Pastiche

Food was ok, but nothing special. The appetizer of fig crostini was basically some fig with some arugula with a little goat cheese on a flaccid piece of toast. Salmon was decent. Salmon was a nice portion, cooked relatively well in a nice bourbon sauce. Salad was ok, nothing special, though at least it was relatively fresh. Service was good, but this place wasn’t really anything special.

This place is sort of overrated. It’s a good location but not overly impressive. Service is fine and the food is fine. I went while they were moving lots of stuff around and it was a mess. I’m sure it’s back to normal now but it a bit distracting.

We had gathered in Tucson to celebrate my mother’s 93^rd birthday. A neighbor of my mother had recommended Pastiche, so we decided to try it, we made a reservation for 5:30 — didn’t have to it turns out — when we got there we were one of two tables.
We ordered appetizer’s 2 of which were meh — the humus and the «brieshesta» (a play on bruschetta made with brie) were not inspiring. As a previous diner mentioned, we were never offered bread, but overheard it offered to another table.
My mom ordered the baby back ribs and when they arrived they didn’t look like any babyback ribs I’d ever seen. They were big chunks of some sort of meat more like short ribs maybe? But not babyback ribs. She barely ate one of them, and declined a doggy bag, stating that she didn’t care for them. Any other restaurant I’ve been to would have taken it off the bill. No.
Another in our party ordered the «Seared Mahimahi» which came poached, or seemingly so. And we are not even sure if that was what the fish actually was…
Everything about the meal and the atmosphere was unremarkable. A disappointing choice for such a special occasion. It feels like a restaurant that is in it’s final stages of decline. Entropy reigns.

Fantastic food, great staff, excellent service, and good atmosphere. We attended a charity event here last night and it was simply perfect. The owner and chef (Chef Pat) was a gracious host for this large gathering for a good cause. His friendly and efficient staff made sure this event went off without a hitch. The food was remarkable and each course was paired with an exceptional wine. We will be back and often! It is great to see a great restaurant give back to the community. We were impressed. Thanks again for a great evening!

This is the best restaurant in Tucson, Great food, good wine choices, friendly staff, great atmosphere, good fair prices. The BLT is the best sandwich bar none. Food is always fresh and I ave never had a bad meal there, ever.

I made reservations for dinner at 6pm for Mother’s day. It was not at all busy and so when we were seated a bus boy came and got us some water while we waited for our other guests. I had previously looked at the online menu and had decided on the steak frites salad, however when I looked at the menu, a temporary Mother’s day menu, I didn’t see it. I asked the bus boy and he said he would ask if I could still order it. He reported back that I could. However, when our waiter took our order I was told absolutely not, in a bit of a rude manner. I explained to him what the other server had said and he said he would check and I ordered a back up meal just in case. At no point did our waiter come and tell me what meal I would be getting so it was apparently going to be a surprise.
Meanwhile, while waiting for our meals, I noticed other tables getting bread and butter. Mind you, we had the largest table in the section of 9 people and at no point were we brought bread. I asked the bus boy and he brought some out right before out meals came out. Our waiter never came and checked out us and when I finally got his attention I had asked for a different arrangement on the check but he had already printed them and acted like it was a big deal to change it so I said nevermind. He was not overly friendly, bordering on rude.
My husband’s meal, the $ 22.00 jalepeno top sirloin steak had a hug piece of gristle in it and wasn’t prepared as asked. The mahi mahi was okay, but not spectacular, again for a price of $ 19.
By the end of the meal it just didn’t feel like a good experience and was kind of a downer for Mother’s Day for my mother.

This was a great find when the first place that we wanted to have brunch was crazy busy with more than an hour wait. We were seated right away. The décor was modern and fun. Fantastic art on the walls! The service was excellent. The menu was upscale and diverse. Some great vegetarian options. We had a wonderful meal. Will definitely return!

Food was great. service awful… went for easter brunch and half the parties food came old cold… sent it back still came out cold and waiter argued the point… won’t go here again.

Went for dinner tonight. Pretty empty in the main dining area. Hostess wanted to seat us right next to a table of four. We chose the next table over so we weren’t in each other’s laps with the other diners.
We each ordered a glass of white wine, both of which were just slightly chilled. The mushroom soup was not hot, it was barely lukewarm. My «grilled fish» taco (bistro portion) had three small pieces of flavorless fish in it, and was stuffed with cabbage with some kind of bland sauce. And it did NOT come in a «soft flour tortilla», it came in a stiff «wrap.» My date got the voodoo pasta. Reports that it was fine, but the hunks of bell pepper in it were way too big and not part of the «sauce» but were be added later. Not a particularly good meal. Used to be a great place, but the food was not up to it’s former standards. Probably won’t be back.

The menu lacked variety. Food was ok Server was awesome Wasn’t crowed on a Monday night at all The average age of the customers were 70 and that scared me

Sit at the bar if Dawna is working and ask her for suggestions. I enjoyed a full bodied old vine Zinfandel along with a tasty crunchy but not heavy flavorful bruschetta. I was in between meetings and needed to kill time as well as have an early happy hour. This was perfect and quite comfortable sitting at the chic bar with all the friendliness of Cheers. I hope to take my hubby there for dinner and explore beyond the happy hour menu (which was superb) !

Overall: Excellent food, good service, some items may be a bit over-​priced for the area
Went with a group for dinner during the holiday season. The ambiance was just right for dinner. We started with the brie-​schetta and fried avocado. None of us had heard of «fried avocado» — our waiter was a good sport, describing what it was like before we placed our order. It was creamy and sort of sweet on the inside, which paired well with the fried shell (kind of what you’d expect from breading avocado chunks then frying it). I was pleased that the bruschetta wasn’t the least bit soggy (a pet peeve of mine is when the ingredients are placed on the bruschetta long before it’s served to guests, making the toasted bread soft and soggy. Gross!). The marinated tomatoes in particular had a good flavor.
I went with the baby greens with green apples. Talk about a salad! Everything was fresh and tasty. Instead of a «Survivor» experience in which I forced myself to eat my veggies, I so enjoyed every bite! This salad is comprised of thin slices of green apples, walnuts, fried sweet potatoes (an excellent «crunch» addition!), and blue cheese crumbles over baby greens. I don’t love all varieties of blue cheese (looking at you Trader Joe’s), but whatever Pastiche uses is delicious. The bistro portion of the salad was the perfect size, but I did find myself wishing I had gone with the full to have leftovers for the next day.
Dessert was big enough for a pair to split (and still have trouble finishing). We went with a nearly flourless, fudgy brownie and coffee ice cream. It was delicious.

We eat at Pastiche 2 – 4 times per month. Favorite waiter is Eric. Live entertainment is always top-​notch. Get on their email list and watch for gift card deals in summer and December. Sometimes you can get a $ 40 gift card for each $ 100 gift card purchased!

Wow the food was great! We went with some picky kids and there were 3 vegetarians among us and had 5 great meals. The wine was delish but wish they had some local Arizona wines by the glass. Will definitely be back.

Get music tonight. Service was lacking. Sat for 30 minutes and couldn’t get our empty water glasses filled. Waiter was preoccupied and not responsive. Food was good but not great.

Finally ventured in here for the first time after living in the area for years. We were hungry and didn’t feel like cooking so we decided to check this place out since we just couldn’t decide on anything. Sitting at the bar we had great service from the two bartenders working, constantly being checked on and providing us with anything we needed. We too were not told about the specials but were oblivious to the fact they had any and were just fine to choose off the menu. We started with the mushroom soup which was delicious and the cajun corn dogs. I’m pretty sure the corn dogs are made in house and they were tasty even though they could use a little heat considering they are cajun. From there we moved on to the bistro portion of the lamb chops and the wild boar sausage. Everything was delicious and cooked just right. My only problem with dinner was trying to use the bulky dull knife to cut into the small chops, a better steak knife is definitely needed. Overall we had a great dinner and ended with the crème brûlée. We stuck with beer this time but their cocktail menu looks very interesting, we’ll just have to return to try more of everything!

Been awhile since I have been here. It was quiet and they had their beautiful Christmas tree up. Ordered their salmon sandwich. Delightful. Accompanied with a wonderful sauce, thin slices of avocado. All melt in your mouth. My side was the mushroom soup. Oh… delightful. Just the way they used to make it. Maybe better. Was nice to taste that soup again. Service was very nice.

This is a really wonderful place because it supports jazz in a very loving non pretentious environment. I went twice in November and both times the band was warmly inviting other musicians to play (even me new to town) and spotlighting a young student needing to prep for auditioning late in the gig Sunday. The salmon over wild rice was cooked right and affordable too. Enjoyed the music and the staff.

I’m pretty ok with Pastiche. I came for dinner. I started with a mixed greens salad which was fine. For my entrée I had the bistro portion of cajun shrimp linguine. It was definitely underseasoned, but I was able to to rescue it with some salt. And finally, I had some dessert. Off their seasonal menu, I opted for crème brûlée. It was pretty good, not the best I’ve ever had but definitely worth the calories. My friend ordered this berry crisp thing that was basically berries baked in this gingerbread crust thing (my mouth is watering just thinking about it) and it was absolutely amazing. The dessert here really rescued the mediocre dinner.

Well this place was a bummer! To start we were excited to go here as the reviews were for the most part good. The place is cute at first glance, however, once seated I noticed that it wasn’t all that clean. Like another reviewer mentioned cleanliness it would seem this is a trend here. There was dust on the light fixtures, the fake candles (though cute, the dust was unacceptable), the back of the booth which was cloth looked as though it hadn’t been vacuumed of the dust for some time. All this could be looked past at first…
The waitress came out and directly asked what we would like to drink, afterwards, are we ready to order. We didn’t catch her name, nor a smile for the entirety of our 45 – 60 minute stay. We were never told of a daily special and I only realized they had one when going back through the reviews.
At this point we had already paid, and I waited approximately 18 minutes before calling the restaurant that I was currently sitting in, to ask if they had a daily special. They did! A meatloaf sandwich, who knew! Well I let the person on the phone know that I was currently sitting in the restaurant waiting for the waitress to come back and that I never caught her name nor were we told of a special. So the owner comes out, and I tell him about the fact that I’ve been waiting over 15 minutes to get a beverage refill, and gave him what I thought was nice appropriate and friendly feedback about the service. Though receptive he didn’t seem to be anything more than bothered that someone would want to «complain», so with that I told him about the dusty fixtures. He said well when you come back mention my name and you’ll get good service!
I’m floored! I don’t care how good a restaurants food is, (I’ll get to that in a minute) but how can you expect a person that is not getting good service to automatically want to come back, and then have to ask for the owner to get good service? Especially for a burger and a sandwich, a coffee and a tea costing $ 35! This should be a no brainer!
So to the food. We were started with cold bread, and cold butter. Not sure how you’re supposed work with those two ingredients but the bread was stale and cold, and trying to smear cold hardened butter on that is odd. This could be removed from the dining experience to save the restaurant money, but also to avoid the awkwardness of it all. The burger I got was flavorless, the perfectly made pretzel bun, and the ridiculous amount of BBQ sauce used to flavor the dish was its life support. My partner remarked, it reminded her of a Carl’s Jr. burger. My mashed potato side which was literally like 2 tablespoons, was cold! I mean all the way, not buttery and not creamy, but just plain ol cold.
The other dish, as strange as the experience was, this was what held the experience on by a thread, it was a salmon sandwich, and it was awesome! Cooked perfectly great flavor, perfect size. Excellent! The fries, cooked perfectly seasoned perfectly. I’m confused, how many cooks are back there?
Anyhow I’m sad to dish it out to this place, considering the food was half amazing and half bogus. It’s the sad service and the fact the owner couldn’t really care less! He’s probably one of those local business owners that figures he’s got it in the bag. Never mind trying to reinvent yourself, or striving for better results. This is a mentality I see often in Tucson. Wake up Pastiche, there’s so much potential!

Last week my boyfriend and I tried Pastiche for the first time for dinner. I was impressed with the vibe of the restaurant being up-​scale yet casual. It would be the perfect place to go on a first date, its sophisticated but not pretentious. The interior is elegant has a wonderful subdued desert feeling. It’s not in your face southwest but feels modern and hip.
I was thoroughly impressed by the expansive bar menu. I tried one of the house cocktails the ‘Rol & Rye, and it was amazing. It was the perfect blend of flavors, not too sweet but more of a more savory finish. I would honestly return just for the drinks alone. They have an extensive bar menu with more varieties of vodka, scotch, and whiskey than I’ve ever experienced in a restaurant including bars all over the United States.
The dinner menu was lovely. I ordered the Top Sirloin steak with risotto and asparagus. I recommend ordering more medium rare, than medium because it was a little on the well-​done side. The risotto was amazing which says something because I don’t usually like risotto. It was creamy but not too heavy and the asparagus was perfectly cooked firm but not crunchy. The steak itself was flavorful and paired well with bourbon bacon apple relish.
My only criticism about Pastiche is their dessert menu. I wish that they had put a little bit more creative muster in that section of the menu as they put in the entrees and appetizers. The dessert menu felt a little too «retro dinerish» with their options of ice cream, root beer float or cookies. I wanted at least a creative spin on their brownie or something more than a plain crème brûlée.
Despite the desert menu being a little lowbrow I would highly recommend going for dinner, you won’t be disappointed. The food came hot, the service was superb and the ambiance was fantastic.

Went there for a birthday party. We were not impressed. I ordered a top sirloin steak that came out cold and when it came back out 10 min later it was not worth $ 22! Our waitress was not the friendliest. We will not be eating there again.

Pastiche is really a sweet little spot in central Tucson. It’s been updated since I was last in and has a quiet comfortable feeling with lots of tables and a lovely bar area. I will say we asked to move after being seated as it was very very warm in the restaurant.
Pastiche offers deals daily and on Monday the deal was a gourmet burger and a beer for roughly $ 13. They had several different burgers and beers to choose from and they all looked amazing. We chose to skip the special and enjoy wine and appetizers for dinner. The first thing I’ll say is that the appetizer portion is very generous. The hummus plate was amazing and served with a ton of fresh veggies and pita bread. We also enjoyed the bruschetta and the salmon cakes (3 cakes to a serving) between all three we had no room left for dinner and skipped straight to dessert.
Service is excellent and attentive. Water glasses were always topped off and our server was very good at clearing plates and checking in with us.

So we’ve been going to Pastiche for a couple of years, and now we’re going weekly. It’s a tradition we hate missing. We go on Tuesday nights for the steak special. It’s not just cheap steak, it’s EXCELLENT. We split the dish, get a nice glass of wine and if we aren’t full, we get the best baked cookie in Tucson: Pastiche’s.
1. The steak is fresh, cooked to order, and it’s different every week on Tue special night. I never used to like steak, and then I realized everyone usually cooks it wrongly. Not here. I actually love steak here. I also hated pepper on my steak, and yet this place proves me wrong. Pica de gallo on steak? I was skeptical, and then I tried it. Seriously, you can’t go wrong. They even have braised short ribs on Tuesday nights sometimes too. SO tender.
2. COOKIE. We have tried several restaurants with a good cookie, and this place ties for first, along with BJ’s restaurant (only Pastiche is local!). Gooey, sweet, warm, delicious ice cream– I was blown away and was expecting their cookie to be average, like most restaurants (old chicago, cheddar’s, etc).
3. Great staff. We’ve been in enough to recognize staff and return customers like ourselves. They’re always so professional and nice, even on busy, hectic nights.
4. Local business. Support local! And the owners are super nice!
5. Ambiance. Lighting is on point! Perfect for date night, group of friends, etc.
6. If you haven’t been, check which night has your favorite special (eg Monday is burger/​beer night, Tue is steak night, etc)
TRY IT OUT!!! :)

I will make this a quick review. I had dinner Monday night at Pastiche. It has been over two years since I have eaten in this restaurant. Nothing was anywhere near as good as it used to be. It was a Monday night so I didn’t expect a full restaurant, it was almost empty. We were sat by the window the window sill was covered in dead flys, not a good start. Our server wasn’t personable and she didn’t tell us about the specials or make any suggestions. Monday night they have an $ 8.00 burger and beer special. When we asked her about it she said they did have the burger special. It looked good on the next table over. We should have had the special but instead we ordered a bowl of mushroom soup, Cajun pasta ($ 18), beet salad ($ 9), and a glass of wine ($ 7.50). The pasta was horrible. It was Cajun as in red hot sauce and just didn’t taste good. Everything else was ok, but pricey. Our check, was almost $ 50.00. I will also say, I really miss the wine shop. I will probably not be coming back to Pastiche.

My mom and I came here for my birthday dinner, late night on a Friday, and though the place was pretty dead (we came in an hr before they closed and a band had just finished playing), I was very impressed by the food and the service.
Our waiter took some warming up, but once he did, he was awesome!
I had the baked mac n cheese, which looks like a small portion for the price, but your eyes can be bigger than your stomach because once I started in I could barely get through half of the serving! It was really good with nice proportions of bacon to cheese/​pasta.
My mom got the teriyaki skewers, which were good as well. The meat was cooked perfectly and the sauce/​rice was very tasty.
My mom had their version of the cosmopolitan, which was surprisingly good and boozy! It was better than the Malbec I ordered, which was either served too young or had been mildly corked because it was a bit off tasting, but it was right before closing, so I didn’t want to send it back and have them open another bottle. Had it been earlier in the evening, I would have though. I quickly rectified my disappointed alcohol situation with a Rusty Nail, which they knew how to make and was a fantastically good pour! It had just the right amount of scotch to give you the nice warm buzz you want from this drink and the Drambouie to soften the scotch and linger in the ice cubes when you’re done!
The highlight, however, was what they did for my birthday! I got the Guiness Chocolate Cake (which was ridiculously rich and delectable!) served on an LED lit platter that sings «Happy Birthday»!!!
Thank you Pastiche, for making my Friday the (March) 13^th birthday so memorably delicious!

I came here for a dinner meeting on a Wednesday night and assumed it wouldn’t be too busy, but it was. The food is pricier, in my opinion, but they do give you decent portions of food.
Their tacos are good. Their New England Clam chowder was good, but watered down… almost like they were running out and watered it down to stretch it out a bit. Just an observation from a self-​proclaimed chowda connoisseur! ;)
The décor was chic and the place felt very open, which I like in a restaurant.
The wait staff however, not good at all. I waited forever for water, they continually messed up my order, but I’ll chalk it up to being a busy night since I like to give places the benefit of the doubt.
I’d like to try this place out in conjunction with Creative Juice Art Bar… they have painting classes hosted at Pastiche where you can paint and eat at the same time… so I’ll probably be back!

We’re longtime (as in many, many years) customers of Pastiche. We especially appreciate their contributions to the community, particularly Primavera.
But our Valentine’s experience wasn’t up to par. My Boar Sausage, kraut and mashed-​potato dish was fine, but the wife’s Surf-​n-​turf was not good. The scallops were undercooked and stone cold (I confirmed it). The beef-​medallion was ordered medium but was rare – and again, cold. When my wife told the waiter, he comped our desert. A diner at the neighboring table said her short ribs were cold as well.
The ginger-​molasses cake was first rate.
This is such a nice place that we’ll surely be back.
Btw, the place wasn’t even half full.

I was always curious about this place. The location is nice and I have heard great and not so great things about it. Finally the hubs and I gave it a whirl! It was almost 10:00pm, which if you have been in Tucson longer than a week, you know that once it hits 10 the city falls asleep and food options are left to minimal options (Nicos, Los Betos, Taco Shop, Old Chicago and Dante’s Fire). I checked on Unilocal and realized Pastiche was open until 11! We hurried over.
The restaurant was quiet with just a few tables in the corner beyond the bar. The interior was captivating enough. We both hurried to the bathroom when the bartender yelled ‘Sit on this side! There are only two of us!’ … okay. Awkward.
I told her we were using the restroom then we chose a seat at the bar. She informed us they closed soon (1 hour) so we hurried and ordered. I got the vegetarian flat bread with no pesto and no cheese and sweet potatoes fries and C got the Voodoo pasta. He debated between the bistro size and large. Our bartender told us that the large was massive and intended for sharing. He still ordered the large and anticipated left overs.
My dish was pretty good and I was just happy they had something I was willing to eat. C enjoyed his, but was a little disappointed by the normal sized portion and ate the whole thing easily. Then again, we have big appetites so maybe it could be sharable (?)
I was happy to find late night food and the only thing that knocked this down a star was the service. The bartender poured hot water down her drains and was cleaning her well for several minutes before we were offered drinks or food. I understand wanting to prepare to close, but we felt rushed.
I would give this another go for happy hour or not quite so late.

Came here with the hubby. Got to get my opentable reservation too! Saturday night at 7 was not too busy at all. Was seated early in a corner table. The ambiance is very relaxed. Love the baby lights on the ceiling to mimic the night sky. Very bare decorations but hey it’s «modern» right? Staff was very friendly and helpful. Noise level very quiet for the weekend.
Onto the food… the good: the wine list, the jumbo shrimp, and the deserts. The ok: the chipotle shrimp linguini and prime rib.
The jumbo shrimp was wrapped in jalapeño bacon and stuffed with cheese. Yum! Chipotle spicy. The main entrees were cooked well but really lacked anything that made them unique to the restaurant. My chipotle shrimp linguini was tossed a plain cream sauce with no chipotle, but again was cooked well. Portions were great. The prime rib was over cooked and all the seasoning was in the au jus. For desert was a nicely prepared crème brûlée.
Overall a nice pleasant place but next time I’ll stick to a happy hour app format.

First time visiting Pastiche, as we had a $ 30 gift card from work to spend here. We were seated near the front window, and the service was friendly and low key. The interior was open and spacious, but had somewhat of a cheap vibe to it, especially for the pricey food + cocktails on the menu.
We ordered the Lamb Chop, and Voodoo Cajun Pasta. While waiting, what was once an afterthought when we first entered became more and more of a nuisance as we sat chatting — a good dozen flies kept circling around us and wouldn’t leave. I’d expect this out at a taco stand on the street, but definitely not inside a modern-​casual American restaurant. We lived with it, and allowed our food to arrive. I had the Lamb, which was accompanied with risotto and asparagus — I usually love this type of dish, but theirs was noticeably over-​salted across each food item… it would have been great otherwise!
We let the manager know about the flies toward the end of our meal, to alert him to be aware and maybe not let new guests sit in that area for the evening. I was surprised to hear that they «usually take care of the flies in the morning», thus implying that this is an ongoing problem. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they let us dine for free because of the inconvenience, which they didn’t have to do, but still underwhelmed by the whole experience. I guess we still have the gift card to use for another visit — we’ll know not to sit next to the front window next time ;)