This is part of a series called “What It’s Like” where we at The Bold Italic tell you what a place in San Francisco is actually like. Based on our own experiences and those of our readers.
- Tartine Bakery: 600 Guerrero Street, at 18th, the Mission. Open daily 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (415) 487-2600. Tartine Inner Sunset: 1226 9th Avenue, between Lincoln and Irving. Open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (415) 742-5005.
- Also the Tartine Manufactory on 595 Alabama St. Many locations in Los Angeles, and South Korea, as well.
- Order the country loaf, the morning bun, and a croissant. A half loaf is $8.95 against $14.95 for the whole.
Tartine opened in 2002 at 600 Guerrero, the work of Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, then married. She ran the pastries, he ran the bread. The two had met at culinary school and baked together in Point Reyes before landing in the Mission, taking over a corner that had been a neighborhood bakery twice before. They named it Tartine, French for an open-faced sandwich.
Robertson pulled his bread from the oven at five in the afternoon, so regulars learned to time their whole day to the drop. In 2008 the pair won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and Robertson’s 2010 book Tartine Bread became the text that sparked the sourdough craze and took over every locked-down kitchen in 2020. Today the country loaf runs $14.95, the single most argued-about number in San Francisco baking.
How to get there
For the Mission, the 33-Ashbury/18th stops at 18th and Guerrero, both directions, right at the door, though it stops running at 10 p.m. The 22-Fillmore is three blocks north on 16th, and 16th Street Mission BART is a four-block, ten-minute walk. Dolores Park is one block west, which is where your bread is going anyway.
For the Inner Sunset, the N-Judah stops at 9th and Irving, at the south end of Tartine’s own block, though only heading west. The 6, 43 and 44 all run on 9th Avenue, and the 44-O’Shaughnessy goes 24 hours. If you drive, the Millberry Union garage at 500 Parnassus is the reliable option, six blocks uphill at $3.75 an hour.
What it’s like
In the Mission, Tartine is known for the line. It wraps the corner of Guerrero and 18th, moves slower than you expect, and is the reason half the internet has an opinion about this place. The room is small, loud and tiled, seating is limited and contested, and it works less as a café than as a pickup counter that happens to have chairs. Get the bread and the morning bun, walk it one block to Dolores Park, and don’t plan on lingering.
In the Inner Sunset, the vibe is more like somewhere you can actually sit down. The 9th Avenue location opened in 2019, runs about 3,000 square feet with 45 seats inside and ten on the patio, and the staff move people through even when it fills.
I personally know this location better, and I like it except having to bus my own table and listen to order names screamed from the counter. The overpriced coffee and pastry are both worth the money.
What people say
The consensus is that the bread is very good and the price is a provocation. Almost everyone in our Facebook comments wanted to talk about the fifteen dollars. Eve Glickman: “$15 for a loaf of bread? I live in France. I almost had a heart attack.” Ellen Herlihy: “Bread like that in France costs about 4 euros. Maybe less.” Beth Patty: “I never paid $15 for baked flour and water.” Ray Capiral came down the other way: “Worth the wait… and the price. Unless you already know how to bake your own.”
Catherine Cusic offered the workaround: “Actually you can buy 1/2 loaf for 1/2 price = $8.00. The 1/2 loaf is the size of other full loafs from Acme etc.” We checked and found a different answer: A half country loaf is $8.95 against $14.95 for the whole, so you’re paying a small premium per ounce for the smaller size…