The Original Pancake House

AWESOME restaurant with some unfortunate, easily avoidable flaws.
Pros: Food quality is unexpectedly OUTSTANDING. Their special pancake recipe is unrivaled even by places with a gourmet label. Dutch Baby? Amazing baked pancake, so unusual, and deliciously soft with mixed fruit. Swedish pancakes are so light and fluffy, with lingonberry preserves to spread. Want simple? The silver dollars are perfect just on their own. You like bacon? Holy cow — they source their thick cut bacon from a specialty shop and will even sell it to you in bulk. Best. Bacon. Ever. Same goes with their other meats, which makes for a superb Eggs Benedict, with Canadian bacon that works perfectly.
Cons: Cheap RC Cola. Cmon guys, spring for the real Coke. Terrible coffee. And I think they must leave their cream out in a «semi-​cold» place because it never tastes fresh. Ever. Service is always friendly, but never very attentive, as they tend to hang out in a corner and socialize.
Worst offense: short hours! They’re only open until 3 on weekdays and 4 on weekends, and get there plenty early before closing as they shut down early. If they would have dinner hours, I would go there a TON! And the place is pretty packed most of the time, so I would imagine they could make it profitable. It’s just inexplicable.

Other than the service the food was OK. I ordered 2 eggs sunny side up, was way too greasy for me. I also had the blueberry pancakes which was tasty fluffy and buttery. Lots of blueberries inside and out, they do not hold back. I liked the west Caldwell location because of food quality. Great place but it can get crowed and was notified today that they ran out of coffee. Service was kind and family friendly. I do recommend this place.

I’d give this restaurant a 2 or 3 star. I ordered their Egg Benedict, I thought it was bland and could’ve done a better job at it. Their Banana Pancake was actually pretty good! I really recommend that to everybody if you want to try a different pancake. Their French Crepes was okay, nothing really special about it. Overall, the experience was okay and good for family and friends.

Nice, friendly, efficient service.
The food was all great!
I loved everything about their eggs benedict — the well-​poached eggs, creamy hollandaise, and two slices of Canadian bacon.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE POTATO PANCAKES!!! They were my favorite.

They are only getting this review because the service was great. The food was OK, nothing to write home about. The huevos rancheros were average, despite being highly recommended by the waiter. My father and I both got them and they were cold. My dad asked if they were supposed to be and the waiter said they were, so we said OK, and moved on. A minute later the chef and manager came out and said he heard something was wrong and explained why they were cold, and then offered to make my dad something else, despite having already eaten some of the food.
They went above and beyond with their service, which is the only reason they’re ranked as 4 stars.

There aren’t many brunch places in jersey so this place will usually have a line. this isn’t your fancy brunch place but you can always expect quality food. my personal favorite is the florentine benedict. Since you are at the original pancake house, the pancakes are a must. i usually am not a pancake fan cause i really can’t stand to eat just a plate of pancakes, but stole a bite of my friends and really considered getting the pancakes here. the pancakes are so light and fluffy and delicious really unlike the typical pancake.

I have been here many times and always find myself ordering the same thing– the cinnamon almond french toast. It’s just soooo tasty. Definitely recommend trying!
Today I ordered the banana pancakes, and they just didn’t do it for me. The taste was so bland. I never actually was the pancake person… So I ended up eating half of what my boyfriend ordered– the Original Skillet. I highly recommend that, it’s good. And, I also recommend their bacon… I never had bacon this good anywhere else.
Our server Jackie was a pleasure having. She’s a wonderful waitress who provided good and fast service. :)
4 stars– because they need a bigger menu. They condensed it a few years ago and took out many guests’ favorites! Not happy about that. /​:
To conclude, this stays being as one of the best brunch places in the area!

i came here around 2−3pm and not a lot of customers were around. I was beyond satisfied with the service and the seating I got was really nice too. The omelettes are so delicious and you get a side of buttermilk pancakes included. If you come here around lunchtime, you’ll def have to wait a few minutes for seating.

There are some great positives about this place. The staff seems friendly and fast even when the place is super crowded. There are a lot of people in here talking but I can see his per to the person across from me and we can hear each other. The check in process was nice with an automated text/​phone call to let me know when my table was ready so I didn’t have to wait around inside.
Unfortunately the food itself just wasn’t what I was expecting. There was a lot of onions in both my dish and my wife’s dish that ruined the taste a bit. Perhaps if it wasn’t for that this place would be perfect. Decent prices and all but the food just wasn’t as good as I was hoping.

The wait to get into this place is a bit absurd. I’ve been to this chain in different parts of the country including Charlotte (my fave) and outside of St. Louis. Service here was good, nothing stellar but efficient.
Food was okay, love the thick cut bacon. Coffee was a bit weak but I’m not gonna say I won’t be back. Just wish it wasn’t so damn crazy crowded. Side note: I like the text message page system they use.

Wow! Loved this place. Throughly enjoyed our server. His name was Ahmad. Today was my mothers birthday. And he was a wonderful hosts. Not only wished her a happy birthday, but also offered her ice cream.
When people take care of your parents, you want to make sure to take care of them. So when you go there ask for Ahmad!

Always a solid place to go for breakfast, brunch, or to scratch that breakfast food itch. Great portions, delicious coffee, and friendly service! Eggs Benedict is my go-​to food of choice, and their pancakes are always good. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in town!
I always found parking to be a difficult and service can get hectic, depending on what time of the day you visit. So be sure to bring some extra patience.

Definitely beats IHOP but it’s not jaw-​droppingly fantastic. It’s just a good place for breakfast or brunch. The omelettes are huge. And I mean HUGE — you’ve been warned my friends. You can’t really make terrible pancakes unless you’re like 4, so the pancakes are fine. The best thing about this place is their awesome freshly brewed coffee. I don’t like how they changed their cups from the bland white diner cup (which I love) to this purple branded cup. What an absolutely odd selection of color for a coffee cup.
This place gets JAM PACKED during the weekend morning/​lunch hours, so be prepared to wait for half an hour minimum. They have now upgraded their waiting system by using their iPad to put you on the waitlist, and you can check that on your iPhone to see what number you are. There’s NO parking near the restaurant in the morning/​brunch hours on the weekends, so to be safe, just park downstairs in the underground garage and take the elevator up.
I recommend the dutch oven apple pancake, mushroom omelette or eggs benedict. I posted pics of their current menu, so feel free to take a look. My dad always gets his canadian turkey ham and seems happy with his choice.
Anyway, seems like a lot of people from other towns come to our town to try this place out — I wouldn’t really go out of my way for this place. It’s just right across the street from my condo so it’s easy for us to go.
They do NOT take reservations so don’t bother. Just come early and have some patience.

Made the same mistake of ordering too much food like our first time visit… def enough food for two people to share one omelette and one sweet plate and leave happily on full stomachs.
Decided to try something new and got the Swedish pancake. Tastes delicious (cookie texture) however since its so thin its def overpriced. But am pretty curious to try their other pancake since this one took us by surprise

This is my favorite place to eat breakfast/​brunch in NJ. The food is consistently great! I went to an IHOP just for a change and was wondering «why did we even come here for breakfast when there’s pancake house?!»
My favorite thing about this place is the thick-​cut bacon. The strips are huge and cut thick. It is definitely worth a try. You can even buy it uncooked!
The pancakes here are also great (I guess they would have to be considering it’s called the pancake house.). They are light and fluffy!
Their omelets take a while to bake up (15 – 20 min) but they are certainly worth the wait. It is HUGE so it’s great for sharing. It’s about the size of a football and must have a dozen eggs in it, but the eggs are fluffy and the filling is dispersed evenly throughout.
The interior needs a little uplift, but it’s a great family-​friendly spot for a meal to start your day!

Went here on a Sunday morning and considering the crowd, we were seated within 10 minutes. The waiters were all very nice and deserve to be complemented.
I have been to another location in San Diego and this location was just as good as I rememebered.
As for the food, everything we had was excellent. All of the food is freshly prepaeed and they use feesh ingredients. The buttrrmilk pancakes are light, fluffy and very tasty. We also had the Swedish Pancakes which are thin and crispy… a real treat!
Now for the apple pancake. Holy cow! It is a meal in and of itself. Definitely share this. It would probably feed 4. It is almost like apple pie filling on the outside with a bread pudding like texture on the inside. The apples are fresh and cooked perfectly.
I didn’t have an omelet but they looked amazing.
We will definitely be back again!

Ate here on Sunday morning before the crowds of hungry church goers came. Was really tempted to order the Avocado Egg Skillet, but decided to get the Red Velvet Pancakes. My friend ordered the egg skillet so I got to try it anyways (:
Service was great and we didn’t wait too long for our food. My pancakes were light and fluffy and I actually finished everything! Loved their cute logo mugs, which are available for purchase at the restaurant!
We had a great Sunday breakfast and I hope to try the Avocado egg skillet. (minus the bacon)

Sunday breakfast time at The Original Pancake House! This was my first time here since the waits can get pretty insane. The restaurant is much bigger than it lets on from the outside. Booth style seating is arranged in 4 long columns throughout. We were seated after a short wait and tended to right away.
I had the eggs benedict with a stack of buttermilk pancakes. The eggs Benedict were as you expect, poached eggs with thick ham on an English muffin. The texture of everything was perfect. The pancakes were great as well, very light and fluffy with a subtle sweetness. Their orange juice is fresh-​squeezed which was a nice surprise. We also tried an order of their corn beef hash. I’m torn on the hash since I did think it tasted good, but I personally can’t eat something that salty for breakfast. If that is your thing though don’t have any doubts of going for it here. You will not be disappointed.
This place definitely tops the IHOP and the Jackson Hole for breakfast places in the area. I will definately be coming here more often.

I’m not the kind of person who really goes out for breakfast because I get out of bed at like 11:30, but recommend this place to people who like breakfast spots. It has a country-​esque feel despite being in a strip in the middle of Fort Lee. I wondered why, then realized this is actually a chain and most of their establishments are in the south.
The décor is simple and definitely out-​dated, but I kinda feel like that’s part of the charm. No need for anything hoity toity, just enjoy your pancakes.
The service was outstanding both times. The hostess, manager and bus boys are all equally ready to fulfill your needs (if you look like you need something, they’ll come over without missing a beat) Everyone is very friendly and professional.
Now for the food. The first time I went I ordered a veggie omelette, it was enough to feed me like three times over. It was one of the best omlettes I’ve ever had in a restaurant though. The veggies were fresh and the egg was fluffy. My boyfriend at the time got pancakes and he loved them, and he’s picky about his pancakes.
I went there with a friend a couple of weeks ago for brunch and decided to try huevos rancheros for the first time, I was not disappointed. The presentation was perfect (check out my picture), and the flavors were awesome together. My friend got something called «the skillet» and he thoroughly enjoyed that too. The portions are big here so beware, you will most likely have leftovers to take home.
Conclusion: a nice, homey breakfast spot. Good food, great service, and a country feel in the heart of Fort Lee.

So for my 100^th review I was really pumped to go to a place a write an outstanding review. I came across this place recently on here and looked at the pictures of the food and immediately thought «I have to go here!»
And boy was I in for a surprise…
The Décor here seemed really outdated and the booths were beyond small (they were suitable for one 5 year old on each side)…I noticed that there were tables on the left hand side as well. The hostess was nice and welcoming and seated us right away. We sat and looked the menu and our waitress came over and asked if we like something I drink. We ordered coffee and it was brought to is right away… she asked what he could get us for breakfast and we said we needed a moment to decide. She wasn’t the nicest person and looked beyond unhappy to be there.
I was actually shocked at the menu because it was very small. So my dad and I decide what we wanted fairly quick. We waited literally 10 mins for our waitress to come back and and she never did. My dad and I both stood up and I believe it was the manager who was nice and came right over apologized and took our order. Our food came out pretty quick. I ordered a plain waffle with a side order of corned beef hash and my dad ordered eggs. The waffle was okay not the best but not the worst. However, the corned beef hash was the worst I have ever had. The presentation looked like slop in a bowl. The outside looked cooked however when I moved it around to mix it up it didn’t look right at all. Of course I tried a small bite anyway and it was WAY undercooked… very chewy an still pink. After my waffle I wound up picking at my dad’s home fries which were also pretty cold. 10 minutes after out meal was already finished we wound up waiting or our waitress who did not even come over to see how the meal was. We stood up again to get attention. she finally came over with the bill in hand and I told her about the corned beef hash. she seemed like she could care less. the manager was right behind me and asked if something was wrong and I wound up telling him also. He apologized again and wound up taking it off the bill which was nice of him.
The only reason why I did not give this place one star is because of the accommodating manager and the nice hostess. Personally I would never return to this place again. The food wasn’t great and the service from our waitress was just beyond horrible. I forgot to mention this place was not busy at all when we were there so there is no excuse for the fact your customers should stand up to get service twice after waiting over 10 minutes both times.
I personally would not suggest this place to anyone.