The best pancakes in Melbourne

There’s a reason Top Paddock’s iconic blueberry and ricotta hotcake sells like, well, hotcakes. The oversized dessert comes dolloped with double cream, jewelled with seasonal berries, doused in maple syrup, and sprinkled with toasted seeds for an added crunch. If you’re not Richmond-based, sister restaurants Higher Ground and Kettle Black also sling the signature dish.

It feels wrong not to enjoy a little brekky dessert at Operator Diner. The buttermilk pancakes come stacked three levels high with a melting disc of maple pecan-studded butter and golden syrup on the side for liberal application. With their gloriously crispy edges and fluffy, cake-like interior, they do just the trick. 

You'll often spot massive queues snaking around Melbourne Central to get try Kumo Desserts' Japanese sweet treats, also known as the fluffiest soufflé pancakes in town. They're as soft as clouds and come with fun flavours like mango, coffee and Biscoff coffee, and you wash it down with a fun array of fruity mocktails and lattes. Not convinced yet? Our tasty Tik Tok reel might just do the trick. 

Adozen Adozen takes “light and fluffy” pancakes to a whole other level with its cloud-like creations. The Japanese-inspired menu rotates seasonally and features standouts like honey with Weet-Bix-flecked butter, Japanese hojicha (roasted green tea) and even bonito-flaked okonomiyaki.

Conveniently located beside Glenferrie station, this simple eatery is a local favourite, adored for its friendly service, reasonable prices and moreish selection of sweet crêpes and savoury galettes. For the ultimate flavour fusion, pair your crêpe with one of the café’s twenty flavours of bubble tea.

What kind of round-up would this be if we didn’t include Australia’s famous Pancake Parlour? Boasting 11 stores Melbourne-wide, the Parlour has built a loyal following for its eclectic menu starring pretty much every combination you can imagine: bacon and eggs; raspberry and rhubarb; vegan “chocnana crunch”; and even a pancake lasagne.

Whether you’re in the CBD waiting for a show to start, needing a post-shop snack or just in the mood for a taste of France’s best, La Petite Crêperie is the city’s iconic street kiosk ready to scratch your crêpe itch. Operating out of a re-fitted newsstand, La Petite Crêperie makes to order, so you can catch all the action of fruit, nuts and homemade sauces being flipped into a crêpey embrace in real time.

Featuring lush greenery, exposed brick walls and industrial warehouse vibes, Hobba has a laid-back feel that’s perfect for casual brunches and first dates. Sweet treat seekers should choose the ricotta-filled hotcakes, drizzled with maple syrup and topped with whipped citrus and vanilla mascarpone, seasonal berries, and chunks of golden honeycomb. 

Owned by a Parisian crêpier, it doesn’t get much more authentic than Roule Galette. Stick to the crêpe basics, like cinnamon sugar and maple syrup, or get experimental with the likes of garlicky Burgundy escargot and the flamingly good Famous Suzette.

Located on the corner of a busy Essendon intersection – aka the assembly point of this northwest suburb, hence the name – Assembly Ground is a slick, stylish and welcoming café with a focus on quality, locally sourced produce. For your pancake fix, order the jam doughnut hotcakes filled with warm homemade strawberry jam and loaded with double cream mascarpone and fresh raspberries. It's a breakfast you won't forget anytime soon.

Winner of our People's Choice Café award in 2023, Convoy is a bright and airy corner eatery and takeaway coffee shop in the heart of Moonee Ponds, recently opened after an ambitious 18-month renovation. The team behind the project is responsible for the success of fellow brunch darlings Terror Twilight, Hi Fi and Tinker, with Convoy fast joining those ranks. Try the cinnamon scroll-inspired sweet potato pancakes, with cinnamon caramel, cream cheese icing, orange zest and cinnamon crunch. Putting a forkful of one of these sweet treats into your mouth is almost a religious experience – and you can even add bacon, if you please.

There are plenty of grab-a-coffee-and-a-crust joints down this end of Flinders Lane but Grain Store is bringing enviro-chic to the CBD mix. Although whole foods are the name of the game here, that doesn't mean you need to be on a health kick. Try the ricotta pancakes either sweet with honey-glazed peach, berries, peach crème fraîche and passionfruit anglaise, or savoury with crispy bacon, maple syrup, halloumi, avocado, parmesan custard and candied almonds. 

Serving great coffee and an Insta-worthy menu that tastes just as good as it looks, Legacy is a regular haunt for brunch aficionados. For your pancake fix, grab the Big Stack: a pile of thick orange and ricotta hotcakes, topped with vanilla bean mascarpone, mixed berry compote and your own jug of maple syrup.

Vegans, this one’s for you. The serotonin dealer trades in 'happy food', and what’s happier than vegan-friendly "positive pancakes”, made from banana flour and served with berry coulis, coconut yoghurt, toasted almonds, and banana "nice-cream”?