Tatte Bakery & Cafe Arlington

Most of the dishes are very good.

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Tatte is a 15 year old chain restaurant in the US. 31 locations in Massachusetts and Washington DC. The menu is the same at all of them. Majority owned by Panera.

Seems odd to review it. Like reviewing a Cheesecake Factory at a mall.

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The shakshuka here is fantastic. You can add lamb meatballs for a small upcharge. This is one of the great food bargains in DC. Served with some thick slices of a good bread, it is a hearty five-star delight.

The salad nicoise is the second best thing to order. Extremely well executed.

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The salad tempted me, but I’m not a salad guy. Now I might try it. Are the potatoes peeled?

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I guess your yuck is someone else’s yum :woman_shrugging:t2:

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I’m sorry, this place isn’t my "yuck’ or ā€˜yum’.

They are not in this photo:

Then why are you picking on the fact that someone chose to review it? Doesn’t seem necessary.

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I haven’t been to Cheesecake Factory for at least 15 years. I like Tatte a lot. To me, the bakery products and food are mostly very good, especially for the price and for a chain restaurant.

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My memory is not that specific, but I think they may have been small potatoes with the skin on.

I live down the street from this new location and I appreciate the review and the accompanying insider tips on how to avoid excessive waits. In this ex-burb of Boston, the opening was certainly exciting news (especially considering it was slated to be a Chase bank after Not Your Average Joe’s closed…my niece was involved in the Chase takeover, which thankfully failed).

I haven’t been to a Tatte since the days of going into an office in Kendall. I always enjoyed the food, though I found it a bit too precious in certain ways. In any case, thanks for the review @Ferrari328.

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I love the poached egg with labneh and garlic oil. It’s my savory platonic ideal of breakfast. It’s always on the menu with a changing cast of supporting characters and the fall plate include roasted Jerusalem artichokes and is my new obsession. I also appreciate that they have a really great gluten free assortment of treats, and can do any sandwich or toast GF. The only thing I don’t appreciate is that they won’t let me bring my own coffee mug. Since I work very close by this definitely weighs into my coffee choices since both Starbucks and Butternut Bakehouse encourage customers to bring a travel mug.

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Always appreciate your reviews of lunch spots around here. Useful info.

FWIW, I remember when Tatte was an independent local business. I’d guess other folks on the HO Boston board may as well.

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I have some vague memory of this. Where was it located?

(Hey, I remember when Au Bon Pain started with just one or two locations, and when their baked goods were decent, especially their loaf-like blueberry muffin.)

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My memory is of my husband taking me to the Kendall Square location, because the tech and biotech folks were excited to have it in their work neighborhood. That was in 2012. Not the first location though—apparently that would have been Brookline in 2008 according to the interwebs.

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Thanks for a very inserting and helpful review. That’s quite a range of quality in a restaurant, and your guidance shows the land mines

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I have a memory of Tatte as a stand at the Copley Square farmer’s market, pre-Beacon Street Brookline. At that point it was mostly those unique nut ā€œtartsā€ and other baked goods.

Once the Beacon Street location opened (in the old Savoy Bakery spot) the menu expanded.

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It’s funny, my chef friend recommended Tatte when I visited Boston in 2018. Everything was great, certainly better than what I can get at a Canadian bakery chain. The spaces inside the 2 Tattes I visited in Boston had that corporate feel like a Panera or Bouchon Bakery.

The goods were better than I expected, so I can understand a thread for Tatte. Maybe not for a specific Tatte location, but a thread for Tatte stuff.

That said, Canadians line up for the Cheesecake Factory in a Toronto mall for hours because there aren’t many locations and it’s new.

I haven’t lined up at Cheesecake Factory in Toronto because my aunt in Colorado was a chain food person. I’ve already visited several Cheesecake Factories in Colorado, and one in Boston. That said, I did contribute to a Cheesecake Factory thread on Chowhound about what to order. (Avocado spring rolls and the Chinese Chicken Salad)

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oh yes, I am remembering the amazing nut tarts at the Copley Square farmers market. I gazed at them with awe. Couldn’t possibly afford them but always enjoyed the vicarious experience.

I remember something about the original owner who got some criticism and accusations of discrimination. https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/israeli-ceo-of-bostons-tatte-bakery-chain-steps-down-amid-discrimination-accusations-636683

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Also, though majority owner is Panera, the food is nothing like Panera. The original owner/founder/chef was Israeli and the food reflects that.

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