Restaurant Review: Tartine

After putting off her trip to Tartine for fear of a carb-overload, our resident food blogger Christy Ma (aka lolleroll) was pleasantly surprised to find that this French retreat offers a whole lot more than just sandwiches. And it was totally worth breaking the carb code! The only reason I procrastinated a visit to the relatively newly-opened Tartine was because I wasn’t sure when I’d be up for such a carb-intense meal, since I Googled that tartines are French-style open-faced sandwiches. It did turn out to be quite carb-y, as expected, but once we tried their truffle sandwiches, no one cared anymore. Plus, they do have much more delicious items on offer in addition to the tartines – which I think are just as much of a highlight.

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The Venue

Tartine's concept is all about sharing "flavour, fun, and passion" with family and friends and its light, airy, casual setting works well to bring this to life. Both the indoor area and outdoor terrace are simple yet elegant, making this the perfect spot to relax and chat with friends as you share food and enjoy the warm atmosphere.

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The Food

[caption id="attachment_54645" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Selection of Cold Cuts ($168) and Cheese Platter from Les Freres Marchands ($168)[/caption] We started with a Selection of Cold Cuts ($168) and a Cheese Platter from Les Freres Marchands ($168) – the quality of which were both excellent. Then I found out this place is actually opened by the same guys behind ON Dining - no wonder. [caption id="attachment_54660" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Black Truffle Sandwich ($148)[/caption] The Black Truffle Sandwich ($148) is a dish you’re guaranteed to want encores of. The creamy truffle filling was wrapped in a super buttery and toasted, yet soft, brioche. The truffle taste was not overly intense, but it was still a crowd pleaser. [caption id="attachment_54671" align="aligncenter" width="658"] Lobster & Homemade Béchamel Tartine ($148)[/caption] After sampling three tartines, the Lobster & Homemade Béchamel Tartine ($148) was, hands down, the winner for me. The irresistible toasted cheesiness might have won me over, but the lobster meat was quite generous too. Some of us enjoyed the Goat Cheese & Roasted Figs Tartine ($98) even more than the lobster. It’s a good choice if you’re up for something less heavy and oily. Instead, it's refreshing and an unexpectedly perfect combination. Given that the name of this restaurant is Tartine, I would have thought we would have tasted all the highlight-worthy items by this point. But the non-Tartine items deserve just as much credit. Nowadays, you can get pretty good beef tartare at a number of places – I recently had one at FRITES and Sepa which were both quite unforgettable. However, the Grassfed Angus Beef Tartar ($178) would definitely feature in my top five. The dessert section here was probably the biggest let down because there wasn’t a lot of choice (three in total). But thankfully the Berries & Mascarpone Tartine (HK$88) was good enough to make up for that. The cream was perfect – I loved it! You can also order it without the bread. I mean we had had our fill of bread by this point, but I’m just not sure if cream and berries would be so epic without a base.

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The Verdict

Overall, Tartine was one of the more positive dining experiences I’ve had lately. I enjoyed basically every single dish I ordered, even if not every one of them had a unique selling proposition on its own. But maybe it’s a good thing to move away from gimmicks and focus on real good quality food, which is what they do very well here. Tartine, 2-3/F, 38 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, (+852) 2808 0752

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Still hungry? Check out more of our culinary adventures in the Restaurant Reviews below! Cafe Greenprint 12 Best Free-Flow Brunch Buffets Le Garcon Saigon Lily & Bloom Moonshine & The Po’Boys

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