I like small places with character, good service and a chef that knows how to prepare interesting dishes and Tartine checked off all of those. In the Historic District of Rocky River this small restaurant with bar has a small but very interesting menu with a staff that was friendly and helpful from our entrance. The menu has two sides with meat and vegan choices with a focus on tartines, appetizers and soups. We had the Fromage Board, Butternut & Apple Bisque and the Duck Tartine. The cheeses were not exotic but abundant served with a good bread and jam. The Butternut Apple soup lacked flavor of Butternut Squash or Apple but the Duck Tartine was delicious. The star was our desert - the Pistachio Cheesecake tooped with an Italian Meringue which was outstanding. I'd be happy to return and try the other choices.
Tartine Bistro
Excerpts
I like small places with character, good service and a chef that knows how to prepare interesting dishes and Tartine checked off all of those. In the Historic District of Rocky River this small restaurant with bar has a small but very interesting menu with a staff that was friendly and helpful from our entrance. The menu has two sides with meat and vegan choices with a focus on tartines, appetizers and soups. We had the Fromage Board, Butternut & Apple Bisque and the Duck Tartine. The cheeses were not exotic but abundant served with a good bread and jam. The Butternut Apple soup lacked flavor of Butternut Squash or Apple but the Duck Tartine was delicious. The star was our desert - the Pistachio Cheesecake tooped with an Italian Meringue which was outstanding. I'd be happy to return and try the other choices.
A lot of hype, and potential, but Tartine Bistro is a swing and a miss for me! Let’s start by highlighting the things this restaurant is doing well. I love the location in Rocky River! The venue is also done up fashionably with a cute interior, lovely front patio for dining al fresco, and a beautiful private dining area in the back for events. I also greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness to include a menu featuring a mix of upscale options like steak and risotto as well as more approachable options like pizza and tartines. (However, pizza is clearly not a French inspired item which breaks the theme of the menu for me). Now let’s address what went wrong with this experience… Upon entry it took the staff an abnormally long time to greet us and seat us at a table, despite there being many open tables available. Subsequently, it took even longer for the server to swing by and ask about a drink order. When asked about anything on the menu, the server seemed confused and also incredibly disinterested. When asked if he could recommend anything he said he doesn’t eat the food and will never. This doesn’t instill confidence. If a restaurant doesn’t make the staff try the food then how can they help guests with orders? Sort of brazen of the restaurant for letting servers go rogue. The menu was exciting in many ways because it’s really rare to find French food made vegan. I ordered the steak au poivre, a French classic. Sometimes a French bistro should nail, right? No! The steak ate more like the texture of a pot roast. The sauce which is supposed to be the star of this dish was bland and reminiscent of a subpar store bought gravy. The broccolini was overcooked and the veg hash was lukewarm at best. Worst of all, the broccolini had a hair in it. 🤢 The other guests in my party enjoyed their pizza and salad, but I was told the chicken on the salad was bland and the pizza crust was overcooked. Overall, based on the experience I had, I cannot recommend this restaurant to diners. The service and food experience were disappointing and subpar for the area.
A lot of hype, and potential, but Tartine Bistro is a swing and a miss for me! Let’s start by highlighting the things this restaurant is doing well. I love the location in Rocky River! The venue is also done up fashionably with a cute interior, lovely front patio for dining al fresco, and a beautiful private dining area in the back for events. I also greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness to include a menu featuring a mix of upscale options like steak and risotto as well as more approachable options like pizza and tartines. (However, pizza is clearly not a French inspired item which breaks the theme of the menu for me). Now let’s address what went wrong with this experience… Upon entry it took the staff an abnormally long time to greet us and seat us at a table, despite there being many open tables available. Subsequently, it took even longer for the server to swing by and ask about a drink order. When asked about anything on the menu, the server seemed confused and also incredibly disinterested. When asked if he could recommend anything he said he doesn’t eat the food and will never. This doesn’t instill confidence. If a restaurant doesn’t make the staff try the food then how can they help guests with orders? Sort of brazen of the restaurant for letting servers go rogue. The menu was exciting in many ways because it’s really rare to find French food made vegan. I ordered the steak au poivre, a French classic. Sometimes a French bistro should nail, right? No! The steak ate more like the texture of a pot roast. The sauce which is supposed to be the star of this dish was bland and reminiscent of a subpar store bought gravy. The broccolini was overcooked and the veg hash was lukewarm at best. Worst of all, the broccolini had a hair in it. 🤢 The other guests in my party enjoyed their pizza and salad, but I was told the chicken on the salad was bland and the pizza crust was overcooked. Overall, based on the experience I had, I cannot recommend this restaurant to diners. The service and food experience were disappointing and subpar for the area.
I had a very enjoyable evening here on the patio with my dog Tony. The server Mila was amazing, so nice (and cute) and put up with my 50 questions and special requests. I came here for vegan food and the patio. Vegan French onion soup was amazing and the vegan creme brûlée as well. I did not like lemongrass dip, and Mila offered to take it away and off the bill which I appreciated. The broccoli was ok. Next time I will try a pizza or vegan steak. Wilamette valley pinot noir was very nice and so was the salty dog. They brought Tony a water bowl and everybody was so nice to him. Perfect night on the patio. Thank you for having several thoughtful vegan options! I love when I can try some vegan food that isn’t burgers and deep fried. Thank you Mila