P&G’s Pamela’s Diner

Well this is starting out auspiciously. The gentleman sitting just to my right facing me is rather hairy, heavy set and wearing a sleeveless shirt. He keeps stretching his arms above his head. I’ve rarely seen this many sleeveless shirts on men…

If I could give 10 stars I would. Absolutely work any wait time — I’d sit outside for 2 hours to eat their food. Diners always come off as overly greased, poor quality, blah blah blah. Got eggs, bacon, & choco chip pancakes. The bacon and eggs were not greasy at all! And so tasty. The pancakes (called hotcakes here) were hands down the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my entire life! Literally, I’m thinking about them and am salivating thinking about it. The food was so good nothing else matters — service was good, ambiance was great. But the food

Nice place for breakfast, but it took forever to get service on our table.
In general Food was very tasty and quickly once ordered.
I recommend if you are not in hurry.

Me and wifey ate breakfast here yesterday morning. The place looked like a popular night club on a Friday night instead of a breakfast restaurant. The place was packed! On a Friday morning, we had to wait around 20 minutes for a table for two. Tells you something about the food. I had the morning after special and wife had a broccoli and cheese omelet. If you want breakfast look no further.

Unbelievable. Everything is amazing but the hot cakes will be the best you’ve had. End of story.

Pamela’s is famous locally in Pittsburgh and the atmosphere is real, true Pittsburgh «diner» from the cramped space and crowds to the stereotype motherly bustling waitresses. Huge portions at low cost all cooked to order…
The food itself… is just alright. Nothing remarkable. Pancakes and breakfest menu are fine, somewhat overrated. Go once for local «flavor», then walk around the Strip District to actually fill up afterward.

I don’t know how they make those hotcakes so thin but fluffy, but those were some of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten!
There were seven in my party when we got there at 9:30 on a Saturday and there was a huge line outside, but they really turn over the tables so we only had to wait about 15 minutes and I would have been happy to wait even longer. Everyone loved their meals, esp the malted waffle and those hotcakes. I had the chocolate chip banana hotcakes and I’m not kidding when I say I can never eat pancakes again.
Service is fast and friendly. If you like breakfast and you’re in Pittsburgh, you should really make sure you visit Pamela’s.

If you have not been in here please do stop! its such a good brunch place in my opinion.
Anything and everything you order is always tasty! If you come to visit PIttsburgh is a nice place to visit, very authentic and good prices. ONe thing to keep in mind is they do not take credit cards so you have to have cash. Great yummy place in the burgh!

Overall the food was tasty but there are a few areas that can be improved dramatically:
1) Don’t serve microwave instant bacon! Who does this? I’ve never seen a restaurant do this before.
2) Don’t serve out the package tortillas when you have an authentic Mexican stand right next store that makes them! Work something out with those folks. I’m sure they would love to have your business and it’ll take your chorizo hash to the next level.
3) Have a host at the front to greet your customers. Don’t leave them standing there for 5 minutes before someone acknowledges them!

Oh. My. Word.
I’ll start by saying that I am a die-​hard waffle person, through and through. Given the choice, I’d have a waffle every day of the week including Sundays and holidays. As the inimitable Leslie Knope once said: «We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, and work.» As of yesterday, though, I might have to rethink my stance on the waffle vs. pancake debate.
Yesterday, in the cool light of the morning, I saw God in the most incredible stack of crêpe-​style pancakes this side of the Atlantic Ocean. These are not your Saturday morning box pancakes. They’re not even the golden, fluffy kind you stumble into your local diner for in the wee hours of the morning.
That’s because these pancakes are not pancakes. They’re religious objects. They’re the very personification of whatever deity you worship here on earth. Hell, I haven’t been to church in five years but I might just go back and light a candle for these pancakes. God bless them.
Please, please, PLEASE do yourself a favor and order a stack of these pancakes. The fries are great, and I’m sure the rest of their menu is just as drool-​worthy, but if you really want to experience some sort of celestial happiness: Get. The. Pancakes.
I’ll be back, Pamela’s.
Love,
A Former Waffle Person

Come get your hot cakes! Hurry, Hurry, Omaha, Omaha! Hut! Yes, it is Peyton Manning* and I am here to tell you that these Hot cakes are extraordinary. The edges arrive crispy and the consistency of the batter combines enough sponginess and density to form what possibly could be the only hot cakes I’d recommend. Not being a fan of pancakes, crepes, flapjacks or waffles, I was taken back at Pamela’s hotcakes. If I extract the best qualities of a crêpe, flapjack and pancake. this would be the result.
Of course, an honorable mention to the famous corned beef hash and eggs. More a traditional dish, I prefer it served extra well done with grilled onions. Spoon some on a long wheat toast slice, place a piece of egg with its runny yellow yolk, a dash of hot sauce and take a bite. Now that’s what I am talking about, see??!
Cash only and lines can be long on the weekends. PNC bank ATM just ’round the corner. What’s your excuse?
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*I am Ken L and not Peyton but you already knew that. I am rooting for him to finish his career with a Super Bowl ring. Go Broncos!

Great local diner!!! I have been there twice and was never disappointed. They have fresh press coffee, chorizo featured items (strip district location) and AMAZING «crêpe-​like» pancakes! Great flavor, and exceptional service. I hear it gets packed on the weekends, so plan accordingly for a line out the door! Well worth the wait if you must. Reasonable prices. You can get a huge breakfast for under $ 10. Everything down to the glasses they serve water in is very tasteful. Thanks Pamela’s!!!

Pamela’s you were everything I wanted you to be and more.
* Expect a wait (we only had a 5 minute wait, but after we were seated lines wrapped around the building and were up to 30 – 40 minutes) But don’t worry the line moves fast. This resto is huge and they turn tables quickly.
Loved the décor.
Loved the colors.
Loved the atmosphere.
LOVED THE CREPE HOTCAKES.
What is a crêpe hotcake? Exactly like it sounds, a thinner pancake, a thick crêpe? Somewhere in between crisped up on the edges served either plain with butter and syrup or rolled with fruit and cream cheese. We got the fresh strawberry ones, and I thought serving it with cream cheese would be heavy but it totally wasn’t. The strawberries are fresh and not the weird syrup stuff. Overall I can’t stop thinking about how unusual and delicious this dish was. Highly recommend!
We also got scrambled eggs with chives and sour cream in them, something I wouldn’t normally get, and we devoured this plate. The eggs were the fluffiest, best texture I have ever had. I don’t know how they did this!
Take a walk while you wait down the strip, this spot is not to be missed!!!

Best breakfast in Pittsburgh — hands down! Everything I ordered was delicious. Not only I recommend my friends to go here, I also go there when I am in town. Though I moved away from Pittsburgh, I go to eat at least one meal here every time I am in town.
It can get extremely busy so be prepared to wait for tables.

There was a lot of hype about this place… we went early b/​c you have to… if you don’t want to wait…
The hash was awesome.
The pancakes were excellent.
Service was friendly and responsive. They probably do not have to be b/​c the place will get customers either way… but they were above average.
Everything was good about this place. It is popular and now we know why.
Cool pictures/​photos throughout the restaurant. Overall nice feel…
It is also located in a unique area of Pittsburgh. The Strip District has a lot to offer and this place compliments it nicely.
Highly recommended as a place to stop and enjoy.
The staff makes an effort to give you good food, good service and the owners have kept the price reasonable.

Pamela’s is considered the quintessential Pittsburgh breakfast joint. This is the place that everyone wants to take you as soon as you come to the city. When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I can’t tell you how many times I was asked, «Have you been to Pamela’s yet?» Locals love this place. I have been there twice now, and I regret to say that I am not so enamored with it.
I am not usually a huge diner fan to begin with, so I will just preface my review by saying that. I don’t enjoy the old-​school vibes exuded by diners, nor the greasy fried food options. Today at Pamela’s I had the western omelette, which included ham, onions, and peppers. I wasn’t extremely impressed with the flavor of the omelette, and it tasted very overly buttery. The Italian toast on the side came out cold which was a big turn off for me. The redeeming factor of this breakfast was the lyonnaise potatoes, which (although greasy) were very tasty.
As a whole, I give the meal a ²⁄₅. It just wasn’t impressive or special, and was comparable in taste and quality to all the other diner food I’ve had before in my life. I much prefer the freshness of breakfast options found at places like Marty’s Market, which is only a couple blocks away from Pamela’s in the strip. I know that Pamela’s is a big Pittsburgh tradition, but I won’t be bringing my out of town visitors here any time soon.

There’s a funny comic about the recipe for making your restaurant over the hill popular in a city. 1. Find a hole in the wall location with no parking available 2. Cash only 3. Have 1 or 2 unconventional ingredients paired with some fun menu item names. This is definitely true for Pamela’s Diner in the Strip District location.
It was 9:45am on a Sunday. I was not there by choice but out of necessity. While waiting for my kitty to finish getting her surgery, I needed a warm place to grab breakfast nearby. The cramped diner was completely full with a 3-​page waiting list. Had I not seen the line DeLuca’s already had at this time, I would’ve hightailed it out of there and gotten a no-​fuss phở meal. But at least Pamela’s had indoor waiting. At about 10:15am, we were seated at a wobbly table. Every piece of furniture had a slight layer of grease and was tiny.
I will say this – the service was very speedy and the food tasted great. I got the croissant French toast and sausage on the side. The toast was caramely and wonderful but kind of expensive for just bread. I was hardly full so had to order 3 measly sausages after that. Those turned out to be wrinkled and dry. Hubby ordered the Pittsburgh hash which was delicious and much more filling than mine.
Will I come back? Heavens no, there are too many choices to be made over this place. It’s just greasy diner food, after all. Yummy? Yes, but hardly enough to stand waiting and count out cash for…

If you’re in Pittsburgh and like to eat, it’s a given that sooner or later you’re going to end up in the Strip District. Several establishments there are already in the Roadfood pantheon and for good reason. However, ask any ‘Burgher where to find the best breakfast in the city and they will invariably point you in the direction of a spot on the northeast side of the Strip with pink and teal décor and a consistently large crowd in front of it.
Its official name is P & G’s Pamela’s Diner, P being Pam Cohen and G being Gail Klingensmith, the owners, but everyone just calls it Pamela’s. It’s reminiscent of a kitschy fifties diner, with Formica tables and vinyl chairs and brightly colored plates. It is always packed and always loud, and you WILL wait for a table. But, it’s fun to look at the retro ads and random family photographs and pictures of President Obama posing with the owners while you wait.
You will see pancakes, or as Pamela’s calls them, hotcakes. These cakes are closer to crepes than traditional flapjacks. Thin with crisp lacy edges, they completely cover the plate. Get them with butter and syrup, or fresh fruit and whipped cream, or chocolate chips and bananas. Actually, they’re not bad plain, either. To complete the carb overload, get a side of Lyonnaise potatoes, a mass of buttery spuds and caramelized onions.
Although I have nothing against the hotcakes and Lyonnaise, I happen to really like Pamela’s egg dishes and hashes. Yes, that’s kielbasa and sauerkraut mixed with the Lyonnaise and topped with Swiss cheese to form Pittsburgh Hash. The chorizo hash is good too, as is the Tex-​Mex omelet. My favorite Pamela’s meal, though, is pretty simple – a sausage and cheese omelet with some of the best fries I’ve ever had (fries with breakfast is a Northeast thing). The Lyonnaise gets the raves, but the fries keep me coming back. Service is efficient, and even though your check will be dropped off with your food, you’ll never feel rushed.
Pamela’s has five other locations in and around Pittsburgh, but if someone is talking about going there, they usually mean the Strip District. Note – no lunch food is served on Sundays, and like most Strip establishments, it’s strictly cash.

Went with a friend who goes to Carnegie Mellon and raves about this place.
I got Gail’s favorite eggs — while I liked it, I didn’t love it, probably because I’m a health nut and the menu isn’t the healthiest. With that said, my meal was delicious, and my two friends inhaled their food. The hotcakes are their specialty, I believe, and they looked delicious!
This is a popping place and seems to be a must-​do for visitors. Make sure to bring cash though!

Take out today and since I have already tried some of the breakfast items from menu I thought I would try a sandwich. the roasted turkey. I was a little concerned that it would be lunch meat turkey — but it wasn’t. thank goodness. It was real turkey and just delicious. I was surprised the sandwich was rather small. It was almost the size as two slider sandwiches.
The Lyonnaise Potatoes that everyone raves about — I tried those. I was pleased with the portion size (next to my roasted turkey sliders) However; they were good but didn’t knock my socks off. The onion flavor was a bit over the top for me. That’s all I could taste. Maybe the next time — will be a different batch and not full of onions. The bread was fresh.

We had a group of 7 on a Thursday at around 10 am and had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes. That tells you how popular this place is. It has a great diner atmosphere. The service is very good. The key is that the food is excellent and the price is reasonable. If you are looking for a fun breakfast place, head to Pamela’s. Make sure you get there early as most likely there will be a wait.

Maybe I’m caught up in the hype… Is this really a place? Maybe, maybe not.
A friend and i decided to wait it out on a saturday morning. Add your name to the list and wait around outside. (Better than actually standing in a line.)
I normally go for a savory breakfast, like sausage and eggs, but the hot cakes seemed to be a big deal. They were really f’in good. If everything else were mediocre it would be worth going just for the hot cakes. They’re thin, crêpe-​style with crispy edges. Sooo good.

On the last day of my visit, it was a decision between eating breakfast at the hotel ($$$) or walking 15mins to Pamela’s, and I’m very glad about my decision to make the trek down to The Strip!
Firstly, these types of ‘50s style diners don’t really exist in my city, so I appreciated the kitsch. Old family photos really made the place feel homey.
We ordered: Greek Salad ($ 7.50, huge, dressing on the side which was a plus!), Veg Omelet ($ 7.95, I got mine with 2 slices of toast & potatoes), & Chorizo Hash ($ 5.95, wanted to try it). All the portions were HUGE, shareable between at least 2ppl! I ate just a bit of the Hash and had to get it to-​go because I was simply stuffed by eating half of the Veg Omelet.
Although tasty, I found the Lyonnaise Potatoes a bit heavy on the salt as well as the Chorizo Hash (probably from the Chorizo/​cheese). Then again, I found a lot of the food in the city, especially potatoes, too salty, so maybe I’m just not used to it. The coffee was ok, although I found all the coffees that I had in Pitts to be on the watery side.
Service was no muss, no fuss! Would definitely visit again for that diner experience, healthy portions, & solid food.

A must stop in the ‘Burgh every time we visit. Pick the right time, and there won’t be a wait, i.e. 9:00am on a Wednesday, but even the times we had to wait it was worth it. Staff is friendly and has been here a long time, they know their stuff.
If you haven’t been here yet, you are missing out!

Stopped by here while visiting Pittsburgh after searching for great breakfast places on Unilocal.We had never been to the Strip, so we thought we’d check it out and we are PSYCHED that we did!
Like everyone said, you sign in but be warned. The line goes very fast (there’s a large section of seating not visible from the door) and if the entire party is not there, they will NOT seat you even though we were outside just one store down.
It’s crowded, a bit noisy and fun! Our waitress was friendly and efficient. The décor is 50s dinerish.
Now the food… The definition of comfort food! My hubby went with the Pittsburgh Hash (house special lyonnaisse potatoes with Polish sausage and sauerkraut with 2 eggs and toaat) … The portion was big enough to feed a Steelers linebacker and so good. My daughter had the banana chocolate chip hotcakes… So delicious!
Great experience for breakfast… Definitely check it out

Honestly, it’s hard to say anything that hasn’t already been said about this place. After all, Pamela’s is widely known for serving the best breakfast in Pittsburgh, and for good reason. (Even President Obama approves.)
Believe it or not, until this past weekend, it had been at least a couple years since I last ate here. Not that I had a bad experience or anything. I’m just an impatient person and get intimidated by the line, which sometimes on weekends gets wrapped all the way around the block.
Décor inside has a nice, 50’s diner throwback. Love checking out all the old black and white photos hanging on the walls.
My all-​time favorites on the menu? Any of the hotcakes, but particularly the banana and chocolate chip. And lyonnaise potatoes, which comes as a side for most of the protein-​based menu items.
However, this past weekend, while scanning the menu, I saw something new: Pittsburgh hash. Their lyonnaise potatoes mixed with kielbasa, sauerkraut and topped with Swiss cheese. It was a dream, and possibly the best meal I’ve eaten there. And that’s saying a lot.
I think this breakfast is best after a hard workout. Makes the calories more justified. I’ve eaten here after a night out once or twice, but the meal’s decadence was too much while nursing a hangover. Haha.

I have been to Pamelas more times than I can count. The line never phases me because I know it’s worth the wait. And yes, if you go on the weekends for breakfast, there WILL be a line! The good thing about this is the location. If you have a decent wait you can just walk the strip for a little while you wait.
There is something special about the pancakes here. They are thin and delicious with nice crispy edges. They tickle my fancy every time they grace my lips. I always get «the morning after» which comes with pancakes, meat, eggs and a side of lyonnese potatoes. Please get the lyonnese potatoes! You will thank me later! I am writing this review and am going to get in my car and head to Pamelas as soon as I’m done, yes it’s that good!
I am not a fan of Obama but we can definitely agree that Pamelas is the number one breakfast spot in the burgh!

Don’t be intimidated by the line at Pamela’s, it goes quickly, especially for groups of 4 and less. Food is reasonably priced, big portions and down right awesome… especially the home fries and chocolate banana stuffed hot stacks.
Décor is that of a family 50’s diner and the staff are upbeat and helpful.
Reason for the 4 rating is due to the check out process. They give you the kitchen slip, which was barely legible for us and no where on the slip did it mention gratuity. You pay up front, not at your table and we had 3 couples, 3 kids so it was hard to slip checks because everything was lumped together, abbreviated and NO TOTAL. Was hard to see who owed what. We also didn’t know there was gratuity added so we ended up double tipping the server. Yes she was nice but she wasnt amazing. Our total bill was supposed to be $ 87 and we paid $ 112 before the extra tip we put down. So we had an unexpected $ 25 on the bill and put down an extra $ 25 for the tip we left.
Overall the check out process was very confusing and my husband was the one who paid. He wanted me to note that the register is right near the door and is the busiest location in the place. He said everything was rushed and there was too much madness going around to get an explanation or itemize list of what was on the check.
The food as always was awesome but the end process left our entire group with a bad taste in their mouths. Every experience can be different but in ours this time we learned that this place is great if you are not splitting checks and not in a big group.

If you live in Pittsburgh and have not eaten at Pamela’s Diner before I find that a little bit odd. Pamela’s has the best breakfast I’ve ever had. Their pancakes & potatoes… OMG Amazing! Their pancakes are super thin, almost like a crêpe and they are crispy around the edges. Their potatoes are fresh cut and so delicious. They’re so good and have so much flavor you don’t even need to dip them in ketchup.
Their omelettes are also to die for. Fluffy, thick and full of flavor.
The only downside to Pamela’s is their food is a bit greasy and not healthy whatsoever. Therefore I do not eat @ Pamela’s on a regular basis but when I do I enjoy every bite!