Pancake Day is here – time to start easing out of those New Year resolutions and back into the elasticated trousers.
If you’re pancake tossing skills really could be much batter (that one from last year is still stuck to the ceiling), or you find the supermarket has run out of one or all of eggs, flour and sugar before lunchtime AGAIN, then you might want leave the work to someone else.
Whether you’ve got a sweet tooth or feel the need for cheese, champion a feather light crepe or salivate over a syrupy stack, there’s a pancake restaurant in London for you.
Take a look at our pick of the best spots for a flipping good time this Pancake Day.
Café Miami
This Clapton café knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and that pancakes are a very important breakfast. With four types of pancakes in their repertoire, diners can get theirs Nutella-filled, stacked with “Ribena” compote and crème fraiche, or gluten and wheat free with their oat and banana option. Purists, don’t fret: there’s blueberry, maple and bacon on the menu too.
24 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0PD; cafemiami.co.uk
Where The Pancakes Are
As you could probably guess, there are quite a lot of pancakes at this Southwark restaurant. The menu entirely consists of battered treat, with stacked portions of the buttermilk variety teamed with anything from welsh rarebit to banana, hazelnut praline and marshmallows. You can also go deep dish with their Dutch Babies, an American take on a German pancake variety that resembles a Yorkshire pudding.
Arch 35a, 85a Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 0NQ; wherethepancakesare.com
The Delaunay
For elegant surroundings in which to enjoy a well-stocked pancake menu, there are few places that beat The Delaunay. This European-style grand café serves up buttermilk pancakes with four types of toppings: get maple syrup with bacon or without, go for blueberries and crème fraiche or have yours topped with a warming plum and cinnamon compote.
55 Aldwych, WC2B 4BB; thedelaunay.com
Chez Lindsay
This Breton-style Richmond bistro goes aux francais for its pancake menu, offering an extensive menu of traditional buckwheat galettes. Fill these folded parcels with traditional fillings like egg cheese and ham (known as a Complète) and a speciality Roquefort, celery, walnuts and onion sauce, or go rogue with a king prawns and leek option. Alternatively keep it simple with a buttered pancake with a glass of buttermilk on the side.
11 Hill Rise, Richmond, TW10 6UQ; chez-lindsay.co.uk
La Petite Bretagne
If you go crazy for crêpes then you’re in good company at La Petite Bretagne. At their two London locations – Hammersmith for the west, Dalston for the east – get savoury crepes inspired by Alpine favourite dishes like Tartiflette (Reblochon cheese with potato, bacon, crème fraiche and onion) or Savoyarde (raclette cheese with gherkin, ham, potato and onion). Sweet treats come in myriad form including a flaming Crepe Suzette and one filled with Speculoos, a Belgian biscuit spread.
5-7 Beadon Road, W6 0EA; lapetitebretagne.co.uk
Mamie’s
This Covent Garden creperie is a very proud countryman indeed. Splitting their menu into savoury buckwheat galettes and sweet crêpes, you can honour a French artistic great with both your first and second course. Order “L’Edith Piaf” or “Le Baudelaire” to start (filled with blue cheese, walnuts and pears or smoked salmon respectively), before sweetening things up with “La Gauguin” or “La Duras” (bananas and chocolate or pears and salted caramel).
19 Catherine Street, WC2B 5JS; mamies.co.uk
Jackson + Rye
Take your pancakes with a slice of The Big Apple at Jackson +Rye, where this New York brasserie (with a penchant for a good breakfast) serves them up American style. Big buttermilk pancakes come with either caramelised banana, bacon, blueberries and maple syrup, or a berry and crème fraiche arrangement. Accompany them with any one of five Bloody Mary recipes and that sounds like a pretty good start to the morning.
EC2, W1, W4, TW9; jacksonrye.com
Granger & Co
Granger & Co may only do one pancake, but boy is it a pancake. The Aussie breakfast connoisseurs love a superfood or two, but that doesn’t mean a little indulgence isn’t appreciated every now and then. Mornings at Granger & Co mean a stack of ricotta hotcakes, topped with slices of banana and a good drenching of honeycomb butter.
SW1, EC1, N1, W11; grangerandco.com
Senzala
This Brixton Market café takes its French crêpes and galettes on a little tour of São Paulo before they reach your plate. Their Brazilian-influenced menu takes French classics like the Complète (ham, egg and cheese) and raises it the Egg Ranchero (chorizo, egg, onion, tomato chutney, beans, jalapeños, guacamole and parsley). To finish off, throw a sweet-toothed festa with the Coco Loco – Belgian chocolate with coconut, ice cream, and a splash of rum.
42 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8PS; senzalacreperie.co.uk
