***UPDATE, 12 June 2016***
TIP: on Yelp it says you're closed Sundays!
Impressed that management seems actually to be heeding these first reviews: music has finally been improved. Mostly good! My best recommendation I forgot to mention in my previous review: add the station "Indila" on Pandora for a spectacular mix of (mostly) French pop music and related.
Also, lattes this time totally up to par. Nicely done.
And: looks like the staff have been advised to up their customer service game - read: to be more friendly. And it worked this morning. Alysson(?) was super friendly with my wife and me this morning; very charming.
A few more good days like this and I'll be sure to add a star for sure.
Finally: how's the wifi situation coming along? :)
***Written while eating here; 9:57a Friday***
First things first: what Jim said - the cheesy soft jazz / elevator music has GOT to go. Like, NOW. With Pandora at your fingertips, really, that's the best you can do? Come on guys. How about some Brazilian tunes or something.
Also, why no wifi??
Ok, now onto the review; but first, some context.
As my wife and I live just a five minute walk from here, we've been counting down the days for last week's grand opening (and missed it). While Rustic Bakery can't quite compete with Cibo's (now) mind-blowing pastries and world class lattes in nearby Sausalito - complete with gorgeous latte art, mind - we've always enjoyed the Larkspur location whenever we've found ourselves in that neighborhood. And as Tiburon has been (weirdly) sorely lacking any proper, cozy, truly quality cafes, RB's arrival in Tibs has been a very welcome thing indeed.
So I'm sitting here tapping away on my phone while enjoying a pain au chocolat and a latte. But before I get to the food, let's address the first elements of any eating establishment: the decor, venue, and above all - let me repeat again: ABOVE ALL - the service.
Decor/venue: Perfect. Absolutely ideal location in Tiburon Boardwalk shopping plaza with ample outdoor seating all around. Music sucks. Great selection of materials, love the vintage photos of Tibs and the surrounding areas.
Service: ok so I know those of you who've read my other reviews already know where I'm going with this, but seriously, to the managers of Marin County restaurants and cafes: please step out of your insular little bubbles and travel just 300-500 mi south and study the customer service in cities and seaside towns between Santa Barbara and San Diego (yes, even LA and OC). Note the pleasant, friendly, laughing, conversational attitudes. Study, learn, replicate here. It's not pleasant to walk into a cafe first thing in the morning and be (not) greeted by a dour-faced, glum employee, who seems they'd rather be stapling papers at Kinkos while eating a spinach waffle and drinking cold pressed alligator poop than serving customers in a cafe.
Right, now that's out of the way, we can finally get to the food:
Pastries: although my wife said her first experience with a scone was sub-optimal - hard, dry, brittle - my chocolate croissant just now was pleasant enough; no complaints. Looking forward to trying the almond croissant next time and hope it's as amazing as the Larkspur branch. Still, I can't stop thinking of Cibo's astonishing selection of (daily changing, mind) pastries and cooked food, a veritable selection of ambrosia if ever I had any....
Coffee: so first things first. I quit daily coffee about four years ago and enjoy it now just occasionally, as a treat now and then. Rather like a coca-cola, say. So for me, the occasional coffee is a very special thing indeed. And sadly, I'm forced to (slightly) echo my wife's conclusion: while I didn't find it as burnt / bitter as she did several days ago, it was certainly nothing special, and in any event, nothing compared to the elixir served at Cibo. But, as a back-handed compliment, it was also sub-par compared to RB's own Larkspur branch where the coffee is truly exceptional (even if it does still fall slightly short of Cibo). Perhaps the staff here in Tibs are still learning the admittedly delicate art of latte creation?
Conclusion: look, RB Tibs is a fine place. It really is. And in a county (Marin) which is sorely - and curiously - lacking in myriad cafes, including and especially those worth pleasant outdoor seating, we couldn't be happier to have it here. But please, just perfect your latte skills and have your service team brush up on their customer service skills: they should make me SMILE and be HAPPY when I order!
And for heaven's sake: please get rid of that damned elevator music. And add some wifi.
Thanks for coming to little Tibs. :) read more