Belmo Café — Restaurant in Berkeley

Growing up in this neighborhood for a few years in my young life, I'm always happy to see a new business with something good on the Westside. I actually caught this place out of the corner of my eye, expecting a Middle Eastern restaurant that was there before, and when I saw the words French and Algerian bakery. I practically slammed on my brakes turning around to check it out. Man was I ever glad that I did this. A lot of people, especially students in this town, Don't really know what a real baker is, or the kind of things they create until they taste it and are blown away. I walked in here, noting a cafe tables outside on University avenue, and met the proprietor, Nadir, a master baker from Algeria.

When you walk into the place, on the left are more of the French classical treats, and on the right are the Algerian and Turkish pastries, which are simply mind-blowing and amazing. Add to that, the staff is super friendly, all the baked goods are made there daily, there are chairs and seats outside, and to top it all off they make espresso drinks, as well as drip coffee. I think this is the spot that I was waiting for. I'm going to tell everybody that this is the spot to go for baked sweets, and I believe Nadir also does custom orders for people upon request. When you want to treat yourself to something truly special in West Berkeley, and love real, masterfully baked old school pastries, this is the spot to go. Say...

Delicious Bigness In a small, humble, gracious takeout dwelling❣️ I went to Belmo Cafe for their Turkish Coffee and got the surprise of to set off my new year! I was looking at and “trying” to decide on beautiful, scrumptious looking desserts and baked goods and treats when out of the kitchen walked “Chef Nadir” who was the pastry chef at the Oasis Deli and I hand seen in a few years! Best heartfelt reunion ever. Let me tell you what I had. I love Apricot Squares and Belmo Cafe’s are a delicious buttery delight! There are these tiny Bundt cake bites whose name I’ve forgotten that are Crazy good, and then I saw a flaky flat bread and the hostess Cerine suggested I have the “savory” one and Good Lord it is fall out good and delicious! I went back to get more of the savory bread and Someone bought out 20 pieces earlier that day😲! Belmo Cafe also has sandwiches and I had their spicy sausage sandwich-hearty good, us there are sandwiches, and I had a decadent slice of chocolate cake with a cream filling and a Moroccan Mint tea! There is seating outside and parking is close depending on when you come. Chef Nadir creates and makes Wonderland pastries. He his deliciously skilled and has his background as a French Pastry Chef! Go experience for yourself and tell them...

We were really looking forward to visiting Belmo Café, especially since it advertises being open until midnight. However, when we arrived at 10:40 p.m., the experience was underwhelming from the start. The young man behind the counter seemed eager to wrap up and close down early. Right off the bat, he handed us a dirty tray to place our pastries on—definitely not the welcoming start we expected.

The pastries themselves were disappointing. The danish we tried was hard and dry, as though it had been sitting out for hours. The clamshell cookie tasted off, like it had absorbed a soapy or chemical flavor that overpowered the taste. Unfortunately, the puffed pastry was no better—stale, hard, and with a texture that made it clear it wasn’t fresh.

Additionally, the to-go box we were handed was sticky on the outside, likely from handling by the same young man whose hands appeared unwashed. Overall, we left feeling disheartened. We love supporting small businesses, but basic cleanliness, quality, and customer service shouldn't...