Scratch Pastries & Bistro

Though service is awesome, the food has been inconsistent. We’ve dined here at least a handful of times before writing this review. This is our norm, actually.
Food and portion can be on the pricey side.
Ambience, we adore.
We’ll give it another go. :)

I’ve been in twice since my first visit for pastries. The first time sitting and having breakfast was lovely except the restaurant is so small that one of the other customers were totally annoying and loud. The food was great and we tried to ignore the loud, obnoxious lady. I went in a few days later to grab a chocolate croissant before work and the girl at the front counter was R-​U-​D-​E! They didn’t have any croissants made, at 745 am (weird) and she was so unhelpful and seemed that my request for food was an imposition on her morning.
Also, I slipped and almost fell on my way out and she didn’t say a word. I turned around to see if she was still there and she had the same bemused smirk on her face as when she told me there wasn’t any food.
I guess I would categorize this place as «Hit or Miss.» When it’s good it’s good otherwise, don’t bother.

I visited Scratch for brunch yesterday, May 18^th. I had a goat cheese omelette with bacon, and the fetching Mrs. Smith had the Eggs Royale.
The omelette was served with hash browns and a salad, all delicious! The goat cheese combined with the bacon in the omelette made it extremely flavorful.
But the best thing was the service. The staff was exceedingly friendly, with just the right mix of checking to see how we were doing and if we needed anything, and just leaving us alone to enjoy our breakfast.
And their smiles made our Saturday. :)
Please visit Scratch and enjoy!

Sooo good! Try the macaroons and the big weekend breakfast! You will not be disappointed. I haven’t been there for months but when I’m in the area, it’s either Scratch or the Breakfast Club for me.

This was my first trip to Arizona in 4 years, and I made a point to bookmark some bakeries. Since I love macarons, Scratch was high on my «must-​try» list. We came in on a Friday afternoon around 2pm, and the store was empty and quiet. The weather outside was rainy and cold, so that was probably a big reason why people weren’t out and about. I looked at their dessert case, which was on the barren side (only 3 – 4 sliced cake/​small dessert options). They also had a long list of macaron flavors, but only 2 flavors were actually available, so I ended up purchasing both:
–Pistachio Macaron ($ 3.75,
): Eh. so-​so. This macaron was jumbo sized, and had good almond flavor. It’s not an authentic Parisian style macaron, but I liked the chewier texture. However, the pistachio tasted very fake-​y, and I wouldn’t get this flavor again.
–Almond Macaron ($ 3.75,
): Yum! I loved the almond flavor, and also that it didn’t have a ton of food coloring like the green pistachio macaron. You really got to appreciate the chewy texture of the macaron, and the contrast against the slight crispy exterior.
However, at $ 3.75 these macarons were pricey! I would be interested in coming back to try their other baked goods, but since there was so little selection (and the items didn’t look particularly fresh), I’m not sure if I would be back. It would be great if they cleaned out that dessert case or spruced it up, because it just looked really drab and didn’t inspire you to want to try the desserts. Also, they should put up some signage for the macaron flavors they have available, so that customers don’t get excited about flavors that aren’t available. Parking here was easy, and the staff was nice but not the most attentive.

Scratch scores big on some things & others are surprisingly bad —
the bread is delish — they do after all make it in house — so most of the selections with bread are pretty great, but that brings me to the weird part — a lot of the breakfast entrees are served on an english muffin, not an amazing LGO homemade style english muffin, but more like a generic grocery store english muffin. *sigh*
the other thing i always find odd is that the ‘poached’ eggs are always over cooked — always, im hopeful everytime, but… yea nope not this time.
so all this being said — i still like this place enough to drive to scottsdale every month or so to get some french toast
oops — 2 more caveats — service is pretty mediocre & be careful sometimes they are a little OD with the whipped cream…

A regular here.
What I think people misunderstand about Scratch (esp regarding location) is that Duc (the owner) wanted to create a casual french café and eatery (much like you would find on the streets of Paris). He didn’t want to open a posh restaurant in Old Town where he could charge exorbitant prices. My opinion is that he wanted to create a place much like he surely experienced living in Paris: A place where you can sit and have a delicious french meal without it needing to be a special occasion. There are too few restaurants still in town where that balance is so precisely struck.

Beautifully prepared and plated, even elegant, breakfast fare. The egg dishes looked and tasted divine. The accompaniments of nicely prepared hash browns and light spring greens with vinaigrette are a welcome change to ‘spuds and bacon’. Communication between server and kitchen was abysmal. Both our table and the table next to ours had their order incorrectly served, and I don’t think the chef was at fault. C’mon Scratch, invest in customer service staff that listens to the customer and knows the menu.
Go for the croissants.

My co-​worker recommended Scratch, so I decided to give it a try. It’s a great lunch spot, their menu has a French flair and consists of mostly salads and sandwiches. Their portion sizes are very generous and they use decent ingredients. So far I’ve tried a few sandwiches and the goat cheese salad which was very good, you could tell that they used high quality cheese since it was so flavorful. I will definitely come back and would highly recommend.

This place was recommended to me by a non-​Yelper friend (the shame). I was in the neighborhood so I stopped in. I waited in line a moment because I wasn’t sure of how it worked, but the gal working behind the counter told me I could have a seat if I was eating there, which I was — so I followed her suggestion.
While waiting, I noticed that the women who appeared to be the owner breezed in. She had lots of observations and recommendations for the only girl working there, but never once stopped to turn around and ask a customer if they needed anything (like a menu or a cup of coffee). Meanwhile the one girl actually working is having a hard time getting everything done between all the «Yes, Bosses» going on. I also had time to read the Unilocal reviews and noticed that this behavior is trending at Scratch. I wonder if the guy doing roll-​ups in the other review is the owner’s son or something. Anyway — enough with the conjecture.
I finally got to order the breakfast sandwich on croissant which comes with a side salad. The sandwich was «OK,» it wasn’t bad, just fairly unremarkable. I wished that the salad had dressing on the side because although the dressing was good, it was a little heavy handed for my tastes. I did manage to get an extra cup of coffee between all the management going on, so that at least that made the people watching more enjoyable.
I might go again if I was in the area, but I wouldn’t make any kind of special trip.
If you go: bring your patience and don’t say the Unilocalers didn’t warn you.

Went on a Sunday afternoon at approximately 10:30 a.m. Walked in, and it was literally pandemonium.
There was an old guy trying to pay for his meal at the register (which I didn’t understand because she brought our check to our table) and it took 3 people to get him helped. Meanwhile We’re standing in front of the pastry window and there’s a guy there folding silverwear who was either the owner, a bus boy, or too stoned to realize he was either.
I finally said something to him about how clownshoes it was to take 3 people to ring out a customer (I actually said it to my girlfriend but apparently said it loud and then he heard it and I just accepted it and pretended it was supposed to be outloud), and this is literally about 10 minutes after standing there «someone will be with you… sometime»
Father forgive me.
We sit down, and this waiter walked by us probably 10 times.
At this point, I was doing meditative breathing exercises to cool down (seriously) and not let this ruin the rest of my meal/​afternoon with my special lady friend and even SHE mentioned «this guy keeps looking at us then walking by». He was very concerned about his belt and leather bracelet.
We finally got to order, we split an eggs florentine and a croissant, I had an iced chai and she had an iced mocha. The food was good, lady complained that the spinach tasted «sour”/bad I thought it was good. The potatoes were EXCELLENT.
SUPER PASS.

Just tried Scratch for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised!
We only went for a cup of coffee and dessert, but after that morsel I’m definitely going to try the meal selections! Yum!

5÷9÷12
Was craving for a chocolate croissant for a few days, so I decided to finally try the ones offered here. Although it was only 2:30 in the afternoon, there weren’t many pastries or desserts on hand to choose from… I had my mind set on trying an almond and a chocolate, but Scratch had run out of the former. There were three chocolate croissants left (as well as a couple of raisins), so I ordered one to go. Decided to try it before leaving to see if I wanted to get the rest… Needless to say, I left with all three!
$ 2.70 plus tax per choccy croissant. Didn’t have time to try the local coffee. Perhaps next time, when I plan to come earlier to secure an almondine, or two.
I liked how the tables were set up for service– the setting emitted romance already. Can’t wait to try dinner here soon… Spied three different entremets in the cases, as well as some delicious-​looking truffles.

I’ve been to Scratch before, and I remember them as a quaint little neighborhood bakery… But a recent visit revealed notable changes. The dining room has been reorganized to accommodate more people, the décor slightly updated, and menu changed. None of these changes are bad, it just leads to a different experience.
A few things to mention: The old menu on the wall is outdated but they haven’t painted over it yet. Service is a little disorganized. I wasn’t sure who was waiting on my table, the first waitress was very inattentive and seemed to care little about the customers. She never brought silverware, she never brought water, she never showed up again to check on us. After she took our initial order, a second waitress had to come out 10 minutes later to confirm the order – needless to say, the food came out slow (about 40min after ordering). Overall this recent experience was very poor. A shame, because I’ve been here in past and remember it fondly. I guess they are suffering from a bit of growing pains. The food is still very good. Simple French dishes done well and the prices are fair. Lunch for two w/​drinks will run you about $ 25 – 35. Hopefully they work out the kinks soon. I still plan to revisit and report my findings.

I can only judge the macarons since I came here only for dessert. I ordered the salted caramel and the rasberry macaron. The presentation was stellar. But I think they were refrigerated, so that they were a bit hard to cut through even with a fork.
For two macarons, it was around $ 9 (which is a bit pricey IMO)
The restaurant overall is clean but I feel like the décor was a bit strange. The colors of the chairs and table didn’t really match.

Driving home from dinner and in the mood for something sweet, my girlfriend hit up her iPhone and searched «desserts.» We just happened to be passing near Indian School and Hayden to get to the Loop 101, and Scratch came up on top. In a ‘why not give something new a try’ mood, we checked to see if it was open at 8:00 on a Wednesday night, and to what would become our joy, it was.
We walked up to the dessert counter, and took a look at a marvelous selection of pastries. We decided to grab two and head home. We went with the Opera. A chocolate cake with coffee cream covered by a hard chocolate dome. Quite good. We also had the Mogador. A chocolate raspberry cake. Also delicious.
To our surprise this little place is more than just a bakery. It’s a full blown french bistro. A great café selection of sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items; along with a full dinner menu. There’s also a very intimate ambiance. While there’s not a whole lot of room in the dinning room, it doesn’t feel too cramped. The tables are also set up very nicely, it almost looks like your at a wedding. I’m going to have to come back and give the entrees a try!

I’ve lived in the area for 2 years and noticed this place for the first time on Thanksgiving day. I popped in to check it out. The sandwich menu looked good so I figured I would grab a couple for me and the hubby. $ 7.95 a sandwich and a 32 oz iced late for $ 4.09. At first I though the sandwich price was a bit much.
I had the tuna melt w/​sliced hard boiled egg — I really didn’t know if I would like this or not but I felt like trying something different. I was pleasantly surprised. This sandwich was awesome — the bread was perfectly buttered, the tuna was tasty and whatever the sauce was that was added in the mix ugh! so damn yummy. Then there was the egg, which added a whole new layer of flavor. It didn’t take away from the other flavors but added just enough to the mix. I didn’t care for the salad that came with the sandwich. The mixed greens were a lil’ weird. The vinaigrette was tasty though.
I had my first encounter with a French Macaron here. I had no clue what it was but I asked about the flavors anyway. As soon as «Salted-​Carmel» left her mouth I was sold. The $ 6.50 price is pretty steep but they are without a doubt a tasty treat which has sparked a hunt for them elsewhere in town.
I also ordered a iced mocha latte which was delicious. It was also cheaper than some other placed I get them in the area.
I had a good experience, I do plan to return for dinner at some point.

Scratch. From scratch. Made from the basic ingredients. Not containing any prefabricated ingredients.
Killer desserts, which is what I had here. And good cappuccino. But I wanna return for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. And dessert. Again. But I think I may have picked up some calories from the air in this place. Bakery air.
Pricey on the dessert though, but wonderfully yummy, made with care and tenderness and affection. And sugar.

2.5 stars really. I’ve been holding off on the review because I stunned myself by paying $ 6.50 for a macaroon. Really? I did that! Ugh. It was tasty but $ 6.50!?!
And, that’s not even counting my breakfast: $ 9 for a wedge of quiche and a salad (that I didn’t want — I just wanted a piece of quiche).
I don’t mind paying for good food (anyone who knows me knows food is pretty much WHAT I spend my money on…) but I’m having huge buyer’s remorse… over my meal! Something’s not right with that.

Scratch may have the best french toast I’ve ever had! With a little caramelization on the edges and served with fresh berries, it was like breakfast and dessert rolled into one. But such a large portion, even I couldn’t finish it, and that’s sayin’ something if you know me. Definitely enough for two ladies to share.
I was a little confused coming in, but if you’re eating in, grab a table and they will take your order. The pastry case seemed a little empty, but we arrived about 15 minutes after they opened. Still it surprised me they didn’t have any croissants ready. That’s when we decided to order off the menu.
Since I didn’t try a pastry and it is Scratch Pastries, I’m holding the 5^th star until I try one. I’m thinking an éclair is in my future real soon!