TART. Southern comfort food. If you don't dig it, have a drink.
Tart Restaurant
115 South Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
OVERALL ★★★☆
FOOD ★★☆☆
AESTHETIC ★★★☆
CROWD ★★☆☆
SERVICE ★★★☆
Best for: Brunch & Happy Hour Drinks and Appetizers
Tart restaurant, located in the Farmer's Daughter Hotel (across from The Grove) is a trendy, quaint spot with a southern flare. Based on the concept of "what's old is new again," Tart resembles a vintage European bistro with a flare of country and LA bouginess. Overall, Tart had a cute aesthetic and was well-decorated, but definitely not something we haven't seen before in the city of LA.
The menu is limited to southern comfort food, which we don't necessarily love but can appreciate its uniqueness in a city that tends to promote Californian food and healthy eating. Tart serves a great brunch 7-days a week for those of you who enjoy southern-inspired dishes (personally not something we ever crave). The brunch menu features waffles, fried chicken shrimp and grits, and a variety of other dishes. We could appreciate the unique menu, but personally would prefer a traditional American breakfast any day (which is featured on the brunch menu, but still if you're going to come here you don't order that!). We did however love the bottomless mimosas ... I mean who doesn't. Unfortunately, the dinner menu was also quite limited, serving primarily gamy meat (sorry to all the vegans and vegetarians here in LA). We did on the other hand love that there is a happy hour drink menu (3-8pm daily) featuring cocktails for under 10 bucks - what a deal. We can honestly say that what we ordered here from their dinner menu was satisfying and delicious. The brussel sprouts were actually to die for. Probably the best brussel sprouts we've had and trust me we've tried A LOT of brussel sprouts in this city. Somehow they've managed to become a trendy vegetable. Also, the meat and cheese board was fabulous and the mac and cheese was awesome! Overall, the food was good, not great. Also, if you are a picky eater, this is definitely not the place for you. The food menu is really quite limited so if you really don't like southern food , you will likely struggle to find something to eat.
Our favorite part about this restaurant are the stellar discounts (not the food, sorry). We love the Happy Hour drink menu. We do wish there was food on the happy hour menu but we will take what we can get! Also, we love the fact that if you jump in the pool, you get 50% off your entrees. So you can get tipsy on some bottomless mimosas, dive in the pool, and get a huge discount on your check.
Tart would definitely not be our first choice for brunch or dinner in LA, or even our second, or third. But, we definitely recommend checking this spot out especially if you are shopping in the area or really enjoy southern-inspired food. This is definitely a good dining option if you're around the area given the fact the Grove has pretty horrible restaurants and the surrounding Third Street features more lunch spots. Also, it’s a nice quiet spot with a great outdoor seating area and fireplace. Keep in mind parking in this area will forever be brutal so if you’re making a reservation remember you may be circling the block a bit to find a spot.
