Tagine, At Last, Opens Doors to Croton Diners

Tagine at last has opened and Croton has embraced its latest gem of a restaurant/wine bar.

Despite predictions from co-owner Chris Purdy when Patch first toured the place in the fall, that they would be open before November 1, all good things take time.

On January 4, Tagine inauguarated its own new year with welcoming (though seating is decidely limited) candlelit butcher-papered tables, glowing tin (some new, some original 1888), hanging wine bottle lamps (the wine pours from the tap here as well), and tempting food.

The ambience is somewhere between Yorktown’s Peter Pratt’s and Croton’s ümami Café, Purdy said, citing he and partner Jonathan Pratt’s two other venues.

“Very French brasserie. Date night destination,” he described. The food, befitting the setting, is also classic French/Moroccan with steak frites, salad nicoise, duck confit, cassoulet, and of course clay-pot tagine.

There’s banquets down the sides, tables in the middle and a u-shaped bar for countertop dining in the back. Decorative plates fill the walls, but no TV, you’ll note.

“Conversation will have to do," said Purdy, in this “friendly, community gathering spot.”

Tagine is located at 120 Grand Street, in the upper village of Croton-on-Hudson. Hours: Sundays through Thursdays from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays; Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. (914) 827-9393