London’s best pancake restaurants

Available to order online.

The owners of this gorgeous-looking Clerkenwell joint want us all to ‘make friends with food’ – and we’re sold on the place’s low-key backstreet vibe and clever gluten-free cooking. Like everything else here, the American-style breakfast pancakes are nutritionally balanced; they’re also made with organic oat milk and wickedly topped with just about anything you fancy – from vanilla-scented blueberry compote or yoghurt to smoked streaky bacon and free-range sausages for an alternative fry-up.

Available to order online.

Breakfast naturally takes centre stage at this cluttered, ersatz homage to John Hughes’s cult ‘youth’ movie, although this Club runs right through from brunch to dinner, with pancakes rolled out and stacked up in mind-boggling quantities. If you’re hooked on Instagrammable novelties, these gimmicky jobs will be right up your street – especially the banana and salted caramel version (hello banoffee) with vanilla cream and chocolate sauce. Branches across the capital.

Available to order online.

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 (plus grilled Wiltshire bacon if you need a salty fix). Branches in Chelsea, Clerkenwell and King’s Cross.

Available to order online.

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 Moroccan lamb stew, chicken curry and Hawaiian variations in the mix. Gluten-free and dairy-free versions are available on request and there are some colourful vegan options too. Branches in Chelsea and Kensington.

Available to order online.

You don’t have to wait till Shrove Tuesday comes around for your pancake fix – thanks to this bright, buzzy venue squeezed into one corner of Flat Iron Square. Sweet and savoury buttermilk varieties abound (anyone for ‘1,000 baby greens’ or a combo of banana, praline and marshmallow?), and the owners also have what they call ‘another batter’ for those who require gluten-free and dairy-free versions.