Tatte: Why I Took Out Student Loans

Tatte, we’re so glad you’re here. Perfect timing with the opening, too. With an indefinitely long HUDS strike imminent and frozen food as our likely only offered option, you can bet on a flood of Harvard students coming your way.

With the sudden closing of Panera Bread this past February, we at Flyby realized that everything was going to hell. No more cozy bakery-cafes in the Square? Where on earth were we supposed to eat when Marshmallow Mateys from brain break just weren’t cutting it?

Tatte’s long awaited opening has answered our prayers. The beloved bakery-cafe concept has returned to Harvard Square, and it’s better than ever. We went to check it out for this review, but mostly to add some artsy vibes to our Snapchat stories and approximately 6 new food snaps for the Insta.

Menu

Yummmm... By Allison P. Yan

Obviously, Tatte is a bakery-cafe, so their food offerings should be the most important part. Luckily, Tatte’s baked goods are the most Insta-presentable foods we’ve ever seen. They’re also pretty delicious.

The fluffy pastries stacked against the counter call out to those with a sweet tooth or a carb craving. On the menu, Tatte has typical cafe options spanning different types of sandwiches and salads. Their breakfast and brunch offerings are delicious as well, with plenty of options to satisfy both the indulgent sweet-loving customer and your health-conscious blockmate who will only eat salads and oatmeal.

The only downside are the prices on some of these items. Ten dollars for an egg and avocado tartine? Eating at this place could get pricey if you’re not careful.

The Coffee
As self-proclaimed coffee aficionados, we have been absolutely itching for a good coffee joint around these parts of town. There are a few places around the Square that have pretty good coffee—Crema and Darwin’s come to mind—but let’s be honest, those places aren’t all that instagrammable.

Luckily, Tatte coffee is probably the best coffee we’ve had in Cambridge so far. The milk in my macchiato was frothed to perfection, the coffee strong yet sensual. Coffees even come with some tastefully done milk art. Added bonus, there’s something incredibly satisfying about drinking good coffee from a real mug, not some paper-plastic white cup (looking at you, Starbz and Barker).

Drink prices are more than reasonable.

Interior
Forget the homey feeling of Panera, with its orange and yellow walls and suburban vibe. Tatte is chic and hip, with a crisp black-and-white aesthetic and tiled floors. The renovations scream “Insta me now to gain hipster credibility.”

While the place is likely to be quite busy on most days, there are two floors’ worth of seating options. Great place to study if you have some light reading to do.

Customer Service
The staff at Tatte Harvard Square were kind and accommodating, despite seeming a little frazzled figuring things out on their first day with customers. Kudos to the staff member who spent a good five minutes explaining their entire breakfast menu to a confused customer. Additional kudos to the staff member who actually got our names right on our drink orders.

The days of walking down Mass Ave. without a fresh pastry one hand and a warm coffee in the other are thankfully over. Tatte Bakery and Cafe has finally opened in Harvard Square, and it is essentially heaven on earth. Thank you for being our coffee-bearing, Instagram-saving, hipster-reaffirming hero.