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Photograph: Mark Weeks
Photograph: Mark Weeks

Where to eat pancakes in London

From American-style stacks to decadent crêpes and Chinese jianbing – here’s our guide to the best pancakes in town

Leonie Cooper
Edited by
Leonie Cooper
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Perfect pancakes are a Shrove Tuesday standard, but what if you can’t be bothered to FIY (flip it yourself)? Eat out, of course! Don't know where to go for your edible disc of battered joy? Well we do, and have rounded up the best places for pancakes in London. There’s also way more to these carb-tastic delights than sugar and lemon. From American-style delights at brunch with bacon on the side, to decadent cherry-studded crêpes for dessert, and Chinese streetfood snack jianbing, these are the finest pancakes in town – for the big day (Feb 13, 2024) and beyond. 

RECOMMENDED: The best cafes in London

The best pancakes in London

Where the Pancakes Are
  • Restaurants
  • Crêperies
  • Southwark

You don’t have to wait ’til Shrove Tuesday comes round for your pancake fix thanks to this bright, buzzy venue. Flavours come hard and fast, with pulled beef pastriami pancakes featuring slow cooked brisket, cheddar, sauerkraut, 1000 island sauce, kale slaw with toasted fennel seeds and home pickles. We also like the rose harissa shakshouka, which comes with a polenta corn fritter, poached egg, salted yoghurt, dill and parsley. Sweet options include banana marshmallow and pear caramel, as well as a selection of oven-baked Dutch babies. There's also outposts in Fitzrovia and in the Battersea Power Station redevelopment. 

The Wolseley
  • Restaurants
  • Brasseries
  • Piccadilly

Breakfast at The Wolseley is one of London’s prime-time social events – and this mother of all the grand cafés never disappoints. Whether you’re a high flyer or along for the ride, no one feels out of place as the conversation crackles over bowls of muesli, kedgeree and pancakes loaded with berries, bacon and maple syrup. All that’s needed to complete the full Wolseley trip is a large Wolseley Imperial – Mandarin Napoléon and Cognac with a long espresso and hot milk topped with chocolate and whipped cream.
   

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  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Southwark

Jammed onto the side of an architectural practice in Southwark, this serene Aussie-style café-restaurant is something of a quiet classic in this part of town. Perfect pancakes are available throughout the week until 4pm every day, with sweet and savoury on offer – and a mix of the two in the bacon and bacon topping. Cinnamon poached pear, fresh berries, and vegan pumpkin pancakes are also up for tasty grabs. There's also a site on Battersea Rise.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4

A small but mighty hole-in-the-wall Chinatown spot serving up jianbing pancakes. Their thin and crispy jianbing are whipped up right in front of you; lacey crepes stuffed with spring onions, chilli oil, pickles, hoisin sauce and pork belly.

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  • Restaurants
  • Australian
  • Notting Hill

The late Bill Granger’s chain of sunny-side-up all-day restaurants preaches the gospel of bronzed healthy indulgence, with a line-up of goodness-packed dishes including some proper thick Aussie ‘hotcakes’. Find these ricotta-based pancake riffs among the breakfast and lunch ‘classics’, stacked up and served in mouthwatering modern style with banana and honeycomb butter.

  • Restaurants
  • Holborn
Founded in 1958 and now a must-visit on London’s tourist trail, this pancake house dresses up its garish offer with ‘butterscotch specials’ and assorted crowd-pulling gimmicks. The sweet side of things is fairly straightforward (fruit salad, Nutella, berry compote etc), but savouries are more outlandish, with Full English breakfast and Hawaiian variations in the mix. Gluten-free and dairy-free versions are available on request and there are some colourful vegan options too. There's also a branch in Chelsea.
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  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Liverpool Street

Fancy a pancake at 2am? Well, now you can get your pancake fix day and night at the 24-hour Polo Lounge. Their sharing pancake stacks come in a variety of sweet treat selections, from banoffee biscoff and cookies & cream to streaky bacon and mixed berries. An iconic food at an iconic joint. 

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Fitzrovia
Riding House is famed for its crowd-pleasing, fluffy, malted deep-dish pancakes. Go sweet with toasted marshmallows, coconut clotted cream, white chocolate and banana-infused maple syrup or sweet meets savoury with smoked streaky Dingley Dell bacon, blueberry compote, sour cream and maple syrup.
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Coppa Club
  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Tower Hill
  • price 2 of 4

This one’s for those of you who like your pancakes with some stunning views thrown in. Boasting one of the biggest riverside terraces in London, Coppa Club occupies a prime spot with Tower Bridge in near sight – although tall windows mean you can soak up the vistas whatever the weather. Buckwheat and rye pancakes on the breakfast menu comes with berries, granola, seeds, coconut yoghurt or dry cured bacon, maple syrup and Netherend Farm butter. Oof. 

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