“This is going to be a gold mine,” one customer said to her friend as they exited Tatte Bakery & Cafe in Garden City on opening day last week. And she may well be right. The eatery was off firing on all cylinders — sweet, savory, indoor, outdoor, dine-in, takeout — right out of the starting gate.
The high-end Boston-based chain operates more than 30 locations on the East Coast, most of them clustered around Boston and Washington D.C. But a campaign to infiltrate the metropolitan area looks to be in full force: In New Jersey, Ridgewood, opened in May and Morristown beat Garden City by three weeks.
Tatte takes up residence in the former CoreLife Eatery on the corner of Ninth Street and Franklin Avenue. The soaring space looks like a million bucks, with muted, patterned hex tiles on the floor and gleaming subway tiles on the walls. Marble-topped cafe tables and bentwood chairs lend the space a distinct French vibe, which is matched by the aroma of croissants, open-faced fruit tarts and kouign-amanns (caramelized Breton croissant knots).
The pastry counter at Tatte Bakery & Cafe in Garden City. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
The dozens of baked goods here cross international borders with muffins, apple pie and mini cheesecakes, Linzer cookies, tiramisu and a few items that express founder Tzurit Or’s Middle Eastern heritage such as halvah tea cakes and Jerusalem bagels — huge, tender rings of sesame-encrusted dough which, unlike actual bagels, are not boiled before they are baked. There are also cookies, coffee cakes and artisan breads. Individual items are anywhere from $3 to $8. You’ll also find an extensive range of coffee and tea.
Tatte has a full-service kitchen which prepares a range of breakfasts, salads, soups, sandwiches, quiches and shakshukas ($16.50 to $17.50). Shakshuka is a North African dish wherein eggs are poached in a thick, savory sauce. The “traditional” here features a spiced tomato-bell pepper sauce topped with feta and parsley; or have your shakshuka beefed up with lamb meatballs or tomato-free with potato, mushroom and bacon.
If you can’t find happiness at any of the tables inside or outside along Ninth Street, you can pull up a stool at the coffee bar. Order at the counter and someone will deliver your order no matter where you are sitting. Many of the employees wear T-shirts that subtly inform customers how to pronounce the name of the shop: “I like you a latte … Tatte.”
A Cheddar-ham quiche is served with a salad at Tatte Bakery & Cafe in Garden City. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Pastry chef Or started selling homemade baked goods at Boston’s Copley Square farmers market in 2006. A year later, she opened her first shop, in Brookline. In 2016, Ron Shaich, founder of Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain, became a majority investor.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe, 910 Franklin Ave., Garden City, 516-203-8634, tattebakery.com. Open Monday to Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Erica Marcus, a passionate but skeptical omnivore, has been reporting and opining on the Long Island food scene since 1998.
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