City: Hartford, CT

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (860) 523-5417

Address: 537 Farmington Ave.

Description: We all love Starbucks, but Tisane does everything so much better, you’ll be hard-pressed to go back. For breakfast and lunch this is a coffeehouse, but at night it is a martini bar. Try 100 different kinds of tea, or 80 different kinds of coffee. The menu is global, with little touches from here or there. The moo shoo pancakes or the Far East nachos make great appetizers, and no one can turn down a Brie fondue. Sandwiches and noodle bowls for entrees seem to make this more of a lunch place than anything else, but instead you’ll find Tisane a hip hangout all day long, from the coffee addict’s morning to the after-work cocktail sippers. It’s a good thing this is out on Farmington Avenue rather than in the center of the city (or in the center of West Hartford, for that matter), or seats would be impossible to get. As it stands, travelers with a car, like yourself, can reach this delightful cafe best. Tisane is only closed for 6 hours a night, and you might wonder why they bother.