Original Pancake House

Let me start off by sayin i usually never judge a book by its cover, however this restaurant needs some work. This was my fisrt time at this location and the second i walked in i felt like i should walk right out. But my boyfriend and i decided to stay. Started off with a coffee and fresh fruit. The coffee was horrible like it was mixed with a burnt pot and my «fresh» fruit was mushy. I ordered 2 eggs and sausage links and my boyfriend got the pancakes. Now normally when i go to any other breakfast establishment i generally get hash browns on the side but my plate was without them the sausage links were overcooked and my eggs were undercooked. the pancakes were ok but not great. Then it was time for the bill. Wow just Wow. over priced and not satisfying what so ever. I forgot to mention the counter with the missing top. As far as the service they need to improve. I have been a server and i expect nothing but great service no matter where i go. Not once did our male server smile felt like we were rushed, and he never asked how everything was. when i asked him if we pay him or up front he replied with «they dont trust me with money». REALLY? I came i saw i will never be back again nor will i recommend anyone to this place. If i could give negative stars i would.

Awful! Ordered a waffle. Came out doughy so sent it back. We were in a time crunch so asked the waitress to bring Uncle Don’s senior breakfast instead knowing it wouldn’t take as long as another waffle. Asked for the eggs fried over easy and was told they didn’t do their eggs that way! I insisted and then said I wanted rye toast instead of pancakes and was told the menu was set and she’d have to get a manager. She came back and said there would be an upcharge for the toast! Joke!!! I said ok. The rude manager, Dee brought it out and never even looked at us, just set the plate down, rudely! The toast was nothing more than hot bread, the eggs were over easy and there was a spoonful of potatoes. The bill came! The $ 8.99 waffle and the $ 3.19 terrible coffee was not removed. (Uncle Don’s breakfast comes with coffee). The Uncle Don’s breakfast wasn’t on the bill. So we paid $ 12.18 cents and I received a $ 6.99 breakfast —plus the toast «upcharge!» This is the 2^nd time the same thing has happened! Next time my husband wants to go there he can go alone. I’ll go to McDonald’s where I can get breakfast the way I want it and not be charged for something I shouldn’t be. Oh, and manager Dee should never have any contact with the public! She’s just rude! This place overcharges to start with

I took my son to breakfast here yesterday. The waitress was very nice and did her job well but the food was kinda pricey for being breakfast and wasn’t good at all! I had the meat lovers meal and my son had an omelet that came with potatoes on the side. I think I’ll stick to ihop for brea

I have been eating at Pancake House for 10+ years.
The place isn’t perfect — the prices are a bit high, and the coffee has a slightly sour taste to it – but they do a number of dishes extremely well, so they have remained in my breakfast rotation when in the south ‘burbs.
Today I had a really bad experience there. I ordered one of my very favorite dishes from PH — the eggs florentine, poached medium. The eggs arrived with literally Hard Boiled yolks. After one bite I was going to soldier on, after two bites I decided to tell the waitress.
About 5 minutes later she brought back the same food, a half eaten english muffin, with some of the spinach and bacon scraped away, and two mangled eggs, over easy with the whites still clear, cut up for some reason. The food was cold. She apologized but told me the policy was that because one of the english muffins was half-​eaten, that they would not recook the order.
I asked to speak to a manager. A man named «Luis» came to my table and proceeded to argue with me that hard yellow yolks are ok and clear liquid whites are also acceptable for poached medium. This dude was rude and combative, a complete unprofessional jerk. He had the communication/​people skills of an angry busboy.
Before departing I spoke to a second manager, a woman who was nice and at least knew how to talk to a customer. I am not coming back to Pancake House for a long time.

I would give this restaurant 5 stars but I chose 4 because their prices continue to go up! They do have the best pancakes ever. My favorite are the chewy 49ers. They are thin and as big as your dinner plate. You must try them. The buttermilk pancakes are heavenly. They serve REAL maple syrup and thick, hickory smoked bacon. The coffee is excellent and they give you real heavy cream for it. The orange juice is fresh squeezed. Their specialty pancakes are also great, like the Dutch Baby with fruit. The French toast is made with sour dough bread. Hashbrowns are homemade with plenty of spice. Omelettes are HUGE. Regular egg dishes are small. They use fresh fruit and fresh preserves. Also, housemade corned beef. Crepes are perfect and waffles are very good. Price for 1 breakfast with coffee is about $ 16 without tip.

The one star rating is all about client service. Let’s start off by saying that I am a longtime fan of Original Pancake House. My hubby and I have been consistently patronizing several of their other locations in the city of Chicago (since the early 90’s). While attempting to order food over the phone on my way to the airport, I called this location (Oak Forest) instead of the location that was closest to Oak Park (the delightful people at Forest Park). Upon realizing my error — I called the Oak Forest location to apologize, explain my error (I am not a suburban girl) and cancel my order. The manger comes to the phone and nastily states that I won’t be able to order from that location again since the food was made. I shared how I am a loyal client, and I just made a human error, but she didn’t care. So, if you are that inflexible and robotic with a long time client, it calls into question how much your business is valued. I won’t spend money with an entity that turns on their clients.

THE BEST PANCAKES EVER!!! I mean, like, EVER!!!
THE BEST BACON EVER!!! I mean, for real… EVER !!!
This is the best place for breakfast! I have been patronizing Original Pancake House since it’s days back in Dolton, Illinois in the 80’s and 90’s, then to it’s days in Olympia Fields, Illinois in the early 2000’s… (I should have done a review sooner)… It is a small and quaint spot, with a «family» feel to it. Fresh Eggs, thick Bacon, scrum-​delicious Pancakes, and sinfully-​tasty Dutch Baby’s!
My favorite order is the Bacon Lovers (did they cure the bacon themselves?) meal, with Fresh, Country-​Scrambled Eggs and Pecan Pancakes (pecan is extra, but well worth it!)… My husband loves to order the Spinach & Feta Cheese Omelet, with Pecan Pancakes. Or sometimes we order the DUTCH BABY! You have to wait a little longer for it, but you won’t be disappointed!
This place is usually crowded on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The waiting area is extremely small, and sometimes you end up waiting outside. Once seated, the servers try their best to be attentive.
I only have two negatives: 1) The coffee is super STRONG! And, they only have whipping cream for your coffee, as opposed to traditional cream options. So, bring your own cream if you need to. Finally, 2) The ladies bathroom is extremely small– so small, I can barely fit in the stall and close the door at the same time!!! (And, I’m not overweight!).
Nonetheless, these two negatives do not impact the quality of the dining experience. Original Pancake House in Oak Forest is still a 5 star location even if it is a little pricey!

Good food. service was slow to start but food arrived quickly and portions were large. Definitely recommend

Ahh… my first review. Makes sense to have my first review be about my first meal of the day. So let’s start off by saying that I hope the owner reaches out to me to tell me the secret ingredient in their pancakes. Hold on… phones ringing…“Ya what’s that? It’s crack?! really!?? …Well that explains everything!”
Ok so its not actually crack* (as far as we know…) but holy hell are these pancakes amazing. In fact, what I order from the menu now is determined based on whether it has a side of pancakes or not. «Ya, I’ll have the pancakes please. Side of toast? Fuck no! Give me a side of more pancakes!»
Ok, that’s a lot of rambling for just pancakes. But it’s important. See — a breakfast place needs something to hang their hat on to separate themselves — and that’s just what they’ve done with their pancakes. But here’s the thing… I think they have tried to hang their hat on their over-​sized hot chocolate and their dutch babies. So here’s the thing about their over-​sized hot chocolate: it’s just hot chocolate with whipped cream. I mean… that’s fine. But I was expecting something with a little more… pizzazz.
But here’s the thing about the dutch babies: I’ve never tried them. Why, you ask? Because they don’t come with fucking pancakes — why weren’t you paying attention earlier?
Ok so the place gets four stars because their food is on point. Seriously, eggs… omelettes…bacon…all of that… they don’t get too fancy and they don’t mess around. It’s just solid breakfast food — you can’t go wrong. They miss a star because it can sometimes be shotty service. But really, who can say that if they were a server and had to wait on hungover, unshowered, questionable tippers– that they would bring their A game everytime. But also, the ambiance is like the ambiance of… well, a cheap breakfast joint. So really I’m not complaining because I don’t want to spend an extra dollar for my eggs for getting pine-​sol fresh wiped tables… but I guess when it comes to my rating service you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
*edit: The poster in no way condones the production or use of narcotics in or around food products being sold for public use. Stay in school.

I love this place! I used to come here all the time on the weekends when I used to live close by. It’s a small place with a home kind of feel. They are not like the usual kind of breakfast place.
The coffee is strong, just like I like it. Most places have weak coffee.
I their crapes are amazing! Their apple pancake it’s so delicious, it takes a little long to cook so I recommend to order it right away so you don’t feel that it took too long as well with the Duch Baby.
They have great customer service! Our waitress Nicole today was very nice and kept checking us with fresh coffee.
I definitely recommend this place if you are in the area. I think it’s one of the best breakfast place.

I am regular at the Original Pancake House in Champaign, IL, so coming here was interesting. The menu is more extensive than the Champaign one and what I have had has been good. Love the thick sliced bacon and mine was done to perfection. Coffee is mediocre and my cup was empty too long. Service was just okay and the food did not come out together. The prices were not too high and the value decent enough. Their potato pancakes were good as was the Irish omelet. I feel the server could have been more attentive, as it wasn’t very busy. I would have given this three stars but that translates to A-​OK. This was just okay and I would return with lower expectations.

This place has gone downhill. I used to come here pretty often, but I just can’t do it anymore. The food has gone downhill, the prices have become outrageous, and they just don’t give a damn about their customers.
I used to love their eggs benedict and their pancakes. The last three times, there’s been some sort of issue. Once, the poached eggs on the benedict were just short of hard boiled. I told my server who got me a fresh order. I’m not sure, but I think they just took off the eggs and put on new ones because the muffin was cold, the canadian bacon was cold, and the hollandaise on the plate was beginning to congeal even though the hollandaise on top was hot. Another time, the pancakes were just loaded with vanilla extract. While a little extra vanilla is what gives them their signature flavor, these were disgusting. I sent them back and the next batch was just as bad. Another time, I ordered a side of bacon that was horribly undercooked. When I told my server, she remarked, «Well, you didn’t tell me you wanted it crispy!» No, I don’t care if it’s crispy or not, but I’d like it to be cooked enough to be edible. (Bits of the fat were still a bright white. I mean, come on!) Then, each time, while paying, I was asked how everything was by the cashier. When telling her about problems, she avoided eye contact and gave nothing more than «Oh, I’m sorry» as a response.
Next, let’s get to the price. A friend of mine was in town and wanted to go to the Original Pancake House because it was his favorite breakfast restaurant when he lived in the area. This was the time where the pancakes were drenched in Vanilla extract. I also brought my daughter along on this visit and our bill for 2 adults and one child was $ 37. We didn’t get anything too extravagant either (benedict, a skillet, a combo, a side order of bacon, a large orange juice, and 2 coffees if I recall correctly). The next day, we went to the pancake house just a few blocks west (the blue one next to Marquette Bank). Just for fun, we ordered the exact same meals and it was $ 26. On top of that, we got a coupon for $ 2 off the bill on our next visit. The quality of the food was better, the service was better, and the concern for customer satisfaction was better.
Save your money and your tastebuds. Pass this place up and head down the road a piece where your money will go further and your food will be better.

I’ve been coming here for years, I can’t believe I haven’t written a review yet! I ALWAYS get the 49’er Flapjacks and I am never disappointed. Anything I’ve ordered has been delicious and I don’t recall ever having to send a plate back. The issue I have however is with the price. A plate of two eggs and a few sausage links costing me $ 10 in addition to the money I paid for the pancakes, and the juice, and the bananas for the aforementioned pancakes will never not cause me physical pain. No issues with the quality or portion sizes of the food, I just don’t feel it needs to cost as much as it does.

Holy cow have their prices gotten out of hand. I’ve never been anywhere where you don’t get potatoes with a breakfast. Imagine paying $ 10 for breakfast and they bring two little eggs and sausage links. Ask about hash browns and now your breakfast is $ 14. I don’t know why anyone goes there. Lots of other places near by. It’s Oak Forest not Lake Forest for Petes sake. The sausage was good but the coffee isn’t as good as it used to be. No thanks.

Love that apple pancake! Oh and the omlettes are light and fluffy. This place is one of my longtime favorites!

Been getting it to go for years… always so yummy! Southwestern skillet rocks with gluten fee pancakes! Love the cherry crepes. Hubby gets the French toast ever time! Almost always get impeccable service and quality!

Excellent service: fast and friendly (we went on a very busy Saturday morning). Food was delicious: the pancakes melt in your mouth and the Applewood bacon was cooked perfectly. I would definitely go here again!

I cannot get breakfast this good at my own house-​WTH! If I could every breakfast in my future lifetime could come from OPH– and I’d really be copacetic with tha g. Seriously the best doggone bacon around, the best pancakes in a multitude of flavors, and scrambled dggs so fluffy, even I cannot duplicate them, and my fam calls me «the breakfast master,» okay? WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. Only reason they didn’t get five stars is because their takeout orders are too often missing items I paid for. Still, I keep going back (and check for everything-​TWICE.

Two words. Apple. Pancakes.
It doesn’t get any better than the buttery apple-​y pancake-​y goodness. Previous reviewer, Courtney O., I ***HIGHLY*** recommend you get on with trying them because I promise you that they are *THAT* good. After a few times of ordering breakfast on a Saturday morning I’ve realized that people travel from all over to eat here. It is *ALWAYS* packed and worth the good food and service that comes with it.
Oak Forest residents who don’t want to make breakfast or dine in. Order your food for pick-​up. You will not be disappointed.

How is it possible that I lived so very close to this pancake house and never reviewed it? I mean, really?
Okay, here now to remedy this.
Let me agree with the previous reviewer, Adam S., that your coffee cup is always full and the bacon is, in fact, like a salt lick (at least that’s what I remember from my pre-​vegetarian days). I can’t vouch for the apple pancakes, but the pecan pancakes are fabulous. Ditto the potatoes with a little bit of onion and cheese melted on top. Mmmm.
You might wait to get seated, and if you have boundaries that prevent you from an enjoying a meal if you’re seated on a stranger’s lap (umm, yeah… the tables are *that* close together), you might not dig the environment. Service is usually pretty strong and consistent. Definitely seasoned servers – I’ve never received food that wasn’t spot on as I ordered. On Sundays (and ‘peak’ Saturday hours as well), I do not recommend trying to squeeze in with three kids under the age of five, especially when you need a high chair. As I said before, space is limited, and you will probably spend most of your meal silently wondering if the staff could just please lift the coffee pot a little higher while sailing it over your baby’s head.
In short, the food is really good. Aside from the pecan pancakes, I’m partial to the waffle, although I still pine for the thin and crispy waffle they boasted a few years back (now their waffle is your traditional Belgian variety). Your arteries will clog a bit, and you might leave feeling as though someone could just roll you out of the restaurant, but isn’t that the trademark of a truly great dining-​out breakfast experience?