Tatiana's Coffee & Tea, Ventura

Tatiana's Coffee and Tea

2470 E. Main Street

Ventura  CA 93003

My son came home a few weeks ago talking about a coffee house that he and his friends put up a poster for a robotics competition, and he was saying how nice they were. He described the location, and I knew he was talking about Tatiana's Coffee and Tea, and he said he wanted to go back because they were so nice.

Tatiana's has been there for about six months, and I'd been in once before. That time Tatiana was off but her husband was in, and he was nice enough. There were a couple of reasons that I never went back, though. First, the hours weren't very agreeable with my schedule, they being open only 7:30 to 5, and, second, they serve Santa Barbara Roast.

I find Santa Barbara Roast coffee to be a bit bitter for me, and I prefer Beacon or Starbucks. Still, Tatiana was nice to my son, and I did say we can go, so after a morning run we swung in for a coffee, hot chocolate and as an afterthought, an empanada.

The empanada was a great choice. Prepared by Chef Galo of the late Cafe Bariloche, it was excellent. A light, flaky pie crust surrounding a seasoned meat filling, it was excellent, and made me long for the flavorful South American food that I had the few times I was in Cafe Bariloche.

But the coffee...

Tatiana was in on this visit, and she's very nice, and because of her I hope the coffee house succeeds. The prices were in line with other places, the walls were filled with local artwork, all of which is for sale, the chairs were comfy, and so everything seems in order. Tatiana herself struck the right balance between friendly conversation, and backing away so that my son and I could talk, and she seems genuinely proud of her space.

The empanada and Tatiana's pleasant demeanor means I'll be back. They also have Wifi, so it'll be good when I need the internet, but also need to get out of the house.