Where to eat a delicious Tarte Tatin?
A legendary dessert of French gastronomy, Tarte Tatin is a timeless pastry. From tea rooms to fine dining, we take you on a journey through France's most successful versions.
A classic of bistro desserts, tarte Tatin seduces with its combination of melting, caramelized apples and thin, crisp pastry. Legend has it that it was born at the Hôtel Tatin (Loir-et-Cher), run by two sisters. In the heat of the service, one of them forgot the pastry under the fruit... She added it on top, before putting the tart back in the oven and serving it upside down. A story popularized by the gastronome Curnonsky. In reality, this tart simply comes from an old Sologne recipe: fruit stewed in butter and sugar in a frying pan, then covered with pastry before going into the oven. A dessert baked"upside down" and eaten right-side up. Today, Tarte Tatin is best served warm, with crème fraîche, ice cream or whipped cream. Classic or revisited, it remains a pure pleasure.
At the Petit Tonneau in Paris by Vincent Neveu
This is THE signature dessert of the menu: a traditional Tarte Tatin. The apples are coated with caramel, cooked covered and then uncovered in a copper sautoir, before being covered with an almond powder-based pastry. The tart is served warm with a quenelle of Isigny double cream, whose acidity is a perfect match for the melting apples. A rustic dessert, very well executed.
- Price: €14
- Where? 20 rue Surcouf, 75007 Paris
- See Gault&Millau's review of Au Petit Tonneau
Dorée cacao à Montargis by Thomas Rodrigues
The world champion of tartes Tatin. Its secret? It's baked in three stages. The apples first render their juice in a buttery caramel in the oven; they are then placed on the gas over low heat, to concentrate the caramel; before returning to the oven, covered with a shortcrust pastry. A perfect balance between sweetness and acidity.
- Price: from €4.50 a slice
- Where? 17 Rue Jean Jaurès, 45200 Montargis
Boulangerie Feuillette in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt by Jean-François Feuillette
Fruit in the foreground. In this Tarte Tatin, the apple halves are set upright in a hazelnut butter caramel. After an initial baking, they are returned to the oven, covered with a thin disk of puff pastry. The apples are melt-in-the-mouth, almost stewed, but still hold their shape. A tarte Tatin without the artifice.
- Price: from €4
- Where? 69 route nationale A, 41350 Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt
- See Gault&Millau's review of Boulangerie Feuillette
La Maison Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron by Julien Floquet
The original Tarte Tatin perfected. The dessert forged its fame with the Tatin sisters, in the XIXᵉ century. Here, you need a nice quantity of apples, placed in a rosette in caramel at the bottom of a sautoir, and baked under a shortcrust pastry. Today, the recipe has evolved subtly, with a thicker pastry for greater balance with the fruit, and a caramel reworked according to a version found in one of the House's grimoires. The tart is warmed and topped with the caramel. It's that little extra touch... that makes all the difference.
- Price: from €5 a slice to take away
- Where? 5 avenue de Vierzon, 41600 Lamotte-Beuvron
- See Gault&Millau's review of La Maison Tatin
Auberge du Cheval Blanc in Selles-Saint-Denis by Corentin Poyau
Gastronomic Tarte Tatin. It's the perfect combination of finely sliced and intermingled apples and pears, assembled in a millefeuille over a salted butter caramel, before being candied for a long time in the oven. It's accompanied by waffle puff pastry, pear pickles, lemon crème crue and an extremely gourmet fruit caramel. A top-notch Tarte Tatin.
- Price : from €4.50 per tartlet, available in large format.
- Where? 5 place du Mail, 41300 Selles-Saint-Denis
- See Gault&Millau's review ofAuberge du Cheval Blanc
La Butte à Plouider by Nicolas Conraux
Version 2.0. Nicolas Conraux is the king of fermentation, and his Tarte Tatin is no exception: the apples are candied in Coco de Paimpol miso for twelve hours. The result: an intact texture, incomparable mellowness and a pleasantly acidic note. The apples are then caramelized before being placed on a crumble of chia seeds and oat flakes, topped with a vanilla chantilly. A daring and highly accomplished interpretation.
- Price: from €4.50 per tartlet, available in large format.
- Where? 12 rue de la Mer, 29260 Plouider
- See Gault&Millau's review of La Butte
Le Barbier qui fume in Lille by Frédéric Brel
A daring variation. Tarte Tatin is no exception at this restaurant specializing in smoking: the apples are cold-smoked with beechwood. They are then candied in a buttery caramel, before being baked in a shortbread crust. This woody note adds a singular touch to the caramelized sweetness of the apples.
- Price : from €4.50 takeaway
- Where? 51 rue d'Esch-sur-Alzette 59000 Lille
- See Gault&Millau's review of Le Barbier qui fume
Brasserie Bordelaise in Bordeaux
A little extra zest. What's special about this tarte Tatin? Its acidity, with hints of orange. The apples are candied in an orange caramel, then pan-fried in butter to caramelize and melt.the apples are candied in an orange caramel, then pan-fried in butter to caramelize and melt in the mouth, before finishing the baking process covered with puff pastry... and sprinkled with orange peel and caramel reduction. This tart is served with Isigny double cream. Delicious, sweet and fresh: that's the winning combo of this Tarte Tatin.
- Price: €12
- Where? 50 rue Saint-Rémi, 33000 Bordeaux
- See Gault&Millau's review of La brasserie Bordelaise
La Ganache Monthé in Bernay by Lisa and Noémie Vitiello
An elegant reinvention of the tarte Tatin. Here, sliced apples are caramelized with a mixture of sugar and honey, with salted butter. They are placed on buttered Breton shortbread. And this tart is served with a delicately poached chantilly cream on top. The little extra? The apples come from a small local producer, and the honey from the Bernay market. A little gem!
- Price: €5.50
- Where? 14 rue Gaston Folloppe, 27300 Bernay
ID Sucré in Laval by Maxime Helbert
A contemporary version of Tarte Tatin. Here, it's declined according to the season: apple-pear-vanilla; apple-strawberry-rhubarb; apple-caramel; pear-apple-tonka. The fruit is cooked in sugar and butter, then mixed with a fruit purée. The gelled whole is placed on a streusel topped with vanilla ganache and salted butter caramel. crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth, fruity: a real treat...
- Price : from €4.90 individually
- Where? 39 rue de la Paix, 53000 Laval
- See Gault&Millau's review of ID Sucré
