Vol. 01 · No. 03 · Spring 2026 North Berkeley, California
Contents Order Visit
A Quarterly on Pastry & Coffee

Cafè Parisien

on the corner of Cedar & Shattuck, since 2024

A French-Algerian, family-run pâtisserie. The morning's bake, the day's carte, and a quiet seat by the window.

Cover · Croissants, 7:42 a.m. Photograph by The House
Inside this issue

Contents.

01 From the KitchenAn editor's note from Ace Mklat pg. 03 02 In the Case TodayThis morning's bake, photographed pg. 06 03 The CartePâtisserie, tartines, café pg. 12 04 Two Brothers, Two ShoresA profile of Ace & Hosine Mklat pg. 18 05 Pages on CateringFor the office, the wedding, the morning pg. 24 06 Where to Find UsAddress, hours, the corner pg. 28

The doors open at 7:30. The first espresso is pulled, the warm croissants come out, and the regulars who arrive at the same time each morning find their stools by the window. This is the hour we like best.

We opened our small café on the corner of Cedar and Shattuck in June of 2024 with a single ambition: to make the kind of neighborhood French café we missed. Croque monsieurs at noon, egg-and-cheese on a warm croissant in the morning, café au lait by the carafe, baguette sandwiches through the afternoon. Plain things, made well.

This third issue is a small record of our spring: what is on the counter, what we are pouring, the shape of a day at Parisien. There is a profile of our family for those who like such things, a carte for those who do not, and pages on the catering we have begun to do for offices and wedding mornings in the East Bay.

We are glad you are here. Pull up a chair.

Ace
Berkeley · Spring 2026
Feature № 02 · In the Case Today

The bake.

A short list of what is on the counter today, photographed at the hour of the first pour.

Fig. 02 — Croque Monsieur, ham & gruyère under béchamel, pressed and served warm.

Plain things, made well. Walk in any time, or order ahead at the counter.

  1. Croque MonsieurHam, gruyère, béchamel$9.95
  2. Lox BagelSmoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion$11.95
  3. Egg, ham & cheeseOn a bagel or +$2 on a croissant$9.45
  4. Tuna meltOn a house bagel$11.95
  5. Mixed berry smoothieStrawberry, blueberry, blackberry, banana$5.95
No. 03 · The Carte

The menu.

Coffee & breakfast all day. Sandwiches and smoothies through the afternoon.

Bagels & Croissants

  • Cream cheese or butterHouse bagel or warm croissant4.95
  • Egg & cheese7.50
  • Egg, ham & cheese9.45
  • Egg, bacon & cheese9.45
  • Ham & cheese8.50
  • Veggie bagel10.95
  • Tuna melt11.95
  • Lox bagelSmoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion11.95

Sandwiches & Baguettes

  • Croque MonsieurHam, gruyère, béchamel9.95
  • Turkey · Pastrami · Roast beef · Ham · Chicken12.95
  • Turkey pesto · Veggie12.95

Hot Drinks SM / MD / LG

  • House coffee2.95 / 3.50 / 3.95
  • Espresso3.15 / 3.65
  • Café latte · Cappuccino4.50 / 4.95 / 5.10
  • Café mocha · White mocha4.95 / 5.50 / 5.85
  • Caramel macchiato5.10 / 5.75 / 6.00
  • Café au lait3.95 / 4.25 / 4.75
  • Affogato · Café noisette · Macchiato3.95 — 5.95

Non-Coffee, Iced & Smoothies

  • Hot teas · Chai latteSM / MD / LG3.10 — 5.50
  • Hot chocolate · London Fog4.00 — 5.10
  • Iced coffee · Iced teaMD / LG4.75 / 5.25
  • Ice latte · Iced chai · Iced mocha4.95 — 5.95
  • Italian soda · Arnold Palmer · Lait fraise4.50 — 5.75
  • SmoothieBanana, strawberry, mango, mixed berry, blueberry5.95 / 6.50
No. 04 · A Profile

Two brothers,
two shores.

By the editors

Fig. 04 — Ace and Hosine Mklat in their kitchen on Shattuck Avenue.

The Mklats are a French-Algerian family raised between Algiers and Paris, with several boulangeries among the relatives in France. Ace came to California through the dining rooms of the Fairmont in San Francisco, where he learned the rhythm of a hospitality kitchen, and fell for Berkeley while studying at City College.

They opened Café Parisien on the corner of Cedar and Shattuck in June of 2024 with a small staff and a clear plan: a French neighborhood café, made for Berkeley. Croque monsieur at noon. Egg, ham & cheese on a warm croissant in the morning. Café au lait by the carafe. Plain things, made well.

We wanted to build a small French café in our neighborhood — the kind of place we'd want to walk into ourselves.

The clientele, after eighteen months, has become familial — the Cheese Board crowd in the morning, City College students in the afternoon, neighbors on Cedar Street with their dogs. The packaging is plastic-free. The croissants come out of the oven warm.

They have begun, lately, to cater. A standing tray of breakfast goes out to a literary agency in Oakland every Tuesday. A wedding morning in the Berkeley Hills, last June, drank fifty-eight café au laits between the bridal party and the photographer's assistants. The orders are getting larger; the requests, more frequent.

What they have not done is expand. There is, Ace says, no plan to. "We wanted one good café," he tells you, leaning on the counter. "Not three pretty good ones." Hosine, in the back, is restocking the fridge for tomorrow.

Fig. 05 — A catering tray, in the back kitchen at dawn.
No. 05 · The Catering Pages

For your table.

Pastry trays, breakfast sandwiches, baguette platters, coffee carafes — delivered throughout the East Bay, from a tray for ten to a feast for fifty.

  • Pastry trays
  • Box lunches
  • Coffee carafes
  • Sandwich platters
  • Wedding mornings
  • Office breakfasts
  • Smoothie carafes
  • Custom celebration cakes
Make an inquiry →
No. 06 · Where to Find Us

The café.

Where

The corner

1625 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California 94709
(510) 529-4309

When

The hours

Monday — Closed
Tuesday – Friday — 7:30a — 7:00p
Saturday – Sunday — 8:30a — 7:00p

How

The way in

Two blocks north of the
Cheese Board, on Shattuck.
Look for the cream awning.

Directions Order pickup Instagram