that you won’t be able to find anywhere else, like the metallic UFO cakes, chess boards painted on tables, and whisks hanging from above.
It’s a must-see bakery for photographers, bloggers and tourists alike who appreciate industrial chic decor with creative, artistic culinary touches.
More About Blackmarket Bakery
🏴☠️Fun Fact #1: The unique Blackmarket Bakery in Costa Mesa was founded back in 2012 by Rachel Klemek, a UCI alumni. Her first Blackmarket Bakery opened even further back in 2004 in the city of Irvine (now closed).
🏴☠️Fun Fact #2: Chef Rachel Klemek is a champion of the Food Network show Chopped! Watch her slay in the “Sweets Showdown: Cake!” episode (Season 43, Episode 10) on Food Network. Watch the full episode at: https://watch.foodnetwork.com/video/chopped-volume-3-food-network-atve-us/sweets-showdown-cake
🏴☠️Fun Fact #3: According to the founder herself, the name “Blackmarket” comes from the fact that baking fundamentals like butter, flour, sugar and eggs were only available via black markets during World War II. She says in an interview with OC Weekly that the name for the bakery was developed during the Atkins diet craze in the early 2000s when baked goods seemed culturally outlawed (read the full interview HERE).
What brilliant way to incorporate history to one’s bakery! 🤩
🏴☠️Fun Fact #4: There are currently 2 Blackmarket Bakeries: one in Costa Mesa and one in San Diego (with another San Diego store coming soon). They offer online ordering, gift cards, and loyalty cards that you can use to get free coffee:
Visit these links to learn more about Blackmarket Bakery!
🍪Get to know Blackmarket Bakery – from CAMP’s website
🍞Interview with Chef Rachel Klemek – from Great Taste Magazine
🍰Podcast Interview with Chef Klemek – from UCI School of Social Sciences
🎂Interview from Chef’s Insight – featuring Chef Klemek’s chocolate caramel tart + marshmallows
P.S. Visit their official Instagram Page HERE for seriously aesthetic cookies & more!
