If you don’t look carefully, you just might miss it. There are no big signs, no front door fanfare, no huge welcoming committee to seat you…just a perfect little space in the Anya Tish Art Gallery off of Montrose. On a hot Houston day, a trip to Tart Café will chill you off instantly. The space is minimal, cool and clean with one huge floor-to-ceiling window that looks out to Montrose. Concrete tabletops mimic the concrete floors and are accented by black booths, white chairs and white walls.
The kitchen is exposed so you can watch as most everything is prepared from scratch. Owner John Ray greeted us at the counter and entertained us with his comedic and amiable chatter about the menu. When asked what the most popular item on the menu is, his response was, “Everything. If people don’t order it often, we don’t keep it on the menu.” Good answer! Makes perfect sense but we’re always surprised by how many restaurants don’t have that logic.
We ordered the tomato pesto tart, the margarita tart and a Sissie cookie (named after John’s aunt). While we waited, a close look around revealed some interesting signs with very subtle sexual innuendo. Or maybe we’re the ones with our head in the proverbial gutter. You decide: “How do you like it? Big, soft or in between?” “Hot Meat Sandwich.” “Picking up a tart just got easier.”
Hmmmm. Okay, back to the food. John brought out our tarts pretty quickly. The crust on our tomato tart was infused with herbs and filled with a mixture of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. A side salad with walnut vinaigrette finished off our light meal. Some may complain about the not-so-Texas-size portions, but we found Tart’s portions perfect for a healthy meal with room for dessert. And dessert shouldn’t be missed. The dessert tarts are beautiful to the eye and scrum-deli-o-cious. The margarita tart was limey and tangy with a smooth sweetness from the condensed milk (though we did think it was a tad bit on the too-sweet side). The Sissie cookie, however, is something we could easily eat on a daily basis: soft, cakey, rich in vanilla and topped off with an almond glaze. There’s a cinnamon version of the same cookie, but we wanted to suggest to John to add a little lemon zest in the cookie and top with lemon icing for a great summer treat.
Modish and welcoming, farm-fresh ingredients, cool and hip space, stellar location and charismatic characters behind the counter...if only there were a frequent visitor card.
The Verdict: take a break from the stripmall dives and check out a cool café in a chic space. Enjoy the tarts, keep a lookout for sexual innuendos and converse with John.
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Tart Cafe
4411 Montrose Blvd
Mon-Sat 11am-9pm
Closed Sundays
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