The Discontinued IHOP Breakfast You Might Remember From The '80s

Perhaps one of the most playfully named promotions in casual dining, IHOP's Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity was once its most recognizable breakfast combo. Originally introduced in the 1980s, the classic version included two pancakes topped with fruit, two eggs, and your choice of two strips of bacon or sausage links. Truly, though, IHOP's fruit-topped pancakes were the star of the show, with glazed strawberries being a customer's favorite.

In 2023, the brand brought it back for a limited-time promotion during its 65th anniversary celebration and fans were ecstatic. On TikTok, a set of adult twins responded with a video of them singing the order to their waitress to the tune of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti." A follower responded: "Omg yes!! I missed the rooty tooty fresh n fruity!!! I was shocked the first time I went in & it was gone off the menu." In another video, the twins explain: "We grew up on that Rooty."

The company has openly acknowledged the nostalgia factor. In a press release, Chief Marketing Officer Kieran Donahue said the dish had been "at the center of people's memorable dining experiences" and noted that guests still "know Rooty Tooty by name." The branding itself is intentionally catchy and more than a little silly. A writer on Elite Daily admitted: "...you'll want to make plans for a trip to the pancake house so you can rhyme the order aloud IRL." On IHOP's Instagram, a fan joked: "ain't no way imma say that, ill just point and say that one."

IHOP leaned into the silliness of the name, with a 1990 commercial showing customers donning Groucho Marx masks as disguises because they were too "embarrassed" to order the breakfast combo. "People just love the breakfast," the waitress explains cheerfully, "They just hate the name!" Fans appreciated that the 2023 return stayed fairly faithful to the original concept, while modernizing some ingredients. The new and improved fruit toppings are now free of high fructose corn syrup.

Though the nostalgic memories remain, the brand itself is having trouble. If it feels like IHOP seems to have a new promotion every week, it might be because many customers believe the decades-old breakfast chain isn't worth it anymore. Its food quality appears to be suffering, along with exceptionally bad service, leaving many customers dismayed that their childhood favorite has gone downhill. In a Reddit post bemoaning the slip in quality, a user wrote: "I feel like for the past couple years IHOP has been sinking lower in quality and it bums me out because it used to be my favorite breakfast place." 

Still, die-hard fans are holding out for another discontinued menu item that deserves a comeback: Stuffed French Toast. The dish features thick French toast stuffed (natch) with a sweet cream cheese filling and topped with sauces or fruit. It also developed a cult following before disappearing, leaving fans to lament on Reddit: "Out of all the things to discontinue they chose the best thing on the menu."