I like the idea of Tartine. A small family run bakery using local organic ingredients to make basic staples like bread cakes and pastries and make them very well. It is in the Mission so I had assumed that it would be unique, comfortable and not too pricey.

Or so I had hoped. It’s pretentious, mostly overpriced and just ok. The bread.. is good and the only thing in this joint that is reasonably priced. The pastries- ridiculously overpriced and not that impressive- ( great, you use good quality chocolate, but that shouldn’t be the backbone of a banana creme pie!) I love fine pastry but their offerings just leave me flat…. I feel that the hype here has over reached the actual food that the original hype was supposed to be built on.

Locals LOVE this place and it is regularly packed with alterna-artists, writers in trendy eyeglasses and hip parents in eco friendly shoes- all of whom have apparently won the lottery to afford to eat here.

Like most displaced East Coasters who love San Francisco, I am ever hopeful and perpetually disappointed in the food. Tartine is no different. The place is cute and tastefully decorated but really really tiny. Want some self important douchbag’s elbow in your soup? Come to Tartine!!

Some say the hobbit friendly dimensions add to the charm but I only put up with this much elbow hitting and chair knocking for really really REALLY great food. If they were Parisian, they might be able to get away with it- but they’re SO not, so they can’t and they don’t.

The atmosphere is literary grad school pretentious and the staff kindly reminds you of your worthlessness by begrudingly serving you and then ignoring you. Oh please. You’re only allowed that attitude when you earn it and you earn it with great food, you nits!

The sandwiches are good. The bread is very good. The pastries, cakes and cookies are all-good. Good but nothing more. Entemanns can be good, pasta and butter can be good but its not fine food. It’s good. Good said with a shrug of the shoulder and a small period. Not GOOD! with an exclamation point and licking of lips.

“Good-but not great.” The increasingly popular mantra of all fine food in lovely, otherwise wonderful SF. (any former Chicagoans out there? Speak out. I know ya feel me here…)

What makes me even more crazy about Tartine is their multiple James Beard Awards. I have a HUGE respect for the standards of the James Beard committee but i have noticed other mediocre places in SF that have also won coveted JB medals. What. the. F ? Do everyones standards drop when they cross the Golden Gate? Are beautiful parks and a sophisticated population inadvertently dumbing down the taste buds of formerly excellent critics? This food would never have won in New York or Chicago or LA- I just don’t get it.

So… if you are a native of San Francisco- you’ll love the food. If you are a foodie and have lived anywhere else, you’ll have a good. meal but you won’t be impressed.

Fancy hole in the wall bakery, windows unmarked, only indicator of its presence is the continuous line out the door. The croissants are heavenly (I tried plain and jamon con queso) along with the apple tart. I wish I had tried the bread pudding with fresh fruit.

great little local bakery! loved the chocolate croissants and the ham quiche. can be crowded, but no worries, get your food to go and take a walk around nearby mission/dolores park.

would like to go back and try all the other yummies that people are talking about.

Great savory and sweet treats! I’m a big fan of the croque monsieur (open-face sandwich) topped with veggies and the white cheese. The quiche is very good too. The texture of the croissants is amazing! – perfectly flaky. The fragipane (almond paste) and the dark chocolate in the respective croissants – XLNT! I can’t even cover it all. GO, you won’t be disappointed!

amazing. texture, flavor, consistency are all perfect. i’m at a loss for words here. KNOW THIS. it is worth wading through an army of hipsters (it’s in the mission) just to get to this place.

o my goodness!

this place is totally worth the hype and waiting in line.

coconut passion fruit cake – the passion fruit creme isn’t as sour as most others, and leaves a refreshing feeling on your tongue that goes well with the cake/coconut flakes.

mexican wedding cookie – not as buttery as most, very crumbly and delish. made with walnuts.

bread pudding – not a huge fan of bread pudding to begin with, but i wanted to try it because everyone else had a bowl of it. suprisingly good, very filling though.

besides the horrendous parking… this place is perfect!

::edit:: went back there this weekend for breakfast.

ham quiche: baked to perfection… the other quiche was just ok.

morning bun: glazed with orange marmalade and sprinkled with a little sugar. w/a latte… mmm..

the lines move fast, but the people sitting at the tables don’t. maybe reserve a seat before ordering?

This bakery is so good it doesn’t even need its name on the building, everything made here has a lil extra butter, because it has a little extra better taste. Exceptional taste is the sole goal of this bakery.

Long Line. EXCELLENT, absolutely THE BEST Bakery I’ve been to in the U.S. Their croissants and pain au chocolat are just like the ones from Paris. There’s a LINE when we went on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Small place, seats about 35. Chocolate hazelnut tart-divine. Friand-little bites of heaven. Gougere avec gruyere et herbs – tastes perfect.

This is one of the best French-style bakeries in the city (there are others like the one in Cole Valley). The croissants as mentioned below are awesome as is the bread pudding. Yummmmmm…. And the Gougere with gruyere cheese and fresh herbs….c’est magnifique! The lineups are usually a turnoff but patience will reward you as I don’t think there’s anything off on the menu at all. The pastries are a must if you’re visiting…the Lemon Cream Tart. I’m getting hungry again….

Can’t find a fault with this place, other than that there’s usually a bit of a line of people waiting to get their share of the awesome croissants and pastries. People come with wagons just to take home loaves of bread … need any more proof?

The croissants are awesome when they’re hot—soft, flaky, everything a croissant should be.

The meringues are really great too (and I hate meringues). They’re crispy on the outside, like regular meringues, and then they become soft as a marshmallow on the inside.

Croque monsieurs are huge and they’re made with what looks like a thick pain campagne. The texture works really well—the bread stands up to the cheese, bechamel, and other toppings very well.

There are all sorts of other great things here, but I can’t list it all!