Doing a Blooming Business in San Juan Capistrano

 Bloom Restaurant and Bar

31760 Old Mission Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

I owe the guys from RJB Restaurant Group an apology. No, I never dissed one of their seven restaurants in one of my reviews. To this day, I've always had nothing but great experiences at all of their eateries. Russ and his partners probably do not know I'm still writing this blog. But, in 2013, when blogging was in its heyday, I was invited to their media day at their first restaurant, Vine, in San Clemente. It was excellent, and I became a fan. 

I then ate at their next few spots, Ironwood, Olea, and Sapphire, and was kind of bummed that they were almost all the same. Still good, but I expected them to branch out a bit. All their locations had more than half the same or similar menu items. I figured that they all had different names, so I was surprised they were more or less copies of each other. I felt gypped. I guessed they came upon a winning formula and did not feel the need to change it. That was until Bloom Restaurant and Bar came along. 

Bloom opened late in 2022, across the street from Mission San Juan Capistrano. The building dates from the 30's and was once a city hall, fire station, and pharmacy. The red brick building features large arched windows, a ten-seat bar that runs alongside the right-hand side of the space, comfy booths that occupy the dining room, and a glass-enclosed kitchen that allows spying on the inner workings of the preparers of the food. 

We were meeting our dear friends Michelle and Rudy for a long overdue meetup. It had been ages since we had seen each other, and true to form, Michelle was late. That at least allowed us to catch up with her much better half, Rudy, who would have difficulty getting a word in once his blushing bride showed up. It also allowed us to peruse the menu, which differed significantly from their other restaurants. I was proud of them and excited at the same time. 

Chef Jared Cook put together a menu that is approachable and unique at the same time. It's divided into starters, salads, entrees, and desserts. Entrees start at $24 for their sandwiches and burgers and then go up to $62 for a 45-day age bone-in ribeye. I had my eye on about three different items, but you'll have to read ahead to see everything the four of us had this evening. 

Before Michelle made her grand appearance, we started with some Warm Artisan Rosemary Focaccia Bread ($8). It's good she was late, as there were three pieces, one for each of us. The bread was grilled and came with a lovely whipped honey butter. The bread could have been taken off the grill a minute earlier, as it was nearly burnt. Luckily, only the ends got charred. The rosemary tinge was present, and I liked the honey butter, but I wish we had been given more of it. 

The bread was fine, but this Skillet Mac and Cheese ($14 plus $4 with bacon added) was spectacular. I thought about this mac and cheese for weeks after I had it. I don't even know the best part of this was; the five-cheese blend coating the macaroni, the crispy chicken skin topping, or the generous amount of bacon that topped this scalding skillet. Add everything together, and you have the best mac and cheese I have had in a decade. This is a must-get when visiting Bloom, or we might not be friends anymore.  

It's entree time, and we might as well start with our latecomer, Michelle. She's very special to everyone who knows her, so it was no surprise that she got the seafood special offered this evening. I'm pretty sure this was the Shrimp Scampi ($39). It was served over pasta with a really delicious sauce. The shrimp were good-sized and cooked perfectly. Michelle really enjoyed this meal. 

I usually avoid ordering chicken, but looking at Rudy's plate from across the table has me reconsidering that. The Jidori Half Chicken Picatta ($29) had my mouth watering. The golden chicken was topped with a Meyer lemon and caper butter sauce and was plated with fingerling potatoes, bacon braised kale underneath the good-sized chicken, and cippolini onions. I tried a bite of the chicken, which was as tender and juicy as the picture makes it look. Very well done. 

Katie also went the chicken route and picked the Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($24). This upscale chicken sandwich came with garlic dill aioli, dill pickles, and tangy coleslaw, all on a challah roll. The roll did a masterful job of staying together, and the chicken's breading was crunchy but lighter than she thought it would be. I thought all the dill would overpower, but it was mellower than I imagined. This also came with their hand-cut herb fries, which are addictive. I was excited when Katie threw in the towel but left a third of her fries for me to pilfer. 

I was torn between getting the burger or the Applewood Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf ($29), and from the pictures above, you can tell which way I went. I was one happy camper with this plate. The meatloaf at Bloom is a blend of beef, pork, and chicken wrapped in bacon, then topped with wild mushrooms and a sherry reduction. How can that not be good? The meatloaf was dense and flavorful, and I enjoyed the bacon's smokiness. The savory meatloaf paired wonderfully with my new best friend, their mac and cheese, this time with truffle. This was just as good, but I'll have to give a slight nod to the skillet mac and cheese with bacon. The cheese and truffle combo made this very decadent and rich. I used some of the bacon from the meatloaf to cut the richness a bit. 

It was a week after Michelle's birthday, so we mentioned that while our server was around, and they surprised us with this free dessert. It was a large scoop of vanilla ice cream with cake crumbs and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was very nice of them and a sweet way to end our meal at Bloom. 

I left Bloom Restaurant and Bar feeling good about the meal we had just eaten there. Not a clunker plate was on the menu. This is proof that the boys from RJB Restaurant Group can do more than excellent wine country food; they can also do comfort food classics just as well. Months later, I still dream of their skillet mac and cheese, hand-cut french fries, and droll over pictures of their burgers on Instagram. I'll be returning for them soon. As with all of their restaurants, service was top-notch, and we had no issues. Another hit restaurant for San Juan Capistrano, which has quietly become one the top cities in OC for foodies. 

Out of five emus (because the only petting zoo in South OC is in SJC, and one of the star attractions is Angel the Emu), five being best to zero being worst, Bloom Restaurant and Bar gets 4 emus. 

For more information about Bloom Restaurant and Bar, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.bloomsanjuancapistrano.com/