I'd been meeting to eat at Bar Tartine forever, and finally made it in last night. It met, but did not exceed, my expectations.
The atmosphere was nice - convivial but not too loud. The food was good (except dessert, but I'll get to that later). It honestly kind of reminded me of all the other trendy places in SF. We sat at the bar, which was nice because it didn't require a reservation.
Also, they had orange wine! Hard to find here in SF.
My complaints were mostly with the end of the meal. I didn't love the desserts - the ice cream tasted like lotion to me but I suppose that's a matter of personal preference.
What annoyed me the most was that they don't have decaf coffee. I was told that "since we are in a drought, as a water conservation measure they are not serving decaf coffee, because decaffeinating the beans is a very water-intensive process."
^^ I'd note that coffee production, period, is water intensive period, so why single out decaf?
^^ What about almonds?
^^ I'd also note that if water conservation is so important, they might not want to be in the restaurant business, as it's far more sustainable for people to simply eat at home.
I believe in conservation and sustainability as much as anyone, but I don't think that undermining their own dining experience is the way to do so. I know this sounds crazy, but I *love* having a decaf coffee after dinner (it doesn't keep me up!), and not having it really clouded my experience. In fact, if they had just not had any coffee at all, that would have been less offensive than singling out decaf coffee specifically.