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Mon-Fri. 6:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
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Came here this morning for brunch with my dad at around 12:00PM. The wait was 10 - 15 minutes, but the restaurant is large, food service is quick, and table turnover is high. We got to sit outside on the patio and it was a beautiful sunny day.
They had a wide assortment of pancakes including buttermilk, hawaiian, swedish, coconut, bacon, pecan, blueberry, and buckwheat. I chose a 1/2 stack of buckwheat (which is 4 pancakes.. who can eat 8?!) and 1 swedish pancake. I normally opt for plain ol' buttermilk, but wanted to try something new. They also have a bunch of omelets, scrambles, and breakfast plates. You know, the usual breakfast stuff.
My buckwheat pancakes were a little heavier than traditional buttermilk ones, but had a hint of nuttiness. The swedish pancakes were thin, but much too crispy and generally unimpressive. I didn't even finish half. Their OJ was deliciously fresh and pulpy though.
My dad ordered banana pancakes. Normally I drown my pancakes in syrup (I love sauce!), but these pancakes were one of the few ever that actually tasted better plain. Impressive. The pancakes were light and fluffy and the banana flavor was subtle, but had the perfect flavor. His scrambled eggs were something I imagine being pre-made and served up from a large metal vat. They reminded me McDonald's scrambled eggs.. a pile of cold, spongy, plastic-tasting, indistinguishable yellowness. Even drenched in salt and ketchup, we couldn't finish them.
To get water when we sat down, extra napkins after I spilled a full glass of ice water on the table and my lap, and to order, we had to flag down our waitress each time. Even after getting her attention, she would yell "hang on," only to disappear again. She never checked on our food (I only got 3 pancakes instead of 4), but was quick to put down the check 20 minutes before we actually finished eating.
I'd say Original Pancake House is probably only about a 1/2 step higher than an IHOP. While those banana pancakes were pretty tasty, I think I will spend my $35 on a tastier breakfast with better service elsewhere.
After reading most of the reviews, I had rather high expectations of this place. I came here on a Saturday with some friends at around 9:45am and the place was already pretty busy. We got seated fairly quickly thanks to the fact that we called in an hour before to let them know how many of us were coming. Oh and they also serve coffee and apple pancake while you wait in the waiting area! (gotta love free food)
The menu items are a bit pricier than other breakfast places I've been to. I decided to try the eggs benedict with home fries and pancakes. It was my first time trying eggs benedict and I thought it was pretty good. I didn't really care too much about the home fries and the pancakes were just aight....I've tasted better. All together, I paid $14 for the 2 eggs benedict, 2 pancakes and homefries including tip.
I did feel a little ripped off but it wouldn't hurt to try this place out once. The eggs benedict were delicious and they do serve free food and coffee in the waiting area which is a plus. They do focus on making quality breakfast food so I'd say this place is pretty legit in terms of quality overall.
Ok, I heard great things about this place and left MAJORLY disappointed and rather stressed by the whole experience. Its SO busy here on the weekends, seriously dont bother. Had all the more popular items such as the Dutch Baby and Crepes. I have to say I like the international crepes at Ihop way way better... Dutch baby was decent SO much better lookin than it tastes. Service is fine, and i dont care for the hosts... young boys that think its SO cool to say its an hour wait...
Sometimes I wake up in the morning and all I can think about is what it would be like to be eating a banana pancake. That's when I roll over, push the boy and inform him if he's not ready in ten minutes, I'm leaving without him. When I leave, this is where I go.
I order the full-sized order of the banana pancakes, and it makes more than enough for two, perhaps three breakfasts. I tend to take at least half home, and then I make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the pancakes. Yes I do, and you're welcome, because when you try it you're going to want to thank me.
On weekends and holidays, they have some of the best eggs benedict I've ever had -- it's probably the quality of the eggs, which are so fresh and delicious their taste is incomparable to the kind you find at every other breakfast chain. I don't drink coffee but when I splurge and get a glass of their fresh squeezed orange juice, I never regret it in spite of the high price tag.
I am not a big fan of chains, but this is a chain of restaurants that serves quality food inexpensively. It's simply the best pancakes you're going to get and you will get that quality at all of their locations.
All of their food is of good to great quality, all of their food is made from scratch and everything is cooked to order.
As mentioned in many reviews don't stroll in late and expect to be seated quickly. The place is great, has great prices for what you get and they get busy. Really busy.
I can't stop ordering their potato pancakes.
They're a well-oiled machine but be prepared for a looooonnnng wait to get a table unless you call ahead.
I don't usually write about chain restaurants but this one is delicious.
When coming here on a Saturday, I expected a wait. However, just because it is super crowded, doesn't mean that you can drop off our food and abandon us. The second time that I came here was a Tuesday at lunch. There were five other tables in the restaurant that were occupied, unfortunately, that didn't mean the service was any better. The food took FOREVER to get to us, and she never checked in on us until we got the bill. She couldn't have forgotten about us, as there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. The waffles are good, but the service has been terrible every time that I have been there.
Best corn beef hash ever. Huge portion and just so damn good! Even without mixing it up, each bite has the perfect proportion of ingredients, from finely chopped onion to the corn beef and the hash. There's usually quite a wait on the weekends, but well worth it. Other people in my party have ordered other menu items, which I've sampled, but I'll never order anything else here but the corn beef hash. Their fresh squeezed OJ is always one of the best I've ever had, so you don't want to miss out on that. Very friendly and efficient service here, so they turn the tables as quickly as possible. Your food arrives quickly, as does your check.
Anyone who serves excellent buckwheat pancakes in this day & age deserves a pat on the back. I'm happy to do it for this breakfast joint in Kirkland.
I have been coming here for years but unfortunately haven't tried most varieties of pancakes offered. Again, buckwheat rules and the buttermilk are also superb - fresh & flavorful.
Next to pancakes, eggs are the real secret of this place. They use some of the freshest eggs I've ever had, and words fail me to describe what makes a fresh egg taste better than a typical (blah) egg. I do not usually go for eggs, but even scrambled - my least favorite - taste incredibly good here.
As for meats - corned beef hash is pretty good, made in house and very finely chopped. Ham steaks are A-OK, sausage patties are pretty tasty, and links - why bother? Great variety of hot sauces to mix with your meats, eggs and potatoes as well.
Downsides: Coffee is not so great; I prefer to bring my own. Also the wait time on weekends - fuggedaboutit, unless you come early.
All in all, well-recommended for Eastsiders.
If someone offered you either a mug full of freshly brewed, dark roast, shade grown, deliciously fragrant coffee or a huge pot of Foldger's instant coffee and you choose the latter, then this place might be for you. In my opinion the Original Pancake House is much more focused on quantity over quality. I prefer quality so this isn't my type of place.
The longest 45 Minute wait ever. BTW, did i mention it was a long ass wait. Here's the problem.....the waiting room has limited seating, so if you're last on the list...you are waiting in the rain....
Question for you Kirklandnites....does the WHOLE TOWN OF KIRKLAND, ONLY GO TO THIS PLACE FOR BREAKFAST? Wholly Guacamoleee it was packed!
Food wise....run of the mill pancake joint. Large portions, weak coffee, and old school waitress' that do not write your orders down, cuz they are like human copy machines. Interestingly, their best item was their "pigs in blanket". Mini dogs wrapped in mini pancakes.... cool beans. Corn Beef hash was unremarkable...
Because we have some relatives WAAAAAAAAAAYYY out there... Im willing to come again..... at least before or after the morning rush...
WOW! The friut crepe was the da bomb! Unlike IHOPS execuse of the crepe where it is so thin you cant taste it, here, it is thick enough you can savor the taste of the crepe and the fruit topping!
As for the omlet, my god, it is hugh! It isnt really a omlet, itis almost like a dome pizza! Damn good deal! But it is too much for one person, we had to split it!
Look forward to trying the famous sausage patties!
The Original Pancake House has great service and wonderful food. The only thing missing is I'd like to be able to get a nice latte, however, they don't mind if you bring Starbucks in from across the street.
The bacon waffle, Pigs in a Blanket, Crepes, Dutch Babies...are all very tasty.
They are very busy on the weekend. Get their number and call up to an hour ahead of time. They'll put you on the list and give you an estimate of when you should show up. Make sure everyone in your party is there when you check in and be prepared to wait a couple of minutes, this isn't a reservation, just a courtesy because they get so busy.
I go there all the time, aways call, and my wait time is really short.
Repeat after me: "A scramble is not an omelette." Both are delicious eggs-with-stuff items, but if you're going to sell me an omelette, I expect something folded. Not a giant yellow hockey puck filled with egg, ham, and, allegedly, cheese.
I am so disappointed.
The coffee is lackluster and acidic. The apple waffle, while apple-tastic, is sadly flat, and the hot apple topping that goes with it was brought out as soon as we ordered... 30 minutes before the waffle itself arrived. Sure, I was expecting the wait: it states on the menu that the wait for an "omelette" can be up to 30 minutes to bake* on busy days. What I wasn't expecting is cold apple syrup and the fact that the table behind us, all 8 of them, would be chowing down despite being seated 10 minutes after us. The chunks of potato in the home fries are waaaaay too large as well. At least half of what I came across in my portion were chunks of potato well over a cubic inch in size. Might as well just boil the damn things at that point. Where's the crunchy, flavorful love?
The trip was saved only by the fact we witnessed Dizzy's Tumblebus running over a couple flats of flowers at the neighboring QFC as those whose attention also was caught by the horrible cracking sound looked on in horror.
Lesson learned: if the highlight of a Saturday brunch out is accidental property destruction, go somewhere else.
* Yea, this should have tipped me off to the fact that my omelette was going to be neither good nor an omelette. But I'm an optimist.
The lines are loooong, but the food is definitely worth it. We had the Apple Pancake and the Buckwheat pancackes.
The Apple Pancake was like eating a large, warm, fresh Apple Fritter. And the buckwheat pancakes had subtle hints of molasses and nutmeg.
Our new favorite breakfast place.
Not a place to go if your are in a hurry -- it is a regional favorite, and everyone in the Pacific Northwest seems to want to eat there. But if you've got the time, you will be in for a memorable treat!
Crepes. With fresh strawberries.
And a side of bacon.
Enough said.
P.S. If you see me there, please remind me to stick with ONE crepe.
Hey Whiners - If you're going to bitch - don't go - it means the lines will be shorter! I wish this place could stay a Kirkland local joint but it seems that whenever people have guests from out of town they bring them here. It's just that good. HINT: Call ahead and you can get on the seating list - which according to OPH is not the same as a reservation, but it's the next best thing.
It's all good - my personal favorites are the Swedish pancakes (crepes w/ lingonberry sauce), the buckwheat pancakes and the chocolate chip pancakes ( which are no longer on the menu but they'll make up on request). Their bacon is nice and thick, and they'll fry it up exactly as you tell them (I prefer crispy). Their sausages are their house recipe, but very tasty.
Only problem is that the wait can be LONNNNGGG if you go at the wrong time, and its pricey - and yet people still keep coming. Should tell you something.
I'm not exactly sure how we found ourselves in the back of a strip mall in Kirkland, but we did, and I saw the word "Pancake" on the side of a building and proceeded to drive over there, park, and ask for a table against my own will. It said pancake - what was I to do?
Good thing we didn't do too much thinking because I found a great no-fuss breakfast spot that has locations everywhere. It's not a chain but a group of independently owned restaurants so that's probably why there is no sterile feel and the food is good.
Granted, you will have to wait, there will be more children than you generally see in a month up on Capitol Hill, and it's not exactly the hip organic place to go, but you know what, they serve me breakfast just like my Grandmother would whip up and for that I am all about ordering up a stack of pancakes, a side of bacon, and a cup of drip coffee served up in a heavy duty ceramic mug.
Try the Dutch Babies...they are addicting!
I have been here several times, each time thinking, 'This time I'll have a good experience.' And each time I leave thinking, 'I drove out from Seattle and paid that much for THAT?'
While other reviewers claim the portions are large, to my eye (and stomach) they are quite small. And quite pricey for what you get. While the mushroom sherry sauce is, indeed, good, there is no mushroom sauce in the world worth waiting over an hour for, only to be seated in a crowded, noisy environment and served by a busy, distracted waitperson.
This last Sunday was the last straw. My partner and I, having made the half-hour drive from Seattle, waited over an hour for our table (passing the time pleasantly enough with Starbuck's coffee, on a bench outside). When we were finally seated, it was at the end of a long table that was occupied by a large party. Behind us was another large party. The noise in the room was louder than usual. My partner wanted to order an omelet; the waitress told us it would be a half-hour wait. I wanted basted eggs and ham, with swedish pancakes instead of the buttermilk pancakes. The waitress informed me that it would be a $7 additional charge. I balked. $7 for little thin lacey things? I could not see the reasoning behind that. After a sip of unnecessarily bad coffee (no restaurant near Seattle has any excuse for serving bad coffee) my partner and I decided to leave. And to never come back.
We noticed on the way out that the foyer smelled very strongly of vomit. It was as if the restaurant itself were saying: get out, get out, GET OUT!!!
We went to Noah's Bagels, around the corner, and had a very simple, quiet, pleasant and inexpensive meal of toasted bagels, light cream cheese and lox.
There are so many better choices for breakfast. There is no need to wait so long for a table or an omelet. (Other restaurants are able to prepare an omelet in less than half an hour. What gives?) There are quieter, less crowded, much more reasonable places to have breakfast/brunch. And, for the love of Pete, there is no excuse for the wretched coffee they serve there!
Big wait, big menu, pretty big portions- good breaky!! Large groups tie things up on the weekend and sometimes the food takes a while-
if you order certain things- they go ahead and tell you it will be a while...
but service is good and it's pretty big so the wait can sometimes be quick. Also when you are waiting- they have coffee and snacks out to tide you over...
Good location- but if the wait is too long you can always walk down to Noahs...
What?!? You mean you'd actually go to a well-known breakfast restaurant on a weekend and NOT expect to wait for a table?! You've got to be kidding me. Go to ANY restaurant, famous for its breakfasts on a Sunday & there will be a line. I bet there's even a line at Top Pot donuts (though I've never been).
Anyway, my son & I went here for brunch on a Thursday morning. No wait at all. Granted, we live in the area, so it was convenient. Being the traditional kind of folk, we ordered plain ol' buttermilk pancakes. (Actually, I ordered the One by Three, which was an egg + 3 pancakes.)The quick service was appreciated, because my son is just 3 years old & though he has excellent restaurant manners, it's always appreciated when the food comes out quickly.
I wouldn't say our food was outstanding, because it's hard to go wrong with the basic pancake, but I just had to comment about those of you who were complaining about the wait. :)
Great pecan pancakes! They're scattered throughout the batter, which toasts them as the pancakes are cooked.
And bacon...thick, thick slices. They cook them all ahead of time (so it seems), but those are some meaty chunks o' pig.
Glenn ordered an omelette, which apparently takes 20 minutes to prepare as it's so big. It's not your normal egg mixture wrapped around some bits of ham and cheese. These omelettes are enormous and the fixins are mixed into the eggs.
I may have to try one next time!
The parking lot closest to it is kind of a weird triangle. If you have a nice vehicle (unlke me), you might want to park closer to the other building in the mall and walk over instead.
I came here often for brunch on the weekends. The service is always very friendly and they're liberal with the coffee refills. The selection of pancakes to choose from is ginormous and everything is made fresh daily. These guys were also featured on the food network for their inventive apple pancakes.
What's not to like about this place? Tip - call in advance to put yourself on the waitlist and shave some time off the wait.
After reading up here first, we were smart and called ahead so we got to skip past the giant mass of people crammed waiting in the lobby and outside. Hoorah!
I had the special Pumpkin pancakes and my GF had a basic breakfest combo dealio with Banana pancakes. All very yummy.. no problems with service or speed at all.. waitstaff was A++ friendly and quick to please. Food was B+... yummy and a great breakfast... just nothing WOW ZOMG I HAVE TO TELL EVERYONE. Basic well-done breakfast with a lot of menu variety. Hope to try the Mandarin Orange crepes next time.
Bill was ~$20 for the both of us. Pretty usual rate.
I'll admit I'm a pancake addict, so I'm basing my review more on the food rather than the service. The pancakes are consistently good and for many pancake orders, give you the option of how much you want like 1/3, 1/2 or full order (sometimes the full is just too much). They also have bacon pancakes which I haven't had, but my friend has had the them at least twice so I guess they taste better than they sound. I like the pecan waffles, they come with a hot citrus syrup, but really all the pancakes I've had there are good and there's always plenty of warm maple syrup. I also had a non-pancake day and had the corn beef hash which wasn't too bad.
They don't take reservations and the wait can be irritating (over an hour sometimes, especially on weekends), so they let you call in prior to coming in and establish a time to be there. If you aren't there first thing in the morning, I would suggest calling in at least a couple of hours in advance to get your name on the list.
I've eaten breakfast at the Original Pancake House over a dozen times in groups of anywhere from 2 to 10 people, often with young children, and every time it's turned out great. It's one of the best places to eat breakfast on the Eastside.
They don't take reservations but you can call up to an hour in advance to get your name on the list. There's usually free dutch apple pancake and coffee in the waiting area, and on weekends it's packed with wait times up to an hour.
To be clear, you come here for the food. Although our kids love coming here (and with options like chocolate chip pancakes and cherry crepes, who can blame them), the atmosphere is nothing special. Noisy and bright. Service is fine, especially given how busy it can be. Omelets take a long time, but most meals are served promptly.
The portions are often too large to eat in one sitting. For example, "The Larry" comes with three enormous pancakes on one plate and a delicious scrambled eggs/sausage mixture filling another plate, for around $8.25. Despite the large quantities of cheap food, it's actually really tasty.
Tender crepes interlaced with succulent, sour-sweet mandarin orange sections and triple sec covered with mandarin oranges in a warm tropical syrup with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. I really had this for breakfast and I really had it at the Original Pancake House in Kirkland.
You can also get a wide variety of pancakes, eggs with bacon, sausage or ham, and a select few omelettes. The omelettes are dome-shaped masterpieces that take 1/2 hour to cook. They come with a choice of two sides, which is more food than most people can eat.
The trick to getting a table is to call ahead and have your name put on the list. They will tell you approximately how long the wait is at that time. We did this and when we arrived today, our table was ready.
On the way to the table I saw a notice at the front door saying that they had added lattes to the menu. Be warned!!! These are those automachine lattes like you get from vending machines. They are preflavored so you can't order sugar in the raw or a flavor. My advice is to get juice with breakfast and hold out for something from the Starbucks directly across the parking lot or head up the street to one of the espresso stands.
The best testament to this place is that I go there again and again. It's the crepes. They are so good. They solved the problem with overlong waits by allowing patrons to call ahead to get on the list. This is a great place to have breakfast.
Humina humina
Quality of the food is standard, but the thing that sets them apart from the IHOPs (hence the extra star) are the portion sizes and the german and dutch pancakes. And they are very reasonably priced! I ordered an omelot (the standard ones are made with 5 eggs - wow) and it also came with pancakes (three huge ones) and hash browns for under $10. I wanted to try the Dutch Baby soooo bad but I didn't have the balls - I didn't think I should eat it because I already overdid it with the holidays, and no one wanted to share it with me. Thankfully, the waiting room had samples of the apple german pancake so I had half of my cravings satisfied.
For the record, they do not take reservations but you can call ahead to put your name on the list.
Everything the previous reviewers said I totally agree with. Breakfast is their specialty and it shows. Bring your appetite or at least another person to share the omelets with or else you'll be carrying out a doggie bag.
The pancakes are fluffy with a slightly crisp edge and soak up the syrup with a vengeance. And do try the crepes. They are so worth the extra calories.
This place is a rip off and the food is just ok. I think I was served the smallest glass of OJ ever! Don't believe all the hype. This place is just alright.
Nothing much I can say about this place...
It was supa crowded and rather noisy, but they accommodated our large group very nicely. Everything we ordered was great (crepes with MOUNDS of strawberries, crazy baked omelette's...) except the oatmeal. Unless you're into eating bowls full of glue, steer clear.
This pancake place had great pecan pancakes! Very nutty and the cakes were light and fluffy. Probably the best I've ever had so far! I ordered the sunnyside up eggs and bacon and the bacon was not too salty and had quite a bit of meat on it.
This is my favorite place to go for Sunday brunch (just call ahead give them your name). The apple yumminess with free coffee while you wait is a super idea. It pacifies the grumps and gives you something to do while you're waiting because it could be awhile. The eggs and potatoes are my favorite. It's a lot of food becuase with it you get a couple of sides like toast and fluffy tasty pancakes or fruit. The omlettes are amazing, just take a lot longer. So if you're eating with friends who don't order an omlette too, you'll be waiting while they get their food long before. I have to laugh at the lady who walks around with coffee and water because she doesn't listen even though she asks, since the last two times I've been there, she's tried to pour coffee in my tea and forget asking her for cream, I had to go get it myself before the water got cold and I was half way through with my meal. Usually the service is good, even when they are crazy busy. The last few times, our waitress was a little overwhelmed and kept forgetting things like our juice orders, syrup, another fork and cream...but I can overlook that for the tasty big breakfasts.
Everything here is flawless. I always had a great experience each time I went to the Original Pancake House. I could probably eat their chocolate chip pancakes everyday for the rest of my life. Okay that's a little too much of chocolate but they totally ROCK! I love the busy atmosphere in the restaurant, and despite all the rush by the hungry people on a Sunday morning, the service is always exceptionally fast. Very friendly staff with big smiles.
We enjoy the Original Pancake House in Kirkland enough to make the occasional weekend drive down from Mill Creek. The restaurant is always busy on weekends, so be prepared for a 10-30 minute wait. They have a wide assortment of pancakes that are very delicious. I love the banana pancakes, and the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is reeaaally good. The Pancake House is a great option for families with small kids, as the atmosphere is very laid back and they provide crayons on every table.
One of the most average breakfasts I've ever had... and I had to wait 20mins for it... and they weren't busy... and I had to pay over $20 for it!! RIP OFF.
Why would I go back??
Just relocated to Kirkland and oh how I miss San Jose's Holders Country Inn breakfasts and service...
Good breakfast items for the price, thus the usual long wait for a table. The service was decent. Never had a bad experience here. Love the specialty breakfast items. Just remember to call ahead to make a reservation.
Gluttony how be thy name. It's the Pancake House. I have been there a few times as it's close to by house, but everytime I go, I leave way too full, and thinking it's really not that great. Yesterday went about noon, thinking there wouldn't be a wait. Why yes, there was. They serve the signature Apple Pancake and coffee in the lobby while you wait and have a TV (which was playing "that's so raven"... hi it's Sunday, football?) which is too lessen the sting of waiting so long. I don't like the apple pancake. It taste like egg, not apple. So we finally get seated at a communal table which I don't really mind at all, but others that came in immediately stated "I won't sit there, I want my own table" (I kid you not). Our server was attentive and filled up our coffee right away. I ordered the Eggs Benedict, and my friend ordered the Corn Beef and Hash (yes were are the Pancake House, but you get pancakes too). So all told, I get two eggs Benedict, seasoned home fries, and three pancakes. Everything was OK, but it's just too much. The prices aren't bad, the service was friendly, but I would rather leave not feeling like a stuffed pig. (and I only ate half!)
Redmond, WA
Category: Restaurants
Kirkland, WA
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Bellevue, WA
Category: American (Traditional)
Kirkland, WA
Category: Desserts
Snohomish, WA
Category: American (Traditional)
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