If you search “cute cafes to visit in Berkeley” in Google, chances are “MY Coffee Roastery” will pop up. And being the ever-tireless fan of cute cafes, I set my heart on visiting MY Coffee Roastery a few weeks ago. Sure enough when I got there, the café was a whimsical cottage sitting at the intersection of Addison St and Martin Luther King Jr. Way:
The café from across the street. It’s super close to Trader Joe’s on University Ave.
But when I got closer…
Closed doors. ☹
MY Coffee Roastery is CLOSED on Mondays and Tuesdays! I made the mistake of visiting on a Tuesday… Make sure you visit on any days EXCEPT Monday/Tuesday, from Wednesday to Sunday. And beware, this cute cottage opens and closes early as you can see from the photo below 👇:
Be aware of their business days & hours!
✨Straight Out of a Fairytale✨
Now being aware of the cafe’s hours, I successfully entered the cottage on a Thursday. It was like entering a whimsical cottage straight from a fairytale! The cafe reminded me of the little cottage in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With its pretty iron fence, pots of plants and succulents, red flowers, cute bench cushions, parasols, blue and white mosaic tables and stony walls, MY Coffee Roastery was as lovely and unique as it could be. I mean, there were literally butterflies flying about in the outdoor seating area!
The entrance. Love the red bench and flowers! 🌹
The whimsical storefront.
Once I entered, I was immediately at the counter, where baked goods and coffee beans were displayed. I wanted to try their waffle, but as they had ran out of them, I ordered their almond croissant instead with a cup of iced Americano.
I think the cafe is owned and managed by a Chinese lady and her family – I’m not sure. But I have a hunch that she is the one behind the lovely cottage and its design. Even the interior is chic, with black chandeliers and stoned walls with wide windows that are left open.
Looking out from the inside.
The Menu
My drink and food came out quickly, as I wasn’t done marveling at the chic interior when they had finished warming up the croissant. Sitting outside in the patio area, I took a bite of my almond croissant and I must say, I like it better than other almond croissants I’ve had!
The delicious almond croissant & Americano. 🥐☕💕
It had sweet stuff inside – I don’t know what it’s called. Whatever it is, it made the croissant more flavorful and went perfectly with the iced Americano.
I personally wished there were more menu options, like sandwiches to eat for brunch or lunch, but the café is still great as is. I think their focus is on coffee, not so much the food.
Conclusion
In conclusion, MY Coffee Roastery is one of those chill cafes where you can get work done. They offer free wifi that works – they have the wifi password posted on the walls inside the cottage.
The inside seating area had the wifi banner with the password (see above). There was another wifi banner facing the front counter.
And with sufficient outdoor seating, it felt safe to eat and work there amidst the pandemic. Though cars drive by and many people frequent the cafe, it wasn’t distracting at all.
And the parasols create just the right amount of shade! ⛱
With friendly staff, good food and drinks along with aesthetic architecture and natural decor, MY Coffee Roastery is a cafe for students, professionals, and writers alike. It’s for anyone who appreciates uniquely chic spaces with chill vibes!
I can’t wait to go back to try their waffle. (And their latte, too!) 😊
P.S. To learn more about MY Coffee Roastery, visit their official website HERE. Or their IG account HERE.
P.P.S. And here are more aesthetic shots of the café:
P.P.P.S. 8/18/2022 Update: I revisited to try their waffle! But the waffles aren’t made at the cafe; they are premade waffles packed in wrapper that are unwrapped and placed on the display. Though it tasted alright, I wouldn’t deliberately come here to eat it again. Regardless, the whimsical cafe always has GREAT vibes✨ and good coffee.
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.
It looks nothing like a bakery, with the only hint being the logo with the Jolly Roger cake. ☠
UFO cakes taking people away! 🛸
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:
There’s so much to see! 👀
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:
Bakers kneading behind rows of freshly made breads.
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:
Healthy ingredients & savory sauce 👍
+ 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:
Delicious! I liked it better than the other eggywiches I tried.
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 #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! 🤩
Photo by Patrick Fore
🏴☠️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:
The chic red loyalty card from Blackmarket Bakery.
Visit these links to learn more about Blackmarket Bakery!
They have coffee cups with words “Fuck Mornings,” “Anti-Bitch Club,” “Anti-Bitch Serum.” and a banner that says “No Karen, You Can’t Talk to the Manager.” With their pretty pink aesthetics and eye-catching slogans, Coffee Dose is a unique place to check out if you like their “cheeky” merchandise, “vegan + keto-friendly treats,” and all things aesthetically pink.
Coffee Dose (Irvine) one cloudy morning.
Some Basic Info:
Coffee Dose was founded by the couple – Jeni and Oscar Castro. They kind of remind one of the wife-husband team that founded Honey & Butter Macarons, as they’ve also started their shop in Costa Mesa. (Check out my post on Honey & Butter Macarons HERE.)
And from the fact that the shop now has three locations (from just one in Costa Mesa), their business seems to be a success. It’s not surprising – their stylish merchandise and cheeky slogans are bound to be popular, especially amongst young women who appreciate good coffee and aesthetically pleasing goods. It really is no wonder that Coffee Dose has made their marks at their Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, and Irvine locations:
Images of Coffee Dose in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, and Irvine (from left to right) from coffeedose.cafe.
Coffee Dose in Irvine, CA
The shop I’ve visited is the one in Irvine. It’s located in the middle of a business park.
It’s literally placed right between two office buildings:
And so, on my two visits to Coffee Dose Irvine, there was always a group of customers. They were most likely a mix of office workers, influencers, and customers who so appreciated Coffee Dose’s unique menu and aesthetics that they drove all the way to the office park for them.
Once you get close to the pink container box, you’ll be able to see the menu and the cute merchandise they have out in front of the cashier.
This is where you order, buy merchandise, and receive your drinks. (Plus where the food menu is.)
The other end of the pink container where you get your food items. Plus where the menu for the drinks are. (On the right)
Oh, and they always have music playing out loud:
From my experience (which amounts to only a few visits), I found the lattes to be better than any other drinks. The cold brew was really strong and not to my taste.
But the latte? It was delicious! 😋
This is the menu they have out in the Irvine shop:
Now, this shop is a coffee shop, and I do think they have good lattes. But what I consider their best is the food.
I’ve tried a few items on their menu, including their cookie, banana bread, lemon bread from their bakery items, “The OC OG,” “Foxy Loxy,” “Jen & Berry’s,” “The Goat,” and “The Gentle Monster.” Wow. Now that I list them, I actually tried quite a number of their food items!
The Foxy Loxy (and the ever-strong cold brew that I couldn’t finish).
Anyways, they were all delicious, with top-quality ingredients. But my favorite of all has to be “The Goat.” 🐐🧀
“The Goat” is a toast with herbed goat cheese, figs, candied walnuts, saba and microgreens. And it’s EPIC.
I tried this only because I saw on Coffee Dose’s Instagram that “The Goat” will be available only until November. And I thought – why not give it a go before I can no longer try it?
It was such a good decision… Because it was the most delicious toast I’ve ever tasted! And the combination of goat cheese and figs along with the candied walnuts and other ingredients is genius; it’s an out-of-this-world tasting experience that belongs uniquely to Coffee Dose.
It was so good that I had to to-go another one before leaving. Their to-go bag is cute, too!
Drawbacks
The only drawbacks of Coffee Dose (I speak only of the Irvine location) would be that it isn’t cheap. It’s definitely on the pricier side, as “The Goat” costs about as much as two cheeseburgers at In-N-Out.
And another drawback is that they don’t share your Instagram stories that you @ them at, as I’ve tried multiple times. I think they only share if you have enough followers to promote their brand. 😔
*Fun fact: There are Coffee Dose stickers you can use in Instagram to create your stories.
Regardless –
Visiting Coffee Dose Irvine was a fun experience. With the aesthetic surroundings and the unique, DELICIOUS food, I highly recommend visiting there at least once!
P.S. If you have any canine companions, you’ll definitely want to check this place out. The shop is dog-friendly with even “puppy cracks” for your pups!
Update #1: Look at their pretty holiday decorations! 🎅🎄❄
Christmas is coming… and Dose in the Box is ready!
Update #2: There’s a Coffee Dose app to order ahead, keep track of rewards, get VIP updates and more!
The Time Traveler is an upcoming author who holds great appreciation for both classic literature and history. The author aspires to publish historical fictions and other written works in the near future, in hopes of creating works that entertain, inform, and inspire.
The author also appreciates all things aesthetic and enjoys traveling around the world to learn and observe.
