Relic Bakery & Kitchen — Restaurant in San Diego

We really enjoyed black sesame croissant (not pictured), the seasonal Easter Basket pastry, and the chili crisp cheese and potato Danish. I tried to order online before coming in and was not able to due to the holiday weekend. I was also unable to check online what would be available there but had assumed fresh bread loafs would be available as that was my main intention of visiting this bakery. When we went in we weren't allowed to order any of the bread loafs (they hadn't baked any and didn't put anything online about that) and some pastries due to them being online order only, which was a little frustrating but I didn't mention that I had unsuccessfully tried to order ahead online. So we didn't get any fresh bread loaves, but tried a couple pastries which were admittedly delicious.

I did get there at opening time and there was a line out the door and into the small parking lot waiting for the store to open. There seemed to be some catering business loading up a couple things into their van and that was why there was a delay? I am unsure as we stood there for a quarter hour and they only walked by with stuff 3-4 times. People in line started to leave and I probably should have too. There was no explanation, just a small apology to the people waiting patiently in line. It felt inconsiderate of the people waiting. So, I wouldn't bother trying to show up early to run in and grab something again.

So all in all: opened 15 minutes late, relying on an underdeveloped website for business, serving delicious pastries, but...

Make sure to preorder because they sell out super quickly. Once you preorder, the process is seamless. Walk in, show your order number, grab the box and leave. There are about three tables so most people leave after picking up—which makes the small parking space work.

The pastries blew my mind, especially the savory one with tomato. The flavors really worked and the dollops of pesto were just chef’s kiss. I was wondering if the pastry was going to be soggy because of all the moist toppings, but, oh boy. Every single bite was a beautiful sound of crisp. I could hear and feel the crunch in each bite and the buttery thin layers of pastry was just perfect. It’s probably the best tasting and masterfully made pastry I had in San Diego. The size wasn’t as big as I thought it would be (which was not an issue and the pricing was still reasonable for the size and the quality). I’ll just order two for myself next time! 😋

The double chocolate pastry was a bit of a miss for us because there was just too much chocolate which kind of overtook the entire pastry flavor. The layers were impressive and aesthetically pleasing though.

We can’t wait to try their other pastries. The way they mastered the flavors for the tomato one makes me think their other savory ones would be as impressive. I appreciate their creative take on flavors and how they make them so beautifully. We’re excited to finally have a bakery that serves top...

Online pre-order system was relatively easy. I noticed that sometimes the website is delayed from their Monday noontime pre-order opening time.

Pick up: also very easy and quick.

Parking: not many spaces available inside the business center location, but plenty of street parking.

Pastries: we had very high expectations due to all the wonderful reviews and the photos of the pastries and descriptions sound yummy. However, my family were disappointed to find the pastries—though beautiful—lacking in flavor!

Matcha creme Brûlée 1/5 - bitter unpleasant flavor. We were expecting some kind of custardy texture, but there was nothing creme brûlée about it. It was like soggy bread. We don’t like to waste food, but this was really hard to eat. Point for creativity and presentation.

Kouign Amann with salted white chocolate caramel 2.5/5 - this had a nice crispy texture, but was way too sweet.

Black sesame yuzu twice baked croissant 3.5/5 - though the croissant is very black in color, the black sesame flavor didn’t really come though. This ended up being a very dense pastry. Flavor was okay. Would not get again.

Double pain Âu chocolate 4/5 - very rich chocolate flavor and delicious.

Ham, cheese, mustard seed croissant 4.5/4 - this was one of the best ham & cheese croissants we had. So yummy! Highly recommend.

Overall, we wouldn’t get high end pastries from here again as there are some other great bakeries...