polish yacht club detroit

• Ivanhoe Cafe - Polish Yacht Club

• San Francisco, CA
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The perch and coleslaw were very good. However, the pierogis tasted and looked like frozen and store bought. The potato pancakes were overcooked on the outside and raw and mushy in the middle.  The kielbasa was overcooked too.  The soup was very salty. We went with a group and they would only charge by the number of plates of food they brought to each table.  So, our $17 perch dinner ended up costing each of us $28.   The outside of the building had bare plywood over the windows and the inside was very rough looking. I don't know how it passes inspection. Definitely not worth going! I don't know why Yelp has me living in California. I am from Michigan!

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• Livonia, MI
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Dan and I finally made it to Ivanhoe's!! Kielbasa ,  pierogie, potato pancakes, cole slaw, perch, pickles, peppers and polish beer. Happy, happy Good Friday to us!

• 272 reviews
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I was just recently introduced to the fact that this place exists.  I was shocked as to where it is.  It's the ghetto people.  It's a mecca inside the ghetto.  It's well lit, and there's parking.  The area directly around it isn't that bad.  It's getting cleaned up.  So it's worth a little trip just to experience this gem. It's an old building that normally you'd probably ignore.  One you get inside you realize, this place is ancient and a taste of old Detroit for sure.   The service is old school.  Very pleasant and nice, not uppity....just quaint.   The building is decrepit in many ways.  The ceiling is peeling.  The pain is old.  The carpet is old.  The tables are old and rickety, and the chairs are old and rickety.  It's wonderful.  It has SO MUCH CHARM!     The food?  Well, it's not the best ever.  But it's dang good.  I ordered the perch.  Have I had better?  Yes.  There's a few places around that may have better perch.  But not many.  It's quite good and decent.   You get served a huge bowl of cole slaw with your meal along with some pickles and peppers.   What a unique touch that is.   The slaw is pretty good too. My girl ordered some polish stuff.  She had pierogis (limited choices of flavors), and some kielbasa .  The pierogis did not taste homemade, and the kielbasa tasted like packaged.   However, it was ok.  It wasn't terrible or anything.     At the end we got some cute little tea cakes as desert.   It was nice evening dinner and a cool experience.   For polish food, I'd always opt for Hamtramck to get authentic polish.  This was not.   That's my worst complaint.   We may go back....you never know.   I wouldn't say no to this place.  We left full and the food tasted good.

• Royal Oak, MI
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This place is only open for dinner on Friday and you better get there by 7.  A study in century old architecture - if you look closely you'll notice the triangle shaped outlets in the wall that went out about 80 years ago.  You can't help but root for an old school classic like the PYC.  The food and service are superb.  On the wall are some outstanding photographs of local and national celebrities who've been there.  I've had perch, walleye and kielbasa - all terrific.  If I had lunch there - i wouldn't go back to work!  :)

• Ann Arbor, MI
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• 626 reviews
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The City of Detroit continues to amaze me with unique gems standing proudly amid areas of massive destruction and desolation. The Ivanhoe Cafe, known locally as the "Polish Yacht Club" or "PYC", is one of those gems that has served hearty Polish food and fresh Lake Perch on the same corner for more than a CENTURY!  Think about it...In 1909, the last year the US government minted Indian pennies, PYC opened its doors on this very corner in what was a working class neighborhood of Polish and other ethnic immigrants on the City's near East side.   Today, this neighborhood  is in shambles with countless vacant lots where houses once stood but have gone through the sad progression of being abandoned, condemned and subsequently razed in an effort to erase the blight.  To be completely honest, PYC sits in one of the roughest parts of the Motor City rivaled only by the Brightmoor section of the City's West side. However, once inside this 2-story red brick structure, you've remarkably entered another world.  Frequented by white-collared regulars from downtown office buildings just a mile and a half away, lunching in this restaurant/bar feels more like dining in someone's home.  Pictures of many of Detroit's famous adorn the walls and the array of table lamps give the dining room a soft glow. You gotta love the complimentary tomatoes, peppers and delicious creamy cole slaw that were promptly delivered to our table. We also enjoyed a coffee cup full of hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup and an appetizer of locally made pan-fried Kielbasa ...a fantastic start! For lunch, I chose the house specialty...the fresh Lake Perch Sandwich served on a lightly grilled bun with lettuce, tomato and rough-cut fries.  No frozen fish here Jack. This is the real thing...an outstanding sandwich with the freshest and tastiest small Lake Erie perch fillets that I've had in Motown. By the way, remember to toss the door man a few bucks to watch your ride while you are inside enjoying lunch.  You don't want to be worrying about losing your wheels while you are dining on Pierogis. Highly recommended!  5 big stars for the overall experience.

• South Windsor, CT
• 184 friends
• 174 reviews
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First off,  a guy watches the cars outside so that feels good.  This place is a treasure that has stood the test of time.  The pierogi and kielbasa were wonderful.  The staff and patrons were extremely friendly and easy to talk to.  I know the schedule is difficult,  but try to make it over here and give this place a shot.  Also,  they take credit cards unlike some of these types of places.

• 734 friends
• 457 reviews
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I tried to go to this place once before, but when I got there it was closed for no apparent reason. (It was lunchtime on a Thursday.) I recently tried again, and made sure to call ahead to confirm they'd be open. So glad I did!! Yep, the neighborhood is, shall we say, less than optimal. In fact, "particularly desolate" is not an understatement. So what? They've managed to survive over 100 years in the same location. You have to respect that. Besides, once you step inside, you forget that you're surrounded by empty lots and burned out buildings. You feel like you're at grandma's house, complete with a zillion pictures on the walls and Detroit memorabilia. Every table gets a large bowl of coleslaw and a plate of pickles and peppers. We also had chicken noodle soup. It was clearly "clear out the pasta bin day," because the soup had 5 or 6 different shapes of pasta in it, as well as healthy bits of chicken and vegetables. Loved, loved, loved it. I could have eaten soup, coleslaw and pickles and left happy. But (of course) I kept going. I ordered the polish sliders -- kielbasa , sauerkraut and cheese on slider buns with fries. The kraut was delicious. I don't know if they make their kielbasa , but if they don't they buy it from someone who does. I also played "swap bites" with my other two dining companions. One had pierogi and kielbasa (very good), and the other had a reuben sandwich. The corned beef on the reuben had a different taste.   It was quite good, just not what you usually get. I suspect that  they brine their own beef brisket. This place is DEFINITELY worth the trip. The true gems in Detroit are few, and this is one of them. Make sure you tip the guy  who watches your car!

• Royal Oak Charter Township, MI
• 126 reviews
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I stumbled upon this place randomly while searching for Polish restaurants outside of the Hamtramck area. They have extremely limited hours (which is a bummer) but I was finally able to make it on a Friday with a group of 5. After reading the reviews, I was pretty excited to try the food. As many reviewers mentioned, the look and feel of the restaurant was pretty unique. Basically, you feel like you're going to eat with a big family at your grandmother's house. It's an old building filled with pictures of members and random beer signs. All signs for common/readily available "domestics" (lame). They have a bunch of sides served prior to eating including cole slaw and pickles. Most of the dinner entrees were priced mid-range with a few dishes less than $10. I ended up getting the kielbasa and pierogies. I also had a chance to try the perch. I've...had better at many other places. Nothing really stood out about the food on any level. Bland, mediocre, and uninspired are all things that come to mind. Tipping for the guy standing around outside was taken care of by one of the guys in our group. Most of the area was pretty run down so it seemed like it would be a good idea.

• Birmingham, MI
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• First to Review

There are no reviews because the people who go here do not want you to know this place is on the planet.    Hundreds of celeb photos on the walls from the last 50 or 60 years and most signed by the visiting celeb.  Basic Polish with a great kielbasa starter, great fish either lunch or dinner, and good drinks.   A bar so old you can see a drain trough at the base of the bar for snowy boots or your imagination.....Remember...you only rent beer, you never own it.....This place is tough to find for a reason.   And when you leave, give the guy watching your car a few bucks and your thanks....Very limited hours and days...........great story....best part..they call it the Polish Yacht Club

Menu may not be up to date. Submit corrections.

Ivanhoe Cafe - Polish Yacht Club Menu

Classic Burger

Liversausage

Stacked ham, polish reuben, ivanhoe reuben, fajita pita.

Grilled Cheese

Gr. ham & swiss, gr. chicken breast, chicken club.

Turkey Reuben

Turkey burger.

Grilled Kielbasa

Chicken strips, house french fries, seasoned french fries, home fries (home made), seasoned fries, onion rings, cup of soup, bowl of soup, chicken greek.

Rainbow Trout

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