Pancake Café

We’ve come at least once a month to pancake café, and we always had great experiences!
The chef makes outstanding breakfast, they always have different varieties on pancakes, omelets and even vegan and gluten free food!
I just love that the restaurant is family owned, and you can tell, it’s not just a chain with a menu you can find everywhere, it’s the chefs own creation!
I had the Maui pineapple, with eggs, pineapple, Canadian bacon and sweet onion, hash browns and pancakes !! Pancakes are to die for! So good !
Shary was our waitress and she was very friendly, patient, and pointed out her favorite food on the breakfast menu.

My boyfriend and I visited Pancake Café on May 22^nd for breakfast. It was about 9:30am when we got there and there was no wait at all to get a table. We were greeted promptly by the manager who asked if we wanted a table or a booth. We opted for a booth, and were seated towards the back.
This was my first time here and my boyfriend was there about 10 years ago and he said that the food quality and service was still the same. In our books, it speaks volumes.
Our server was Grace, whom was extremely pleasant and accommodating and just as friendly as can be. I had the Café breakfast which was french toast, 2 eggs and bacon and sausage. My boyfriend had the 1−2−3 entrée which consisted of 1 egg, 2 bacon slices and 3 pancakes.
I asked for my eggs to be over medium and they came exactly as I ordered, intact and not runny like so many other places serve them. French toast was light and ever so tasty and turkey sausage was great! Now let’s talk about the bacon they serve. It is thick cut and crispy and melts in your mouth. I am usually not a huge bacon fan but this place made my mouth happy, happy, happy! Other places who had the same thickness for their bacon is usually tough and hard and very chewy. The pancakes were remarkably shaped all the same, round, like they should be, a little dense but oh so good!
Please if you haven’t been here, you must go and it will keep you coming back for more. I can’t wait for this weekend, because we’ll be back for sure. Keep up the awesomeness!
YUMMY fans forever!

Homemade corned beef hash is outstanding!
Hash browns that taste like fresh Jays potato chips. Pancakes that melt in your mouth. Nice staff and clean place!

I’ve been here a handful of times while visiting my orthopedic surgeon who is down the block from there and every time it’s been pretty good. The serving sizes are about average for pancake houses with a decent menu. I don’t remember seeing skillets which bummed me out, but I got over it pretty easily. Cream and sugar aren’t in little packages which reminded me of going to diners when I was a wee kid (that entertained my mom quite a bit as she was a waitress for sometime and hasn’t seen places do that for a long time now.)
Prices were great and I’ll probably go back if I find myself in that part of Naperville again.

I have come here repeatedly over the last three years. It is a place that serves terrific food in large portions. It always amazes me how many large families come here — kids with grandparents and the whole gang; to me it is welcoming of all generations.
One of the other reviews says something about insensitivity towards racial diversity. As a person of color, I have never encountered the slightest bit of problem here. They even call me by name when I enter and treat me like I’m a member of their extended family even if they don’t see me for a few months.
In terms of food, the menu has a huge assortment of pancakes/​waffles/​crepes with fruit and savory options. Omelettes are large, and they do the enormous baked pancakes with apples/​bananas/​pecans and other options. I look forward to trying something new each time.

The food has always been good here. Great pancakes, delicious crepes, and big omelets. It can often be to crowded on a Sunday after church, but we just dropped in for a big family breakfast at 9:00 am on a Monday (after rush hour) & the place was enmity. The owners waited on our table and cooked our food, which was delicious. We had 7 people eating, and not one dissatisfied customer.
I had the cinnamon roll pancakes special, which was awesome. You need a sweet tooth for this dish, but if you have one, prepare to chow down. I usually have the banana crepes (with banana apricot sauce), which are great, but am glad I saw the specials board today.

Wonderful food and service the orange juice was crazy good and fresh squeezed and the apple pancake was the best

Best place for breakfast or lunch in the area. You can’t beat the quality freshness or service at this place must be the reason why they been around for over 20 years. not only do they do breakfast the right way there sandwich menu is just as good. I stopped in last week with a friend I had a 1 pound corned beef sandwich and my friend had a 1 pound pastrami sandwich. Neither one of us could stop talking about it. we asked our server if we could talk to the manager and the owner came out we wanted to know how a pancake place can do corned beef and pastrami like this he told us that he loves sandwiches and felt that nobody in the area did sandwiches justice so he worked on recipes for about six months until we came up with just the right way to do them the way they should be done. You can tell after few minutes of talking to this guy the love and passion he has for food. Here having breakfast and ordered a sandwich to go for lunch…

Pure ripoff. Don’t order the Deli sandwiches. Was not a lb of meat more like an oz. I was very disappointed. Been here for breakfast many times before always been good. What the Hell happened?

This place is adorable and homey. I brought my family in twice when they were visiting, as we are breakfast lovers, and great meals awaited us. I got the crêpe breakfasts which were light but filling for me. My dad got eggs benedict every time, and my brothers ordered pancakes. There were cleaned plates at the end of every meal.

I always eat really good here. My wife loves the crepes and I love there breakfast. My daughter loves there pancakes and I love there hash browns.

Best breakfast around hands down. Thick cut bacon !!! Great quality ingredients. Owners. Care. Great family restaurant. Only thing would be improve or fix the lumpiness of the booths

First let me stay that my family and I have been going here since they first opened up. They were on the way home from church and many a time we stopped and had a nice brunch. Through the years we had been known as regulars but not to the point where the two main hostesses bothered to talk or ask anything about us. That’s ok came there to relax and enjoy the meal.
We had noticed through the years that the food was not as good as in the past and basically the menu stayed the same.
So recently we called ahead to order the apple pancake. We get seated and order other food to come first. after 30 min find out they never put the apple pancake order in so we are waiting a lot longer. One of the hosts I believe she is the owners sister comes over to apologize and makes a racial comment about Hispanics and how long it would still take. (uh I’m Hispanic). I asked her to repeat what she said to make sure I heard right. She now starts to tell me I took it wrong. Smh. Ask her to please leave me and my family alone. We eat and as we begin to leave notice the owner waiting for us at the register. He apologizes for the long wait about the APPLE PANCAKE. I tell him he has bigger issues than that. «Oh she didn’t mean anything by that «he tells me. I have a Thick skin about most things but we don’t have that kind of relationship. Will never go back and have told everyone I know

My companion had the German pancake which overflowed the plate and was delicious. I had the Apple pancake with peaches instead of apples and pecans. It was outstanding. Thank goodness the waitress recommended I get the small one. It was filled with freshly cut peaches and loads of pecans. The pecans were worth the extra cost. The very bleak outside of the restaurant is not representative of the outstanding food and service within its walls. For anyone that wants a true homemade and filling breakfast I definitely recommend the Pancake Café. I live in California or else I would be a frequent visitor.

This place is delicious! Their pecan waffle is yummy! Great service and great food. The location is central and it has plenty of parking. Been here for lunch and breakfast… and I think it is excellent!

Who serves a Waffle with the same consistency as a pancake? This place does. By the time it arrived, the bottom was a soft mess when I flipped it over. Parents were treating and didn’t want to reorder, so I ate the less than palatable meal. I’ll pass the next time they offer and they only have time to stop in here.
They still only play classical music here, which is worse than rap in my opinion. Their bacon Waffle just didn’t do it for me.

Not so great. My 13 yr daughter and I went there for breakfast at 8:30 on a Saturday and we were 2 of maybe 12 total people in restaurant. I have heard that food was not so great but I had a coupon so I said why not.
I had the western omelet with coffee and she had the kids pancake meal. Mine was below average was warm not hot and hers was soggy with cold sausage.
When I went to pay my $ 23 dollar (way over priced) bill I was told that I could not use my coupon because it was a Saturday.
I said to hostess really??? She said sorry cannot accept this today.
Now I know why place was empty, below average food and ignorant to their customers. I will not be going back to eat at this place ever again
Naperville-​Nick

A ma-​and-​pop place with generations of history in its workings!
I have visited twice and for each visit, we ordered the big club sandwich which stands about a foot tall with stacks of sourdough bread, turkey, bacon, arugula, cheese, and tomato. It is the perfect combination for a satisfying sandwich that is meant for sharing. I especially love how they substituted lettuce with fresh arugula. The bacon slabs are also not to be undermined. They are thick and drenched in a a sticky maple syrup without being too heavy. We would usually have it with a side of curly fries which are fried with perfection.
Some of other items that we tried are the omelette, Belgian waffle, fish and chips, and pork, three-​way sandwich. With the omelette, we had it with egg white, mushrooms, and jalapeño cheese. It was a very health-​conscious, light, and fluffy choice. The Belgian waffle was standard with strawberries and whipped cream served to the side. The fish and chips are generous and well-​fried, served with a huge portion of french fries. The pork, three-​way sandwich was a big surprise. It was heavy but the slow-​roasted pork was made in the house, being especially juicy and tender. The toasted sandwich was also stacked with thick slices of bacon and pulled pork. It had a lot of depth with each level having a defined taste.
See you again soon, Pancake Café!

I don’t even know why I came in here!
Some of the food was good and some of the food was down right disgusting! And it was not worth the money. $ 11 for a burger please, For those prices I could go to Portillos. This restaurant has potential but they really need to work on using fresh ingredients and using less food from the freezer.

This place is one of our «go-​to» breakfast restaurants when we want a good traditional breakfast. The food is always fresh and GOOD. The pancakes are always good and fluffy. The bacon is wonderful… crispy and thick, like it’s supposed to be! The hashbrowns are yummy as well. We’ve had lunch here a couple of times and I had an amazing sloppy joe on one of those occasions.
The restaurant is a nice size, so we’ve never had to wait for a table/​booth. The atmosphere is very casual and the service is always fast and friendly.

Pancake Café is always a staple when I visit my family outside of Chicago. We go for breakfast and have enjoyed.
Atmosphere — it’s very casual, think diner style. They’ll seat you at a table and are happy to serve you. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.
Food — as the name suggests, pancakes are what they are known for. They have a wide variety, including flavors that come and go seasonally. My personal favorite are the pumpkin pancakes. They are cooler with pumpkin inside and dusted with cinnamon. They are amazing. A full order comes with six pancakes (six!) but I would generally suggest a half order. We also always get the bacon — yummmm! It’s thick cut and crispy — literally perfect in every way.
Service — service is okay… I mean, it is a diner after all. It’s not the most prompt or friendliest in the world, but it does the job.
Price — the price is decent. You can get a hearty breakfast for under $ 10. Things that add to the price quickly are OJ and bacon.
Overall, stop in and try the pancakes… I’m confident you’ll enjoy them!

I admittedly have a huge soft spot for this family owned and run breakfast/​brunch spot. My family and I have been long time patrons since I was a young lad, and I feel like my experiences here have greatly influenced my standard in breakfast/​brunch cuisine.
Now that I live in Chicago, I make it a mission every time that I visit my stomping grounds to enjoy a nice breakfast (with family). And I can honestly say, in all my many years of visiting, I have been quite surprised at the consistency at which Pancake Café is able to produce. And while the flash and thrill of Chicago brunch joints have hit the scene with creative offerings, I still measure up the quality and execution to the standard that is created at Pancake Café. And while the pricing (which I’ve seen many people here complain about), is definitely above average for suburban fares… they are pretty much price well below average for quality breakfast/​brunch offerings for someone from the city. I think the food is well worth the price.
Omelettes —
The omelettes that are served here are incredibly fluffy and I believe are oven baked. I have yet to experience a similar preparation anywhere else, so it maybe something that is hit or miss for some people. I enjoy it immensely, and used to constantly get the Western «ham/​peppers/​onions» (easy on the cheddar cheese). It comes with some delicious hash browns that are stringy and browned perfectly on both sides. A more unique offering would be their mushroom omelette that comes with a mushroom sauce side. The side is quite heavy and probably should be used more as a dipping sauce.
Pancakes —
The namesake of the restaurant is probably not what you think. While they do serve conventional pancakes, the star (and most likely namesake) belong to both the Baked Apple Pancake and the German Pancake. Both of these require a long wait for preparation, so bring some interesting friends and enjoy a long conversation with coffee (or you can call ahead like a smart person). The wait is well worth it. While the Apple Pancake is a bit rich for my tastes, the German pancake is both light and fragrant. I love squeezing a bit of lemon over the gently applied powered sugar pancake to give it refreshing touch. Both these offerings are massive, and definitely should be shared.
Sandwiches —
I have recently been experimenting with the sandwiches here after a heavy recommendation from the staff. The sandwiches are fantastic and HUGE. To the point where there is no chance in finishing the full meal. The turkey club and the pastrami sandwich are my personal favorites and I’m glad that they have been recently added to the menu to keep things fresh. However, I would say I’m not a big fan of their fries. Much rather have these sandwiches with a side of hash browns.
Overall, I’m a huge fan and always have been. While I have adventured in the many brunch places Chicago has to offer, I still have a huge soft spot for this place. The food is well prepared, and the staff and family have been incredible hosts every time I’ve been. The menu is constantly changing with new specials that I look forward to whenever I’m feeling adventurous. I’m glad that this place has been around for so long, and I look forward to going every time I visit «home.»

Dropped my car off to be detailed and came right across the street to get some breakfast.
Their specialty is baked pancakes. They take a while, but worth the wait. And the thick sliced bacon, yum.
The place is tired looking and could use a face lift, but the service is friendly and food arrives as ordered and hot.
I would not go out of my way to return, but if in the area, it works.

I have been here so many times now, and this is probably my favorite breakfast joint in town. Nothing fancy, but there always seems to be a table and there’s a nice selection of breakfast items to choose from, sweet and savory.
I like the raspberry and blackberry crepes, which are a bit unusual and not on every typical breakfast place’s menu.
Service is always quick and friendly.
This is a convenient location for me and is always a good choice. :)