Bl00m
In Santa Ana, a young pasta and focaccia sandwich shop shines brightest on textures and plating
Opened by former alums from Detention – one of several commonly owned “New American” restaurants that stood out in downtown Santa Ana before closing – Bl00m is a comparatively small spot with a simple concept: a “chef-driven pasta bar” with “seasonal small plates and house-made focaccia.” Located close to the 4th Street Market and Tacos Los Cholos, it occupies the former space of Dough Exchange, a gourmet bagel and donut shop that was part of the Detention family.
Bl00m’s name references the finely ground 00 wheat flour used in Italian pastas and Neapolitan pizzas, and its light and bright interior design evokes two themes: a love for 60s/70s music, and a fixation on homey but high-quality recipes – cookbooks near the front counter focus primarily on handmade pastas. These touches and others make Bl00m pleasant from moment one; the restaurant seats around 40 people across indoor tables and a lightly gated outdoor patio, while offering traditional paper menus, human rather than smartphone- or tablet-based ordering, and dishes carried to tables by the people who plated them.
Our sense from Bl00m’s single-page menu and half-page wine list was that its owners are focused in a way that many young restaurant businesses are not, for better or worse. Everything turns on whether guests are enthusiastic about any of five appetizers, four pastas, three sandwiches, and two desserts – some with overlapping ingredients – potentially with some assistance from a glass ($15 to $17) or bottle ($60 to $68) of wine. Seven options on our visit spanned sparkling, white, red, and pink wines, almost all from Eastern Europe.
As Bl00m’s own descriptions suggest, its savory choices are focused very heavily on focaccia bread dishes and wheat pastas. One of the appetizers is rosemary focaccia with miso butter ($13); all three of the sandwiches are focaccia with either short rib ($23), chicken ($19), or cauliflower ($17), typically paired with either cheese or a creamy sauce and additional vegetables. Each of the pastas is as appealing in texture and color as ingredients; tomato-red rigatoni ($20) are ribbed with double-scored lines; pesto-green gemelli are spaghetti-like twists; yellow-ish garlic and olive oil-soaked creste di gallo ($18) look like macaroni with lions’ manes.
From the two-item “snacks” section, we skipped the deep-fried zucchini chips ($9) and chose the seemingly healthier option: unbattered fried green olives ($12), served intact minus pits and mixed with sliced jalapenos, all on top of a pool of lime crema, mint leaves, and minced charred cucumber. While we appreciated the soft olives and light spice of the peppers, the base was fairly plain and forgettable.
Another menu section, “for the table,” included the aforementioned rosemary foccacia ($13), a green goddess salad ($18), and hamachi crudo ($26). We chose the latter, which paired several ounces of sashimi-grade yellowtail with fresh thin-sliced peaches, dots of whipped creme fraiche and chili oil, almonds, and another pairing of mint and lime (here, zest). As crudos go, this plate was more filling than most thanks to a nice portion of atypically thick hamachi, and nuttier with almond slivers, but the peaches weren’t particularly sweet or intensely flavored, adding less than we’d expected going in.
The highlight of our meal was the pasta, creste di gallo ($18), which soaked those uniquely shaped, al dente lion’s mane macaroni in a thin sauce made from olive oil and fresh-sliced garlic, a little smoked paprika, lemon juice, and parsley; it was obvious from the texture that Bl00m excels in the actual making and prep of pasta, even though the sauce could have been stronger. Even so, we would gladly return to try the rigatoni or gemelli, and were also intrigued by the lasagna ($25) – perhaps on a future visit.
For dessert, we sampled the Pavlova ($12), another dish pairing peaches and cream, this time with a hardened but pliable and properly sweetened meringue; again, the peaches weren’t as strongly flavored as we’re accustomed to, but the dish was fun to eat and beautifully garnished with flowers. We skipped the watermelon granita ($10), which also included the lime and mint combo from other dishes.
Having visited Bl00m, our view is that there’s simultaneously an obvious eye for quality here, and some room for improvement in terms of execution and inspiration: With so few menu choices and overlapping ingredients, the quality of each element really makes a difference. Between what we tried and what we didn’t try but were intrigued by, we’d certainly consider a return visit, though we’d say our first one was more noteworthy in atmosphere and service than in flavors.
Stats
Price: $$-$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: July 2026
Address
220 E. 4th St. Suite 105
Santa Ana, CA 92701
714.257.5417
Instagram: @eatbl00m