Pischke’s Blue Ribbon Cafe

I can’t this is still listed. PLACE HAS BEEN OUT OF BUSINESS FOR A YEAR.

Needs a new name — now.
The Pischke’s of old had such a sad ending. I appreciated McGrath’s effort to keep «Pischke’s» alive. But it is nothing, nothing, nothing like the Pischke’s of old. Call it «The Blue Ribbon Café» — take out the PIschke name — I can’t imagine that Chris PIschke would have been honored to be remembered this way. If his restaurant was a reflection of who he was as a person — Pischke’s Blue Ribbon Café would be the exact opposite of who he was.
The current restaurant is not a laid back, family friendly and yet a bar all at once restaurant that serves an unending array of crazy good sandwiches/​salads/​etc — the current décor is pretentious, and the food matches that.

If it were not for the bloody mary and mimosa specials… there would be no reason to step foot in the new Pischkes (and still, I would rather go pay $ 7 for a mimosa where there is some atmosphere and good food.
What a shame, this used to serve the best breakfast in town and have an hour wait… people enjoyed having a cocktail at the bar and running into friends… now, it is pretty much seat yourself and enjoy a limited menu. HINT: Mr. McGrath, bring back the old menu and food… I love the Roaring Fork and eat there twice a month, but this place used to be the best breakfast joint in town… bring back the old Pischke’s please!!!

Dear Mr. McGrath,
I recognize you are a talented award winning chef. I love the Roaring Fork. However, I am wholehaeartedly dissapointed in what you’ve done to Pischke’s — its just not Pischke’s anymore at all. Pischke’s was a fun, friendly, unpretentious, comfort food joint. I loved hitting Pischke’s for lunch after a NASTY hangover. The single BEST SALAD ON THE PLANET was the Blackened Cajun Ceaser Salad and now its gone. Old Pischke’s would’ve gotten * * * * * five stars.
Now it’s snobby and overpriced.
BOTTOM LINE: Bring back my salad or else!

Robert McGrath is an amazing chef. That really is all that needs to be said when it comes to Pischke’s. If have have never been here before it is absolutely worth the trip. You won’t bump into a lot of tourists because the atmosphere is very laid back. However, the food is wonderful.
We were huge fans of Roaring Fork (before Robert sold it) and we even had McGrath cater the rehersal dinner for our wedding.
The green chili pork stew is by far one of the best items on the menu and it can be ordered to share with the table, or it is enough for a whole meal.
One of our favorite, casual, places in Old Town.

Admittedly, two of these stars are for the $ 1 dollar mimosas that we drank several carafes of. I mean pretty much the deal of the century– $ 1 Mimosas, PBR and Bloody’s…not only for brunch, but also apparently on Sunday nights. The food was solid, but not amazing– we sampled the the burgers (yum) and the buttermilk fried chicken caesar– (pretty tasty). The fries here are also quite delicious– thin, crisp and just the right amount of salt. Service was not only prompt and friendly, but it was damn good lookin :) I think this spot is definitely underrated and worth checking out for a lazy Saturday brunch.

The new «Pischke’s Blue Ribbion» is a cleaner, updated, reinvented «Pischke’s»… and it really blows! It is overpriced and boring!
There is NO POINT in keeping the «Pischke’s» name on this place whatsoever! I know tragedy struck this place once, and now it has again, with the complete disembowelment of what «Pischke’s» was all about!
It was a Scottsdale ledgend, it was a chill place to grab breakfast and work on the ol’ hangover, it was actually perfect the way it was…
Too bad.

Apparently Pischke’s used to be a fun, personality-​filled destination for yummy brunch, which is why my friend Aaron guided us there one early afternoon.
Unfortunately, since Aaron’s last visit, changes have been made.
Now Pischke’s is a bland eatery with a rather uninspired, limited menu positioned at the aspirational eating price point. As far as I can tell Pischke’s target customer is well off older people who are looking for unchallenging options and prices high enough to keep out the riff raff.
Pischke’s no longer serves daily brunch, so we had lunch on our visit. Among our group of six, not one of the dishes stood out in a positive way. The burger and salads were average. The crepes were decent but small and nothing special. The pork verde was fine, but inexplicably served with buttered flour tortillas. The pot pie was atrocious– a «deconstructed» take on the typical comfort food it consisted of a large bowl filled with extremely bland pot pie filling, topped by a thin layer of philo dough flakes. It was devoid of everything (taste, crust) that makes a pot pie good.
The food was complimented by very poor service. Our waiter was totally smarmy and condescending, my drink order went unfilled, and when the food was served the waiter had coded the seats wrong so every single meal was placed in front of the wrong person.
Highly unimpressive. While Phoenix may not be known as a fine dining destination, there are plenty of great restaurants in the area to patronize instead. Don’t waste your calories, time or money at Pischke’s.

Actually 2.5 stars but I’m feeling nice today.
Ordered several things. All of them turned out to be mediocre. Good menu, poor execution.
The price of the food compared with the actual taste/​presentation of the food is the reason for 2.5 stars. The service was good, though.
Plus, my soup was cold! Ick.

I must agree with Scott S, but I should point out that I’m probably even less qualified to write a review of this place as I didn’t eat here… I merely wandered in and right back out.
Gone is the crowd and the long wait on a weekend morning waiting for a Pischke’s greasy and tasty breakfast. Gone is the kitschy décor that gave the place character. Gone are the sassy waitresses who looked like they needed a good night sleep. Gone are the bursting menus full of good eats at reasonable prices.
Replacing all of this is a bland and boring décor, 50% fewer menu choices, and 50% higher prices. The place was pretty empty while every other breakfast place in the neighborhood (we drove past 5 others) was packed with a line going out the door. Here’s a tip for Mr Robert McGrath — if you buy a successful restaurant, don’t make drastic changes and jack up the prices… in other words — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I’m actually kinda pissed too because I thought Pischke’s was pretty good and it was definitely adding character to our city… what’s there now is just another boring restaurant. There’s plenty of those around here… Pischke’s was unique to the area. When I visit my sister in Minnesota, she has some really neat breakfast places she takes me to that are decorated as an eclectic mess, but that blow you away with good greasy food and are dripping with atmosphere and fun. Same story when I go to San Diego or Long Beach to visit friends. Neat hip cities have neat hip breakfast joints. Well now we have one fewer.
It’s true — I haven’t eaten here and perhaps Robert McGrath makes the most bomb-​ass bacon and eggs this side of the equator… but it would seriously have to blow my mind to put this place back on my list of places to go. The empty seats told me the story anyway. Before I left, I told the hostess to put it back the way it was.
I plan to actually have a meal there sometime and then post a proper review… until then, this will have to do.

I am a big fan of Robert McGrath, who purchased Pischke’s and made it «Pischke’s Blue Ribbon Café.» As far as I am concerned anything he touches turns to gold. Had a great brunch there recently with three other people. All four of us totally enjoyed our meal and the service from their very professionally-​trained staff. Several staff members came by – including Chef/​Owner Robert McGrath himself — to check on us and make sure our every need was being met. The food, presentation, service was quality through and through. I will DEFINITELY be back. For those of you who do not know, Robert McGrath used to be the chef at WIndows on the Green at The Phoenician, started Roaring Fork and I am sure has many other notable accomplishments.
Pischke’s Blue Ribbon Café will continue to be a great success! Treat yourself to a great dining experience! (And no, I do not work there!)

I was a little dissapointed with the new Pischke’s.
Admittedly I was never a huge fan of the original, so maybe I’m not the most qualified to post the first review.
The menu was pretty limited. I had the mozzeralla and tomato sandwhich with soup. The soup was cold. The sandwhich was boring.
Maybe I made a mistake by not going with the burger or pastrami sandwhich (both looked really good), but nothing I had made much of an impression. The service was nice, but overall the concept seemed pretty uninspired.

Awesome little place right in the heart of old town Scottsdale! For Breakfast you can’t go wrong… mimosas and pancakes or what ever you like… This Family owned (for decades) establishment offers over 300 items on their menu! I highly recommend breakfast but they are open for lunch and dinner as well! It’s definitely a hangover heaven! You could go in your Pj’s!

In the heart of Old Scottsdale, Pischke’s Paradise lies in wait… catching tourists and locals alike with their diverse menu, and incredible food!
Have had everything from breakfast to steak au poivre here. Burgers, salads, and steaks are good, but I always seem to gravitate back to their open face sandwiches on Boboli bread. Try the Fire Island, or the Rocky Point Shrimp. Boboli bread with chicken or shrimp in a cream sauce topped with dofino cheese. You’ll thank me later.
Ultra casual atmosphere, Fat Tire on tap, great food. What more can you ask for? Not much. Look for long waits at lunch or dinner…