Desserts in Redlands: Crème Brûlée, Cheesecake, and the Tartan Special
Redlands, California, is a city that wears its charm effortlessly — tree-lined streets, Victorian architecture, and a dining scene that quietly punches above its weight. While the city has long been celebrated for its citrus heritage and historic restaurants, a growing number of food lovers are discovering something equally compelling: its dessert culture. From the elegant crack of a perfectly torched crème brûlée to the velvety richness of a well-crafted cheesecake, Redlands is a destination that takes its sweets seriously. And at the heart of it all, one legendary establishment continues to serve up the kind of dessert experience that keeps locals coming back decade after decade — Tartan of Redlands.
The Sweet Side of Redlands
Dessert is often an afterthought in many dining cities, a perfunctory scoop of ice cream or a slice of factory-made pie slid across a table without ceremony. Redlands is different. Here, dessert is treated as the punctuation mark at the end of a great meal — deliberate, satisfying, and worthy of its own conversation.
The city’s dining establishments have long understood that a great dessert doesn’t just close out a meal; it defines the memory of the entire evening. Whether you’re finishing off a leisurely dinner date, celebrating a milestone birthday, or simply indulging in a well-earned Friday night treat, the dessert options in Redlands deliver the kind of genuine, made-with-care quality that restaurant chains simply cannot replicate.
Crème Brûlée: A Classic Elevated
Few desserts carry the theatrical elegance of a proper crème brûlée. The dessert’s name — French for “burnt cream” — barely scratches the surface of its appeal. What arrives at the table is a shallow ramekin filled with silky, vanilla-kissed custard, its surface crowned with a thin, glassy layer of caramelized sugar that shatters at the tap of a spoon with immensely satisfying drama.
In Redlands, crème brûlée is prepared with a reverence that honors its French roots. The custard base demands patience — eggs, heavy cream, sugar, and pure vanilla bean are combined with precision, then slow-baked in a water bath to achieve that signature trembling consistency. Too much heat and the custard turns grainy; too little and it never sets. The balance is everything.
What separates a great crème brûlée from a forgettable one is often what you don’t see: the quality of the cream, the freshness of the vanilla, and the discipline of the torching hand. A skilled kitchen worker applies heat in even, circular passes, building up a caramel crust that is neither too thick to shatter cleanly nor too thin to hold its structure. The result is a dessert that is simultaneously rustic and refined — humble in its ingredients, extraordinary in its execution.
For diners in Redlands, crème brûlée represents a kind of dessert philosophy: classic technique, quality ingredients, and an understanding that simplicity, done right, is never boring.
Cheesecake: The Great American Comfort Dessert
If crème brûlée is the sophisticated evening gown of the dessert world, cheesecake is the perfectly tailored classic suit — timeless, universally beloved, and endlessly versatile. Redlands has embraced cheesecake in all its forms, from the dense, New York-style slabs that require a fork and full commitment, to lighter, whipped variations that melt away before you realize you’ve had a second bite.
The anatomy of a truly great cheesecake begins at its foundation. A well-constructed graham cracker crust should be buttery without being greasy, firm enough to hold a clean slice but crumbly enough to yield with pleasure. The filling — cream cheese, eggs, sugar, a whisper of vanilla, and often a touch of sour cream for balance — must be mixed until smooth and baked with the same careful temperature control as its French cousin, the crème brûlée.
Redlands kitchens take particular pride in the cheesecake as a canvas. Seasonal fruit toppings like fresh strawberries or blueberry compote make their appearance when local produce is at its peak. Caramel ribbons, chocolate ganache drizzles, and praline crumbles have all made their mark on variations served throughout the city’s dining establishments.
What makes cheesecake so deeply beloved isn’t just its flavor — it’s the emotional warmth it carries. It is birthday-table food. It is celebration food. It is the kind of dessert that shows up at the right moment in life and feels like a reward for simply making it through the week. In Redlands, that feeling is understood and honored.
The Tartan Special: A Dessert with History
Then comes the Tartan Special — a dessert that goes beyond simply satisfying your sweet tooth; it brings a narrative to life with every bite.
At Tartan of Redlands, dessert is not an appendage to the menu. It is a continuation of a decades-long commitment to feeding the Redlands community with sincerity and soul. The Tartan Special is the kind of dessert that locals describe to out-of-town guests in reverent tones — the kind you order on instinct, because it has never once let you down.
Deeply rooted in the steakhouse tradition that defines Tartan’s identity, the Tartan Special embodies what the restaurant does best: taking something familiar and executing it with such consistency and care that it becomes iconic. It is dessert as an act of hospitality — generous in portion, honest in flavor, and served with the warmth that has made Tartan a Redlands institution since 1964.
The Tartan Special is not chasing trends. It is not deconstructed or reimagined for social media aesthetics. It is exactly what it promises to be, every single time — and in a world that increasingly values novelty over reliability, that kind of dessert is rarer and more precious than it might appear.
Why Desserts Matter in a Community Like Redlands
Redlands is a city that values continuity. It has preserved its historic downtown, celebrated its Victorian homes, and supported restaurants that have weathered decades of changing food culture. In this context, desserts are more than just a final course — they are a form of community glue.
When you sit down at a table in Redlands and finish a meal with a dessert that has been made the same way for years — the same recipe, the same care, the same intention — you are participating in something larger than dinner. You are connecting with a tradition that has been shared across generations of the same families, across countless first dates and anniversaries and post-Little League dinners.
That is the quiet power of a great dessert. It doesn’t announce itself. It simply arrives, does its work beautifully, and leaves you with the particular contentment of knowing that some things in this world remain exactly as good as you remember them.
Redlands understands this. Its crème brûlées, its cheesecakes, and its Tartan Specials are proof.
About Tartan of Redlands
Tartan of Redlands is a cherished local gem that has been a cornerstone of the community since it first opened its doors on April 15, 1964. Celebrated for serving classic steakhouse dishes in a warm, community-focused setting, the restaurant was originally founded by the Ctoteau brothers — Velmer, Al, and Art — with a straightforward and heartfelt mission: to provide flavorful, satisfying meals paired with outstanding, genuine service.
Over the decades, ownership of Tartan has evolved, yet its foundational principles have remained beautifully intact. Larry Westin became an integral part of the Ctoteau family’s operation and played a key role in shaping the restaurant’s culture for many years. Following his passing in 2003, Larry Westin Jr. honorably carried forward the family tradition until 2015, when Jeff and Lisa Salamon stepped in as the current owners, ensuring the legacy was placed in capable and caring hands.
Jeff Salamon, a Marine Corps veteran originally from Boston, continues to steer Tartan with a leadership philosophy rooted in loyalty, tradition, and a deep commitment to nurturing community spirit — values that align naturally with everything the restaurant has always stood for.
The menu remains a celebration of beloved steakhouse staples, anchored by the famous Saturday prime rib, top-tier steaks prepared to perfection, and the iconic Redlands Tartan Burger, which has earned its own devoted following. A well-appointed full bar rounds out the experience, adding to the convivial, welcoming atmosphere that defines an evening at Tartan.
Affectionately known throughout Redlands as the “Cheers of Redlands,” Tartan has earned this title through its relaxed and unpretentious vibe, attentive and personable service, and a fiercely loyal customer base that spans generations. With both indoor and outdoor seating available, Tartan remains a beloved, year-round gathering place for locals — a restaurant where everybody knows your name, and the food is always worth coming back for.
