There’s a reason pancakes of various shapes, sizes, textures, and flavors are staples in most world cuisines. From lacy French crepes to crispy Korean pajeon, it’s always a good idea to order a stack of the house pancakes. And fortunately for New Yorkers, there’s no shortage of excellent flapjacks around the city.
Whether you’re settling in for a mid-morning brunch or craving breakfast for dinner, these are the top pancakes to order in New York City.
Clinton St. Baking Co Lower East SIde
Pancakes With Maple Butter
Clinton Street Baking Co. has been a buzzy brunch destination since it opened on the Lower East Side in 2001, drawing locals and out-of-towners for three-deep stacks of their signature menu item: buttermilk pancakes. The kitchen, helmed by chef and founder Neil Kleinberg, serves flapjacks filled with Maine blueberries, bananas, and walnuts, or chocolate chunks, all topped with gooey housemade maple butter.
Vinegar Hill House Vinegar Hill
Apple Sourdough Pancake
When a menu lists a singular pancake, you can expect something plate-filling and showstopping. The sourdough pastry studded with thinly shaved apples from Vinegar Hill House fits that bill perfectly. The recipe, originally given to the restaurant by Angela Johnson Sherry, calls for baking the batter in a hot cast-iron skillet to crisp and caramelize the edges while maintaining a tender, tangy center.
Golden Diner Chinatown/LES
Honey Butter Pancakes
It’s impossible to spend any time on the food-obsessed side of social media and not be treated to a visual of a proud diner slicing into an incredibly thick stack of honey butter-soaked pancakes from Golden Diner. These Japanese soufflé-style pancakes don’t sacrifice substance for style, though. The golden-brown edges lend an umami flavor to the wonderfully sweet, buttery, and fluffy interior. Pro tip: The pancakes are wonderful as is, but if you’re in the mood, do splurge for the mixed berry topping while you’re at it.
Naks East Village
Salted Egg Pancake
Sweet and savory lovers can agree on the rich single pancake served for weekend brunch at Naks in the East Village. The Filipino spot from Unapologetic Foods (Semma, Dhamaka, and Adda) serves a thick lemony cake topped with runny salted egg cream and sprinkled with cured egg yolk shavings. The lemon comes through in a big way, and it’s the perfect sweet counterpart to chef Eric Valdez’s fried chicken sandwich, hearty kare kare omelet, or filling classic Filipino platter of fried eggs, tofu, garlic rice, bone broth, and more.
L'Amico New York
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Ricotta adds tang and heft to the thick stack of flapjacks served daily at L’Amico, just south of Herald Square. Enjoy your pancakes topped with a generous amount of blueberry compote and zippy lemon crème, in the airy, indoor-meets-outdoor dining room that’s especially lovely on a sunny day.
Breakfast by Salt’s Cure West Village
Oatmeal Griddle Cakes
Lines can get long at this walk-in-only spot with locations in the West Village and Prospect Heights, but it’s worth the wait for a platter of the lacy oatmeal griddle cakes you’ll see on every table. It’s not easy to find thin flapjacks like this in the city, and Breakfast by Salt’s Cure does them best. Your choices include the OG, pink lady apple, banana nut, blueberry, or chocolate chip. Our advice? Let the dainty scoops of butter dissolve into the sugar-dusted cakes for the full effect.
Walk-ins only.
Hellbender Ridgewood
Heirloom Masa Pancakes
Hellbender made a splash in Ridgewood when it first opened as a nighttime cocktail bar in 2024. It’s since transitioned into a dinner and brunch spot with an excellent beverage program, and chef Yara Herrera’s cooking draws crowds day in and out. The weekend brunch is largely savory (don’t miss the crispy lamb tacos and baby gem salad) but you should definitely quell your sweet tooth with the heirloom masa pancakes. The piping-hot golden saucers are topped with a thick square of cold butter that slowly melts as you work through the stack.
The Golden Swan West Village
Pancakes
The Golden Swan, housed in a homey two-story Greenwich Village townhouse, is a joint venture from restauranteur Matthew Abramcyk and chef Doug Brixton and, on weekends, it’s not uncommon to see Brixton in the dining room, making luxurious French-style omelets to order. During weekend brunch in the dining room upstairs, you’ll also see plates of inch-thick pancakes stacked two high fly through air. Break through the crisp, browned crust to reveal an incredibly airy crumb that’s quickly saturated with golden maple syrup and a rapidly melting puck of French butter.
Hana Makgeolli Greenpoint
Pajeon
If you’re looking for something more savory, the compact food menu at Greenpoint rice wine brewery, Hana Makgeolli, always packs a punch. The scallion and garlic chive-packed pajeon is a standout on the menu, thanks to its lacy, crispy edges, allium-rich filling, and just-chewy-enough texture. Wash the fried pancakes down with a sool tasting flight for an excellent aperitif.
Soledad Upper East Side
Concha Pancakes
At Soledad in the Upper East Side, chef Julian Medina (also of El Fish Marisquería and Tacuba), turns concha, the beloved Mexican pastry, into cinnamon-spiced pancakes served from 8 a.m. daily. The creamy cakes are also topped with fresh berries and a bright hibiscus syrup for some added sweetness.
Momoya – Soho SoHo
Soba Soufflé Pancakes
Soho sushi institution Momoya has an advanced pastry program, thanks to pastry chef Allen Cheung, that extends to the weekend brunch service. Here, two ethereal soba flour soufflé pancakes are layered with a sheet of chewy mochi skin, a few carefully placed macerated berries, a quenelle of vanilla-speckled Chantilly cream, and decadent strawberry and white chocolate sauces to bring this art-like dish fully into dessert territory.
Cocina Consuelo Hamilton Heights
Masa Pancake
Naturally sweet and gluten-free masa flour gives the massive pancake at Cocina Consuelo in Hamilton Heights its sunny hue and delicate texture. The pancake is drowned in honey butter glaze and mounted high with seasonal fruit compote. No wonder it’s quickly become one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes.
Walk-ins only.
Rule of Thirds Greenpoint
Hottokeki
The incredibly fluffy soufflé-style pancake matches the light, ethereal atmosphere of Rule of Thirds in the morning. The sprawling Greenpoint restaurant, from the same folks behind Sunday in Brooklyn and Café Chelsea, offers traditional Japanese breakfast items with delicate flavors. On the sweet side, the pancake is a total showstopper. With the cloud-like texture of a French soufflé and a melty slab of honey maple butter, it’s made for sharing. And while you’re at it, don’t hold back on the side of soft serve.
Le Crocodile Williamsburg
Pancakes With Blueberries and Mascarpone Whipped Cream
A visit to Williamsburg’s Le Crocodile is like an escape to the Left Bank. The all-day brasserie serves an excellent burger au poivre, a buttery country pâté, and other French classics paired with a carefully curated wine list. But you should also come in the morning for the four-high stack of not-too-sweet American-style pancakes piled with a generous serving of barely-cooked blueberry compote and dense mascarpone whipped cream on the side for individual portioning. P.S. They’re gluten free, too.
Sunday in Brooklyn Williamsburg
Sunday Pancakes
The signature Sunday pancakes at this Williamsburg staple are welcome any day of the week, especially by those with a major sweet tooth. The cakes are covered in a thick, gooey hazelnut maple praline with a pat of brown butter because, well, why not?
Chez Ma Tante Greenpoint
Pancakes
This Greenpoint institution from the same team behind Le Crocodile has a unique French Canadian-meets NYC P.O.V. Canadian Aidan O’Neal and New Yorker Jack Leiber collaborate on a hybrid menu that features chicken liver pâté and falafel alongside pig’s head terrine and kedgeree. The pancakes, which are darker and crisper than most, with a creamy blonde center, have spawned dozens of copycat recipes online.
Café Maud East Village
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
The duo of tangy ricotta and bright lemon is a repeat favorite for a reason, and Café Maud in the East Village does it right with a three-high stack of classic all-American pancakes topped with whipped cream, berries, and real Vermont maple syrup.
Lingo Greenpoint
Apple Tart Tatin Pancakes
This hybrid of a Japanese soufflé pancake and your classic American-style flapjack is an apt embodiment of what chef Emily Yuen’s Lingo is all about: merging Japanese and American flavors and techniques in unique, creative, and often unexpected ways. These, in particular, feature a tangy, sweet Granny Smith apple praline, and for even more flourish and balance, Yuen adds savory red miso caramel ice cream on top. It’s a truly indulgent pancake you can enjoy Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Little Fino Williamsburg
Sicilian Flapjacks
Lemon ricotta pancakes are a brunch standby for a reason, and here at Little Fino, chef Anthony Ricco adds and Italian twist to them in the form of pine nuts roasted in brown butter. A generous dollop of toasted pine nut butter on top is a perfect foil for the orange blossom infused syrup, and a sprinkling of pignoli. While Little Fino is generally walk-ins only, they do take a few reservations for brunch on the weekends.
