Paris Baguette - Berkeley

I stopped by for a quick bite around 3 PM and found several available seats; the place wasn't too crowded. I ordered the Maple Bacon Cheese Melt sandwich. While the portion seemed more like a snack than a full lunch, I might have just been really hungry at the time. The sandwich was really tasty! I also had an iced coffee, which was decent.

I always enjoy stopping by Paris Baguette from time to time. I say "occasionally" because I really like a lot of their pastries, and their beautifully presented cakes, which are perfectly balanced in sweetness, have become my go-to for birthday celebrations. The cream cheese doughnut, tapioca bread, fruit pastries, savory pastries, and chocolate bread are the most tempting items that challenge my diet. Wait, I think I've just mentioned almost everything on the menu! I have noticed that this particular location is a bit messier compared to the ones I've visited in South Bay, but I imagine that being next to the BART station and attracting a lot of college students might contribute to that.

My wife and I visited for brunch on a rainy Sunday. We enjoyed a bacon, spinach, and cheese omelet, as well as a pastrami and havarti sandwich, both of which were delicious and made to order. They serve coffee and have a selection of freshly baked goods. It wasn't too crowded during our visit.

Paris Bakery is one of my favorite go to bakery for birthday cakes and pastries. I rate this as a 1 because I am not able to rate it as a 0. I have the worst experience from this Paris Baguette establishment in Berkeley. I had made a cake order for my mom?s birthday. I requested online to have it delivered to her since she is 2 hrs away from where I live and I was not able to be there for her birthday. Instead of a cake, my mom received a loaf of bread and three pastries! When I called, I was transferred to the manager and was told they couldn?t find my order and that the computer system has been down. I would have to wait for another manager to come in to find my order to get my refund. I am not sure why the manager of this establishment doesn?t have the same access as the other manager whom she works with but to me that was unacceptable. I was told that I would get a call back at 2:30pm but didn?t get a call until 4:05pm. Out of curiosity I asked the manager how they got my ordered wrong and was told that sometimes it gets busy and there are two to three dashers and they just call out the name and confirm it. In my opinion, from what I was told the manager is that they do not have a system to make sure the right orders are given to the delivery man. I would never order from this place again.

I have tried this place a few times, all times getting something different. Crab croquet Not good, the breading was only good thing. The filling was like chicken pot pie filling but with imitation crab instead of chicken. It was also cold and unpleasant. 1/5 Curry croquet Curry croquet is the exact thing to crab croquet but looks cooler. I was greatly disappointed when I bit into it. There was no curry but rather the same cold fowl filling of corn and imitation crab that is in the crab croquet. I greatly felt defeated, lost and confused. 0/5 Coffee cake Goes great with coffee, big and fluffy. 4/5 Cake (unknown Nice soft texture, creamy and sweet. 4/5 Iced coffee Coffee that is iced : 5/5 There is a lot of diverse options of deserts and pastries to choose from. If you come in and always get different items, some days you'll pick something horrible, others something good. Personally after my experience with the croquets, I'd stay away from the more savory items. Exceptions to sandwiches, bagels, and cheese pastries which are all hard to mess up. Also it's convenient that it is right outside of downtown Bart.