The Original Pancake House

The food is outstanding and the service is better. They are wonderfully accommodating to large groups. The wait might be long sometime, but I have never more than 10 minutes… and that was 9:30 on a Saturday.

I’ve lived up the street from this location for a year and a half now, and have been in a handful of times.
Similar to Walker Brothers (this location actually is listed on the Walker Brothers website), their menu is basically the same with a few additions.
Let’s be honest, every time I’m at Walker Brothers, I order the same thing. No exception here at Original Pancake House, where they have my favorite — 49ers flapjacks.
The last time I was here they had a «tag-​team» approach to serving, where each of the 3 – 4 servers that were working stopped by the table to see if we needed anything, bring food, items, refill coffee, etc. It was a little unusual, sure, but I liked it, and felt like we were well attended to.
The food always comes out quickly, and the bacon & sausage are always good. My only complaint is that they don’t have whipped butter in the back (boom boom fatty first world problems) for the pancakes, and you have to use the packets of butter on the table. It just doesn’t taste as good.
Coffee is fresh, and if memory serves, they leave a carafe on the table.
Okay… I’m hungry now.

We love every OPH
Grass fed beef is an option at this location
Tibetan butter coffee (n hot cocoa)
Gluten and dairy free options
Organic range eggs option
German pancake!
apple pancake!
Dutch baby varieties (sweet and savory)
Come late morning on a weekday or be ok with a bit of a wait. Nom up and be happy.
All ages all the time.

Since I know about this place, I try to go there once a week. It’s kind of a tradition to go there with my friends, we are originally from Germany and talked about that we should have have a restaurant like the Pancake House in our country, we would go there to eat.:)
I always eat the same there: Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Coffee & fresh squeezed orange juice.

Well I thought I would give this place another chance and when I walked in the hostess said that there would be a 10 to 15 minute wait and 34 minutes later we were seated. It was a Saturday morning and one of the busiest days of the week to eat breakfast and I am a realist so no big deal.
The server took our drink order and our food order and when the food arrived the food runner played «pass the plate» which shows a disregard for guests. Have the courtesy to present the dish properly to the correct person.

I had ordered my bacon well done and of course it was not cooked properly so I sent it back with my eggs. Well when my bacon returned cooked well done my eggs were cold. I also had a sideorder of pancakes that I had to ask for after playing «hunt down the server». I also need ketchup and hotsauce which I had to request. I cannot stand having to expedite food and service when I am trying to have a nice relaxing meal with my family.
The bulbous owner stopped (who seems to care) by my table and the server tried to step up her game up by attempting to care while he was at the table. The check was dropped off as soon as my plate arrived and at no time was I asked «if there was anything I needed» other then «do you need a to go box»? I get it they are trying to move tables and make money but this place is very pricey and they have taken service out of the equasion at my expense.
Edison Park northsiders and Park Ridge Residents take note. There are plenty of other breakfast options in the area. I think perhaps a change of names from «The Original Pancake House» to «The Original Pan Flake House» might be in order. I have to say they give this chain a bad name. Service is so bad here I will NEVER RETURN.

Things I love about this place.
1. Some outstanding wait staff. (Our favorite is Magda)
2. They use fresh food. Fresh potatoes, fresh (not canned mushrooms), organic options, fresh spinach… Etc. many breakfast places opt for frozen canned crap, which is gross and not worth what is charged. They even offer organic/​grass fed met options. And real maple syrup upon request.
3. Kids love that they get a quarter to pick out a fun toy from the gum ball machines in the front.
Overall, delicious breakfast that will keep you full till dinner!

While I haven’t read all the reviews, one can only assume that people are not as happy with this place because it has been around since their childhood. That said, I just recently moved here and found this place to be absolutely phenomenal. The owner is obviously extremely passionate about his job and was able to move people through in a very efficient and effective manner. The food was positively succulent including very thick pieces of applewood bacon with my eggs. My girlfriend was not a fan of the coffee and ended up getting a free hot chocolate instead which was positively delicious. I love the coffee! I also love the pancakes and the atmosphere was cozy and fun. I could not more highly recommend a place for breakfast in this area. You should definitely go! One more thing… The service was obviously a team format and was absolutely impeccable.

Yummy! First time here but I always see the deal on Groupon. Getting there on a Saturday morning, there was a line. We did not wait too long though. Looking at the menu, they have variety. It is kinda pricey. I ordered the dutch baby which is the smaller German pancake. Hmmm so good. My husband ordered the sausage links and eggs both so tasty. My daughter ordered the chocolate crêpe and by the way she was eating them and finished the whole plate, she really love it! We will surely be back.

Delicious. Just mmmmm mmmm good!!! The service was on point. I had a 3 course meal for breakfast! & try the special coffee!!!

I took my family here on a Sunday morning around 9am which I imagine is the peak time to be at this place. The small waiting area was a bit crowded but the staff did a decent job at getting folks seated quickly.
My order was a simple one — two eggs over easy with bacon, my wife had french toast, and our kids had rainbow pancakes with a side of fruit. My breakfast was what I expected, nothing more nothing less. My wife’s french toast was «just ok» — a lot of the breakfast places make their french toast on thicker cut bread — but this restaurant uses what appears to be just normal/​typical household bread. Still ok, just nothing special about it. The kids rainbow pancakes came out as advertised, but the side of fruit was the frozen-​and-​thawed kind, not the fresh kind. We had ordered an extra side of bacon which initially didn’t come, but arrived after one reminder from us.
After breakfast, waiting for take-​out boxes took a bit long. I ended up going up to pay the check during that wait. That worked out about right, as I got back the boxes were arriving.
The food was about what we could make at home, and the service was a bit on the slow side — «adequate» is the word that comes to mind — I guess a little less on both fronts than what I seek when dining out for breakfast.

Great place for breakfast. There’s typically a line but usually quicker than Walker Bros. I love the omelettes here. Of course, I always get it with a side of pancakes! Service is quick and friendly.

For some reason it takes a really long time to make banana pancakes and an omelet. The food tastes ok. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back here again. I felt like an outsider. Only white people come here and if you’re not white then the host doesn’t care to interact with you like he does with the other people. All the tables are squished together and there’s barely any room to move. I wanted to look at the train they had the the host stopped me and told me to stand where he told me to. The waiters are a little more friendly then the host. Pretty uncomfortable environment overall. Couldn’t wait to get out.

If your Mexican, don’t go here. I am of Mexican decent and that really shouldn’t matter. I truly feel like an outsider and I much rather go to a restaurant that doesn’t take race into account.

Love their eggs benedict and of course the coffee… service isnt the best but food is amazing.

I purchased a groupon for this location since my fiancée and I were going to be in the area, and we find it amusing to visit as many The Original Pancake House locations as possible.
This place was packed, and the staff handled it well. However, my omelet was raw on the inside, and the staff was really rushed. I’m sure if it were slower it would have been a different experience, so try another time other than a weekend morning for a late breakfast/​lunch.

At a place that features the word «pancake» in it’s name, I felt the need to get some pancakes in my order. Sure enough they’re indeed worthy of having the name. Pancakes are fluffy & light which makes them absorb the watery yet delicious syrup. Besides pancakes, the santa fe/​southwest omelet is massive (probably 2 normal omeletes put together), super cheesy, and adding chorizo is a must. Lots of families go here and the place can get pretty busy. It’s in a good location right in the heart of uptown Park Ridge so there is a lot to see and do in the area.

I am more of a savory fan when it comes to breakfast – eggs benny, skillets, omelets, etc. But when I crave more of the sweet side of breakfast, 49ers flapjacks are what I want.
Now I don’t know the whole history of Original Pancake House or Walker Brothers, but they both have the 49ers flapjacks on their menu and it’s exactly the same at every location I’ve visited, be it OPH or WB. So after a soggy 5k at the LPZoo (were you there? I swear the animals were waiting for the ark!) I really really wanted some comfort food to warm me up.
Sunday morning and the place was busy as expected. Their wait system seems odd as everyone is given a random number card to hold on to… but it works. The hostesses keep track of every party and being one that is always cognizant of the people waiting (because I hate it when hostesses screw up and seat people that have arrived after the bunch of us folks waiting) I noticed that people were getting seated in order. She quoted us 15 min and she was spot on.
Service was great. Anticipated mine and my son’s needs – coffee, milk, etc. Even asked if I knew what my son wanted to she could get his order in right away. LOVE! She even made me an iced coffee despite it not being on the menu and it turned out pretty damn tasty.
The rainbow pancakes my son ordered looked fun for him (he loved it!) but to me looked kind of smashed. My 49er’s flapjacks were perfect – thin, chewy, melt in your mouth carby goodness.
The price is right too, very reasonable for breakfast. The place is loud, it’s busy and there is a Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Parking in the lot is tricky and a tight squeeze.

Summary: Horrible service from start to finish. Food was average. 1 extra star for serving higher quality meats (grass fed, organic, etc).
As soon as we walked in the front door (which dinged a sound), we waited for the young hostess to turn around and greet us, but she kept goofing off with her coworkers. Her coworkers who were facing us were laughing and didn’t even tell her that we were staring at the back of her head, until one waitress happened to walk by and called her name out twice to get her attention. Then the hostess grabbed some menus, walked us to a table, dropped the menus off, and left. She didn’t even turn back to see that we had followed her or even say, «Your server will be with you shortly» or «Enjoy your meal.»
Our waitress was just ok, but the runner brought out my meal a good 5 minutes after my husband’s meal. We were only a party of 2, so it was really apparent and strange. Why not just wait to bring both out at the same time?
Then when we walked up to the counter to pay, unfortunately the same young hostess rang us up. I had a feeling this would go badly… I gave her my Groupon, she marked it off, swiped my card, then I waited. She asked for my card back to re-​swipe it for some reason which always makes me leery, then printed out the receipt for me to sign, which didn’t reflect the total after the Groupon. So she had to dig through the garbage for my original receipt, asking me which table I sat at and if I remembered the total. I said no, but I remembered the dishes we ordered. Luckily, it took her only a few seconds to find the original receipt, and I think she tried to void/​cancel the transaction, but she couldn’t and had to ask for help. Her coworker just suggested to give me the Groupon amount in cash. I was just glad not to have to be there a second longer! The end.
Note to self: Never step foot in here again.

Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. We stood around for several minutes before we were seated, even though there were empty tables — we had to ask to be seated at one of them. Then we sat for more than 10 minutes without any menus. We never got a kids menu, even though we were sitting there with a toddler. Two servers came by to take drink orders, but no one wanted to take our food order. After we complained, they brought out a complimentary pancake — the same one my husband had already ordered. The server basically told us that we should be happy now since we were getting a pancake for free.
We’ve brought friends here on two separate occasions, and each time we’ve been completely embarrassed by how awful the service is. Never making that mistake again.

This is a cozy and quaint brunch place that has apparently been around since 1978. It’s also a bit easy to miss on busy Northwest Highway as there are no big signs, and the white house can be mistaken for something like an antique shop. They have some stained glass and I liked the character as well as friendliness of the place. For a late lunch, we tried their German pancake and a Santa Fe omelette which comes with 3 pancakes. Both were fine. We did not try their coffee, having already had our daily allotment. Overall, a nice brunch stop with character amongst all the varieties of competition out there for brunch.