Rick's Blue Jay Café — Restaurant in York

I love Rick's. I first found them before Covid in York Village and was shocked to find truly good food at a reasonable price in York. It was even genuine Southwest food with a green chili pork sauce worth a long drive to get. Now they're on route 1 in the Cape Neddick section of York, and I love that they'ce been able to expand and find a more accessible space.

Their all day breakfast options are excellent, with short order cooks who really know their craft. This part of the menu along with the conventional lunch menu feel like classic diners done right. The quality is good, the food comes fast, and they get your order right every time in my experience.

However, there are plenty of good diners in New England. It's uncommon, but it's not unique. What is unique, and makes Rick's a rare unicorn in a white bread town like York is the really good Southwestern cuisine they have on the menu. Oh how I missed real Southwestern food living in Maine. It's spicy enough to notice, but more importantly, it's intensely flavorful.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the coffee. They carry Carpe Diem. If you know, you know just how good that is. If you don't, try it. The coffee is full-bodied and satisfying. It's not the kind of diner coffee you can drink five cups of made like a weak tea. Even as a big fan of Carpe Diem I was very happy with one cup with our food.

The last thing Is like to impress on you is the atmosphere and service. The service is fairly run of the mill. With how good everything else is, this isn't an area where they need to work so hard. The service is good, it's just not special in the way that their food is.

The atmosphere is another matter. There's a deep whimsy and joy in the space fueled by unique and local art, eclectic novelty salt and pepper shakers, and a style you can't quite put a finger on due to its eccentric nature. I love it, though it may not be for everyone. It's definitely not straight laced and conservative in its display of color and oddity. It is,...

Sept. 2, 2025 update I just ate the best tasting, most filling, reasonably priced, generously portioned breakfast of my life. Hyperbole? No way. We haven’t been in the York area since summer 2023 (last year we were in MDI), and couldn’t wait to get back to Rick’s for a hearty breakfast. There’s just nothing like a truly tasty vacation breakfast to power you through a day of beaching and walking and boating. I had The Cruiser, the most awesome omelette ever, and my husband had French toast, potatoes, and sausage patties. Everything was delicious & so filling. Cooked to perfection, even! And we love the coffee at Rick’s. It’s actually the only coffee I’ve had that is so smooth, I don’t get the usual stomach burn I do with literally every coffee I’ve drunk. I could drink their coffee every day. Oh, also: my husband ordered breakfast at 8:15am on a busy Tuesday morning and was on the road with the goods by 8:30am. To whoever made breakfast & coffee around 8-9am on 9/2/2025…we love you.

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Rick’s came highly recommended by our beach neighbor, so of course we had to stop in. Well, my husband did and brought breakfast home (I’m not eating in restaurants currently). I had The Cruiser, which is an omelette filled with bacon, caramelized onion, spinach, and goat cheese served with potatoes and toast. It was divine!! And my husband thoroughly enjoyed The Cape Neddick. Even our coffees were delicious. And my husband enjoyed the local vibe. So it looks like Rick’s is our new breakfast (and coffee) spot. I can’t wait to try the lunches!

Also, the prices are great. Our breakfasts were between $10-$11, and the servings, again, are...

My wife and I went up to York for a quick, last minute weekend away. We typically will hit all of our favorite spots. Although this time around, it was decided that we’d finally try Rick’s Blue Jay Cafe. Anytime we have been up this way, the parking lot has always been full which unfortunately, tends to discourage us. This time around, it wasn’t as busy as it usually was.

The atmosphere immediately had this local, classic feel we New Englanders tend to love. They have a bar/short-order option which had some spots but we really wanted to see the “sit-down” experience. 10/10 recommend!

We were greeted right away by a waitress who was attentive and kind. The service was great, even when it started to get busier. The menu has a good variety of breakfast choices. They all seemed appealing. I went with The Handyman. An assortment so you can try a little bit of everything. I am not usually a French toast person but it was delicious. The food is fresh and definitely has a home made taste. Nice environment. The inside is a lot bigger than it looks from the parking lot. As we were leaving, the lobby area was pretty full but it didn’t discourage people from waiting for a table.

Another great local place to add to our York visits. Thanks, Rick’s...