The Original Pancake House

I was looking forward to coming here for brunch and getting no the buckwheat pancakes. I had them at another location and they were so good. Unfortunately my experience at this one was quite the opposite.
I ordered the buckwheat pancakes and eggs. My eggs were dry and over cooked and my pancakes were a joke. I expected more because I have received more from another location.
We ended up leaving because on top of the food being awful, we had some other issues with the service. I’m not dissatisfied with the chains; just this location.

Food was delicious! The service was excellent! If you come ask for Theresa or Robert because they’re fabulous! My Aunt had the Banana Pancakes she said they were amazing along with the breakfast burrito!

The waitress didn’t know the menu and in addition to waiting 15 minutes for a table, it took 20 minutes to cook a pancake and biscuit. Go to Snooty Pig in Grapevine!

Meh, just average food. I wonder why they are busy.
Ordered 2 different omlette’s and both were below average. Liked their Orange juice and onsite balloon for kids.
Service was ok, long wait lines.

Total meh. The portion was bad and the taste was boring. When you actually go to a place serves american style breakfast, you’d expect certain level of food with good portion. One of those «guilty pleasure» thing. This place had super slow service and the food portion was very small. Not to mention the food taste flat in general. They said the sausage link is original recipe but I am sure it’s the frozen store bought. The french toast was packy and sticky inside and taste bland. I don’t think I’ll go back to this place over local private owned diner that makes you feel homey.

We visited this location on a Sunday afternoon. The restaurant as a whole did not feel clean. I wondered if the booths were from a previous occupant of this location — worn and sticky.
Though the restaurant wasn’t very busy, it was over 15 minutes before anyone approached our table.
The waffle was just so-​so. A thin waffle that I could easily make better at home. The pancakes? Nothing special at all. I think the pancakes at Cracker Barrel are FAR superior.
My table-​mate ordered the Eggs Benedict — terrible. Sauce was cold and sort of tasteless.
It took AGES for the food to be delivered to the table. The coffee was good.
Overall, an over-​priced, less than satisfying experience. We won’t be going back. IHOP is so much better.

Our server brought out 4 waters with 3 straws. When asked for an additional straw, it took her 15 min. and the straw wrapper was wet. She tried to take my plate when I was clearly still working on it. When my father In law paid the bill, the server asked for his ID and asked him to verify his address on his ID. Wow. Really? Smh

–The buckwheat pancakes were so flat and dry tasting at this location I had to send them back. The hash browns I ordered were the plain home style fries type (the square cuts of potato) as opposed to the shredded type that I’v had from other locations. They didn’t even look seasoned. This next part was almost comical: when I told her I was expecting the hash browns that I had at the Frisco location she said: «are you sure it’s not the other restaurant… international.» *struggles to remember name*. Yes lady, I’m sure it’s not the International house of pancakes aka IHOP.
The worst part of it all is that the manager seemed to refuse to believe that the other locations serve the shredded style hash browns. Even though there are pictures all over Unilocal where customers have eaten and ENJOYED them. If I wanted home fries I would have ordered home fries. I wanted hash browns. But at least the manager was willing to exchange the entire plate despite calling me a liar and rolling his neck and eyes at me as he spoke. So you can drop my food on the floor and spit it in it? No thanks.
The manager went on to explain how he had been working for the dfw Original pancake house locations for over 10 years. Yet why is there a discrepancy?.
Our server was a little ditsy but I could get over that if everything else wasn’t so bad. I have never left a restaurant because I was so dissatisfied by the food.

The food was good but the service was pretty bad. None of the food was brought on time, no silverware and we had to wait for a while to get anything.

Pancakes = amazing. Tastes like they are made from cookie dough.
Wait staff = incredible! Robin and Elvira and Robert have all been friendly, attentive, accomodating, and have great senses of humor! !
My only 2 grumbles:
1. The horrid attitude of the hostess on Sunday morning ⁴⁄₃ (10 – 1 timeframe). Very unpleasant. .surprises me they use her at that post… had we not waited so long already, we would have left and missed out on the other awesome staff.
2. The unbelievable wait time on Sunday. We were told 20 – 25 min… no status as of 35 min in… I checked and was told 15 – 20 more min… needless to say that was inaccurate so it was about 75 min before we were seated. Would have been nice if hostess had shared that our wait time was getting extended because of everyone using the No wait app. New to TX, so that was, disappointing.

I love the quality of this place. My experience here was great, except for the fact the hostess doesn’t seem very professional. She had kind of an attitude and very arrogant. I could keep going about it but let’s just say she is not worth my time. (Hope management notices before she makes customers not want to come back)
Our waitress was super sweet and helpful. Cristina is her name, I believe. She took the time to explain the menu and was cordial and knowledgeable.
We tried the fresh orange and grapefruit juice. DELICIOUS!
Food was on point and the environment not bad at all.

I just noticed that I keep rating The Original Pancake House because I keep checking in at different locations. This is awkward.
My reviews are awfully consistent when it comes to this restaurant. It’s a chain and the food quality is about the same. Although, the location for this place is different. The service here was nice. Mine and my coworker’s waiter was nice and informative. He had a good sense of humor. He was prompt and quick with the orders.
My burger was fairly dry and it didn’t taste very good. I kind of wish I went with something else. My coworker enjoyed his entrée, though.
Personally, I don’t think this place is worth the price.

The service at this place was impeccable. As a New Yorker it always surprises me to get a waitress who is friendly and attentive. I went with my best friend and my nephew and they made sure that my nephew had an extra coloring book, some fresh fruit to start while we waiting, and a little sippy cup of juice. The pancakes were delicious and my chorizo omelette was enormous. I’d say this is a solid option for diner style food.

Welcome to Irving OPH! We needed another breakfast joint around here! I’ve come a few times already and each time, service has been good and food has been even better. I like that the menu offers a couple different dishes than other breakfast restaurants like the apple pancake & Dutch baby. The Dutch baby was great! Lemon, powdered sugar and butter gives this baked pancake a refreshing twist to the typical standard American pancake. I’d also recommend the omelets, I’ve been pleased with the ham & cheddar. They use good ham, and good bacon. Next time I’m trying the cherry blintz for sure!

Not all Pancake Houses are created equally.
When this place opened, I was super excited — its right near my house! After a dream of pancakes, I needed to get there ASAP.
I remember having the hashbrowns at Unilocal event in Addison — soo delicious all hot and and oniony — these were not hot, nor oniony.
The banana pancakes were very good, and bacon was crazy good — but the hashbrowns and overall experience really took away.
I ate at the coffee bar — she never asked if everything was ok (or I would have mentioned the cold browns…) The coffee bar itself was very unorganized and messy, coffee grounds and bottles of syrup everywhere — this was a major turn off. And not all locations have a coffee bar — this could be a huge selling point if it was done right.

I think I’ve been to (and reviewed) almost every OPH in the DFW area, so I will spare you another novel on how much I love their coffee with real cream and strawberry waffle. But for real, I do.
This location used to be a Johnny Carino’s I believe, but I like how spacious it is with open views into their kitchen. Some of the other locations have tiny waiting areas which are quick to fill up during peak hours, but that shouldn’t be an issue here because they have plenty of places to sit.
Especially too since they have teamed up with NoWait. If you haven’t downloaded that free app yet, you need to. It shows you current wait times and allows you to put your name on the list before you even arrive. Just make sure you are less than 20 – 30 minutes away before doing so because you have to check in with the hostess in person by a certain time.
Great service, strong coffee, yummy food; it doesn’t get much better. I’ll be back.

delicious pancakes. warm syrup. amazing bacon.
so happy Original Pancake House has decided to come to Irving! there was a serious wait but luckily they have a handy dandy app called ‘no wait” that you can download and digitally wait in line from the comfort of your home!
the food was great. the service was pleasant. everything is decently priced. nothing really else major to say. i’ll absolutely be back.

Meet a girlfriend for a late breakfast on Sunday morning around 11am. The wait time was 40mins. I wish I would have known about the ‘NoWait’ app before I arrived. No worries if you can wait, they have a nice (large) waiting area on the inside.
On a brighter note, the staff was great. The service was outstanding.
Our food order came out perfect (as ordered) in a timely manner. I’ve eating at two other locations and the food quality matched up perfectly. I was worried about that, but it all worked out in our favor.
I shall return.

Recent soft opening. Grand opening later. Wonderful breakfast pancakes, eggs, bacon and FRESHLY squeezed orange juice. There is even a coffee and juice bar. The coffee is stronger than I prefer but if you like it stronger then it’s for you! I was also not fond of the breakfast potatoes.
We went on the first Sunday they were open (at 10 AM) and the crowd was immense! There were at least 50 people waiting and all the tables were full. And there had not been any publicity yet. The old saying «Build it and they will come» must be true. They seemed to have lots of help including managers coming in from other Metroplex locations. It was orderly but slow. There was a bottleneck in the kitchen that slowed service. We talked to the staff and a manager and that is being worked out as new cooks and employees are being trained. There evidently is no bottleneck on the weekdays so far but only on the weekend when the place is inundated with hungry pancake lovers. So, either be easy and expect a wait in the few weeks after they open or wait until they smooth things out then go.
The server was great to us and kept us informed and we got apologies from the manager about the slow service. I will definitely go back. The quality of the food was mighty fine. I suggest you ask for some blackberry preserves to put on your toast or even your pancakes. Oh YUM!
They have subscribed to an app on iOS and Playstore called «No Wait» which will let you insure you won’t have to wait long if you use the app. It currently is not active for this location but I’m sure it will be shortly. It is useful for some other restaurants also. In addition the app has the wrong closing time on Sunday. Disregard. Closing is 3 PM not 4 PM.

The Original Pancake House is a part of a regional chain of restaurants known for their pancakes. There are multiple locations in the DFW area, and this review focuses on their Irving location. Also, this is NOT the same restaurant chain as IHOP (Original vs. International). If you’re looking for a place that gives you multiple great pancake options and you live in north Irving, this is your place.
My Overall Rating — 4 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — This location is a remodeled Carrabas. Unlike the Addison location, which was built from the ground up, this spot has been repurposed. As a result, it’s not as open and as cozy as the Addison location. They do have a waiting room with plenty of comfy couches, but it just doesn’t have as an inviting feel. I know they were limited in their design, but it makes a difference. Plenty of table/​booth seating though. ½ Star.
Service — We came the weekend after they opened, and they were very busy on Sunday morning. Our server and the staff were very friendly, but everything was slow. Slow to put our order in, to get our food, to get coffee refills, and to pay our bill. Again, they were nice & helpful, and we had a view to the kitchen that was working as fast as they could. They were just so busy I hope they hire more staff. ½ Star.
Food — If you like pancakes, you need to come here. Now, I like The Original Pancake House pancakes because they focus on the pancake batter, the style, and ingredients instead of adding a bunch of whipped cream and sugary fruit toppings. The base batter is where the goodness starts which results in a light, airy pancake that is delicious. I’m a fan of the silver dollar, the banana, apple, & chocolate chip pancakes. When I’m adventurous I’ll go for the Swedish pancakes which are thin and almost crêpe like. Eggs and breakfast meats are par for the course. They have omelets too but if you’re here, go with one of their specialty pancakes. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes. I love The Original Pancake House and while the Addison location is my favorite, the new Irving location is closer. If you live in the Las Colinas and Valley Ranch areas on Irving, congrats you now have a great breakfast option. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.