Tartine Bakery — Restaurant in San Francisco

So after seeing this on Somebody Feed Phil I had to give it a try. I placed an order online directly through their website but I was disappointed to see that they were sold out of items and I had no option but to purchase a 3 pack of the brownies instead of just one. I also spent almost $50 which was pretty pricey.

When I arrived to pickup my order I mentioned that I was disappointed that they were out of the chocolate croissant and they said they had some left but when they run low they remove it off their website. My items were packed in a bag and the tart was in their refrigerator. Pickup was super easy, skipped the line which wasn't too bad with about 5 people and the staff was super nice!

In order from favorite to least favorite: CHOCOLATE CHIP WALNUT COOKIE $3.75 Valrhona chocolate, oats, walnuts *nice texture from the oats and walnuts, wish there was a little more chocolate

CHOCOLATE CROISSANT $5.75 Valrhona chocolate croissant *flaky and three pieces of chocolate

BROWNIE (3 PACK) $12 Valrhona chocolate, spelt flour *rich and moist but a little bitter

MORNING BUN $5 cinnamon, sugar, orange zest *definitely could taste the orange zest, didn't love the texture of this bun

4" BANANA CREAM TART $9 bananas, chocolate, caramel, pastry cream, and whipped cream in a flaky shell *looked better than it tasted, bananas were the best part, the tart shell itself was very dry

COLD BREW $4.50 *very watered down coffee, needed more ice but also just more flavor the coffee flavor was very minimal

Overall not a bad experience but I was pretty disappointed by the pastries even the cookie and croissant. I wouldn't come back or suggest making a special...

Updating for my 2nd visit December 9…..the Shitake mushroom Croque Monsieur is heavenly, even better than my fav which is ham and cheese. I happily consumed both with my wife and another applewood ham and cheese croissant for good measure as a full week had passed since first visit. The sautéed carrots served with each Croque Monsieur were superb. This time bought a monster supply for friends and neighbors who raved - and now owe me.

From my first visit December 2…..Baked bread and pastries mecca with a well deserved reputation for exceptional quality. The croissants are out of this world and pretty much exceed anything Europe has to offer. The ham and cheese croissant is superb with real French Gruyère cheese and applewood ham in generous quantity that almost make a complete meal. Best I’ve had in the last 40 years, and devoured 2 for a thorough analysis. Chocolate croissants are elegantly laced with 2 bars of Valhrona semisweet chocolate that offer a rich confectionary taste bud experience. Yep - ate that too on site. These perfectly flakey, multilayered, buttery pastries were accompanied by a delicious cafe latte expertly prepared by Aaron who patiently listened to how I wanted it prepared while smiling kindly and delivered a home run. Aaron pushed service rating into 5 stars as other employees provided average service. The premises are cramped, lines are long, parking difficult. Would I go back - you bet your applewood! Thank goodness I purchased 6 more to take home as writing this review caused my stomach to growl and dig into the bag. Too bad Aaron doesn’t do house calls....

I will forgive Tartine for their famously blasé staff, an understandable result of their popularity. I will forgive them for how insanely messy the place looks as if the inventor of the broom has not yet been born. Again another sad product of their high volume turn over. I will forgive their music playlists of twenty years ago, when the strokes were cool and so was Tartine itself. I will forgive them because the pastries are incredible. I miss the grilled cheese with that tiny pickle carrot. I miss the bread pudding. I want to get married again so I could order me a big passion fruit coconut cake and eat it in a giant pouffy dress on the floor barefoot. In a bathtub. Drinking champagne.

Almost all of their utter bullshit can be forgiven with that absolutely perfect morning bun, THE morning bun that started all morning buns. But I cannot forgive that terrible drip cup of coffee that they charge $5 for. Not when Linea coffee is a few blocks back and lots of decent options are a stones throw away. No I cannot. And if you complained about it, you just know they would roll their eyes and say so what do you want me to do about it? It is the house roast! And the line has not stopped in this corner café, the throngs of tourists will never stop coming, and they will never stop making absolutely delicious pastries and listen to Peter Bjorn & John like it is 2006. And you know, that song still is catchy, and Tartine is still friggin good - even if the...