It’s not surprising that you’ve sought out a page featuring spots that sell the best pancakes in Chicago. If you’re visiting Chicago, Illinois, the trip wouldn’t be complete without popping into a pancake joint for a simple but satisfying pancake. A breakfast for champions!
You may have a sweet tooth or prefer your breakfast a little more savory. Either way, there’s not much that beats a plate piled full of delicious pancakes to start the busy day ahead.
Fortunately, you’re visiting the correct city if you’ve touched down in Chicago. Pancake spots are plentiful, and many of them serve up some of the best food in the entire country.
Read on and we’ll help you find the perfect pancake spot for your tastes right here.
1. Bongo Room
The best thing about the Bongo Room is that you’ll find one near you. They can be found in multiple locations across the city and are responsible for some of the best pancakes in Chicago. The Bongo Rooms’ specialty is Red Velvet Pancakes. We all love Red Velvet, and what the Bongo Room serves up certainly won’t disappoint.
Consider the White Chocolate Salted Pretzel pancakes if you want to try something unusual but just as tasty for breakfast. These come covered in a sauce of white chocolate and some lightly-spread caramel to top them off.
Bongo’s blueberry and lemon pancakes are other popular options. Their fruity goodness combines perfectly with the tasty grilled cakes.
2. Original Pancake House
This spot is called the Original Pancake House, so you’ll expect its pancakes to be at the forefront of Chicago’s pancake venues, and you won’t be wrong. They have a wide variety of pancakes and other treats to choose from, ensuring patrons don’t leave hungry.
You can visit OPH in five different Chicago locations, with their specialty apple pancakes topping the ‘most popular’ list. Still, whichever type of pancakes you choose will leave you feeling satisfied. The fun part is that you don’t have to stick to only one flavor!
3. Rise N Dine Pancake Cafe
Chocolate chip pancakes, anybody? Rise N Dine Pancake Cafe in Milwaukee Ave spreads its choc chips all over the surface of its renowned chocolate chip pancakes. This is unlike many other venues that mix them into the batter. The result is a hot-melted spread that adds an element of chocolaty sweetness to the silky smooth-cooked pancakes.
Rise N Dine is really diverse too, offering much more than only pancakes. Tuck into one of its perfectly-cooked skillets and follow it up with a specialty Rise N Dine pancake. It’s covered with pecans, strawberry compote, bananas, and a generous dose of whipped cream.
Milwaukee Ave isn’t hard to find, and, of course, there are many other options to sample there. Whatever your tastes, you’re going to be in for a treat!
4. Wild Berry Pancakes & Cafe
Wildberry pancakes at Wild Berry Pancakes. There’s a combination that will make any delicious breakfast seem even more satisfying. Bring the kids and treat them to the fruity and healthy house specialty at Wild Berry Pancakes & Cafe.
This pancake spot’s other special offerings include Banana Cream Pie, Tiramisu, Oreo S’more, and the yummy Caramel Apple Pecan pancakes. With four locations in and around the city, you don’t need an excuse to try Wild Berry Cafe for some of the best pancakes in Chicago.
5. Breakfast House
So you’re looking for a delicious breakfast? It would seem that Breakfast House in Grand Ave would have you covered, wouldn’t it? Breakfast House sure does pancakes the way you remember them! The fruity goodness and perfect grilling of its Multi-grain and Sour Cream pancakes make breakfast a pleasure to be savored.
Bring some great company with you and enjoy good food together. Grand Ave and the Breakfast House are ready to provide a sumptuous start to a spectacular day.
6. Tweet
The tweet is not primarily a pancake spot. It gets the nod as one of the venues offering the best pancakes in Chicago, as the quality of Tweet’s pancakes precedes them. Three classic buttermilk pancakes covered in maple syrup and butter cost only ten bucks. Tweet’s pumpkin pancakes are even more popular and are talked about all over the city.
These pumpkin pancakes are a real treat. They used to be listed as a purely seasonal option, but public demand has now seen them added as a standard option. Served with cinnamon sugar and whipped cream, the Tweet pumpkin pancake comes in gluten-free and regular versions.
7. M.Henry
Some way down N. Clark St. sits M.Henry, a definite contender as one of the best pancake spots in Chicago. Sitting down to Sunday brunch with a plate full of M.Henry’s Blackberry Bliss pancakes is, well, absolute bliss. Besides the blackberries, these fluffy pancakes come with granola, vanilla mascarpone, and a brown sugar and oat crust.
Blackberry Bliss pancakes are only a start, though at this Chicago fixture. The restaurant opened in 2003 and has caused an increase in traffic in N. Clark St. since then! Besides the bliss of the blackberry cake, M.Henry also gets traditional. “Simply Hotcakes” is a standard option of steaming hot pancakes covered in maple syrup with berries and cream.
There’s a lot more to M.Henry than only pancakes. It has a full menu catering to regular, vegan, and gluten-free clientele. Quiches, omelets, sandwiches, and plenty more make for great starters, with some of the best pancakes in Chicago as the main course!
8. Little Goat Diner
LGD has been around since 2012 and has drawn tonnes of rave revues for its pancakes, especially one savory option. Well, is it a pancake or a sandwich? Actually, it’s both. The Pork Belly pancake sandwich has become synonymous with the Little Goat. Many patrons actually travel specifically to Randolph St. to sample it.
There are other pancakes on Little Goat’s menu too. Sourdough pancakes, Dark Chocolate-Chip Crunch pancakes, and Spiced Apple pancakes all get their share of orders. LGD serves breakfast all day, and you can be sure that mixing pancake dough never stops!
9. Southport Grocery & Cafe
Southport Grocery & Cafe thinks outside the box, or is it the pan? This pancake spot has bypassed the buttermilk to make its pancakes, and it’s proven immensely popular with customers. Have you ever heard of cupcake pancakes made from actual cupcake batter? Pop into Southport Grocery, and you’ll find this is only one original idea the owner has had.
Another idea that breaks the traditional pancake mold is the bread pudding pancake. It’s arguably the best pancake that Southport has on offer and is undoubtedly gathering plaudits daily. You’re served the cinnamon-sugar, butter-coated bread pudding cake along with Vanilla Anglaise. The combination is incredible!
10. Yolk
Not only does Yolk in E Ohio St. serve a great Eggs Benedict, but it’s also the home of Nutty Monkey and Banana Blue Crunch Pancakes. It’s a dynamic breakfast spot for those with something of a penchant for sweet stuff, while its savories won’t disappoint either.
We’ve already mentioned the Eggs Benedict. When you add it to a menu filled with options, like skillets, waffles, omelets, egg scramblers, and more, you’ve got an exceptional breakfast spot. It undoubtedly serves some of the best pancakes in Chicago.
FAQs
Besides Bongo’s, where else can you get delicious Red Velvet pancakes in Chicago?
Other breakfast pancake spots that serve tasty Red Velvet pancakes include Batter & Berries in DePaul and W. Taylor St.’s Sweet Maple Cafe. Other great spots are Maple & Jams, Stacked, Babycakes, and Savanna Restaurant, all in Chicago.
Where can I find delicious pancakes in West Chicago?
The places to find the best pancakes in West Chicago are Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe and Honey Berry Pancakes and Cafe. Tasty Waffle Plainfield and Bentley’s Pancake House and Restaurant are also options.
Who serves pumpkin pancakes in Chicago?
The best pumpkin pancakes in Chicago are served at Tweet Restaurant, Bryn Mawr Breakfast Club, the Churro Waffle, and Egg Harbor Cafe.
Who serves the best lemon pancakes in Chicago?
Beatrix in Near North Side serves a delicious lemon ricotta pancake. The Perch in West Side and Summer House Santa Monica is also very close in comparison.
Where can I find scrumptious pancakes in East Chicago?
There’s always room for a pancake from Kennedy Cafe on the East Side. Olivia’s Family Restaurant makes a phenomenal wheat pancake. And Continental Pancake House serves a mouthwatering pancake served with hash browns.