The Famous California Restaurant Martha Stewart Once Adored Is Famous For Its Bread

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Lifestyle icon Martha Stewart may be famous for her homemade, well, everything, but even she can appreciate the pleasures of letting someone else take the reins in the kitchen once in a while. It's no secret that Stewart has dined her way across the United States (and the world, for that matter), so when she gives her stamp of approval to a restaurant, you know it's got to be good. 

Of all of Stewart's favorite restaurants scattered across the country, one destination stands out for its famous bread. Enter Tartine, a San Francisco and Los Angeles cafe and bakery that's renowned for rustic loaves baked fresh daily. Given that its French name literally translates to "slice of bread," its specialty may come as no surprise. 

Stewart has posted about the San Fran locale multiple times on social media. In one post on X, the star shared a photo of the bakery's ham and cheese croissant, gushing that it was "worth the wait." But the spot also impresses on the pastry front. In another post on the platform, Stewart snapped a pic of the eatery's "hot from the oven sugar buns," adding that they were her "favorite at Tartine." As for Tartine's beloved loaves? Stewart clearly appreciates them — so much so that she shared the recipe for Tartine's country bread on her own website, describing it as "one for the books." So you may be wondering what makes this place so special as to count Martha among its diehard fans?

Tartine was founded in 2002 by baking duo Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson. She, a pastry chef. He, a bread baker. They had met 10 years earlier at the Culinary Institute of America, where they were assigned seating alphabetically and ended up next to each other. Much like the pair describes their stumbling upon an old bakery in San Francisco's Mission District, it was fate. Sweet, fluffy, doughy fate.

Reigniting a fire (no pun intended) for quality baked goods in what has long been considered California's carb capital, Tartine quickly gained recognition for its perfectly flaky pastries and crusty sourdough bread, which Robertson baked using techniques honed over years of apprenticing both in the U.S. and France. Today, Prueitt, Robertson, and the entire Tartine team continue to consider tradition while embracing innovation — and, of course, quality sourced ingredients. Per Tartine's website, the bakery utilizes grains and flour from farms and mills that can be trusted and traced, while the loaves are carefully crafted complete with "much of or all of the original germ, oils, and bran."

There's no doubt that you can taste the difference, and it's one of the reasons that the bakery has remained influential for more than two decades, while its owners have published a number of popular cookbooks, including what many consider to be the ultimate bread bible, "Tartine Bread." You can even sample the goods yourself as Tartine offers a nationwide delivery service if you don't live in L.A. or San Fran, where it currently has stores.