Pancakes are not just for Shrove Tuesday (March 1, 2022). In fact, flat cakes are delicious all year round, no matter what hour of the day.

Fortunately for Londoners, the capital is bursting with restaurants and brunch spots ready to sweeten up the days of hungry diners with stacks of pancakes pilled high, drowning in maple syrup and with a big helping of crispy bacon and fruit.

Whether it's Brixton's must-visit Senzala with its 'Banana Scotch', 'Nutella Rocks' and 'King Prawn Cajun' offerings or Covent Gardens' Christopher's BYO ('Build Your Own') pancakes made of buttermilk, blueberry-buttermilk or buckwheat and layered with coconut yoghurt, matcha green tea ice cream and blueberry compote, there's sure to be a dish to suit your tastebuds.

So, move over avocado on toast and make way for the king of breakfasts.

Here is where to find the best pancakes in London:

1) Best Pancakes For Big Appetites: Sundays In Brooklyn

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If you want pancakes that not only look and taste good but will keep you full all day, then look no further for your fix than Sundays In Brooklyn.

The Notting Hill eatery has become an institution since it opened last year, thanks to its brunch delights and light and bright interior. Our favourite has to be the Sunday Pancakes which are topped with hazelnut maple pralines and brown butter. The best bit? You can choose to have a single, double or triple stack.

Address: 98 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5RU
Click here for more information.

2) Best Pancakes For Celebrity Spotting: Langan’s

Everyone from Poppy Delevingne and Rod Stewart to Dame Joan Collins have been spotted at Mayfair’s Langan’s. In January it opened its doors for the first time for breakfast, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Not only can we not get over the restaurant’s caramelised banana French toast with maple syrup and smoked sea salt, but we adore its fluffy pancakes, which are topped with whipped cream, berries and maple syrup.

Prepare to indulge and spot some A-listers at the same time.

Address: Stratton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8LB
Click here for more information.

3) Best Pancakes For Luxury: The Wolseley

The Wolseley
The Wolseley

Breakfast doesn't get much fancier than at The Wolseley.

Described in A.A. Gill's book Breakfast at The Wolseley as 'wherever, whenever breakfast comes, it is a mouthful of stoic optimism', you can be sure to leave this London institution with you bellies full and content.

Filled with celebrities, from Madonna to Kate Moss, diners can expect to eat world-class cuisines at the famous hotel. But, for us, it's the pancakes that really have us salivating. Light, fat, ridiculously fluffy and coated in maple syrup, berries and bacon, you might need to wear your 'big pants' after tucking into a plate of these flat cakes (which cost jut £10!).

Washed down with a glass of the Wolseley Green Juice (kale, spinach, celery, cucumber and ginger) or the Wolseley Imperial (mandarin napoleon and cognac, long espresso, hot milk topped with chocolate and whipped cream) and you'll wonder why you ever made pancakes at home.

Address: 160 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9EB
Click here for more information.

4) Best Pancakes For Sweet And Savoury: Where The Pancakes Are

If you do one thing this weekend it should be to make your way down to Flat Iron Square to sample the delights of Where The Pancakes Are.

Whether you're a vegan, dairy-free or meat eater, this pancake haven caters to all culinary desires with a menu that includes buttermilk pancakes, pancakes griddled with baby leaves, cumin, spring onions, green chilli and lime-coriander butter and one dubbed the 'Banana Praline Marshmallow' topped with a choice of chocolate or sea salted caramel.

The pièce-de-résistance? 'The Dutch Baby', which is a flat cake cooked in a cast iron skillet and baked for 20 minutes which comes out looking like a Yorkshire pudding.

Better yet, this place has a conscious too. On its website, the owners explain that its maple syrup is made from 'natural, hand-tapped 100% pure grade "A" maple syrup'. 'It's sourced from a collective of 2000 farms, often run by families who have tapped their trees for generations,' it adds.

Address: Arch 35a, 85a Southwark Bridge Rd, London SE1 0NQ
Click here for more information.

5) Best Pancakes For Crêpe Fans: Senzala

senzala creperie
senzala creperie

Prefer your pancakes thin and crispy like the French? Head down to Brixton Market where this bustling cafe celebrates all things crêpes and galettes, with a Brazilian twist.

Expect French classics like the ham, fried egg and cheese 'Complete' on the menu next to South American classics like chorizo, egg and guacamole. Our favourites? 'The Tuna Vegas' (cheese, tuna, caper, black olives, cherry tomatoes, onions, lime juice, parsley) and 'Salmon Panache' (smoked salmon, asparagus, egg, crème fraiche, rocket and horseradish sauce). Order a glass or prosecco or keep your choice 'dry' with a range of teas, coffees and lemonades on offer.

Address: 41-42 Coldharbour Ln, Brixton, London SW9 8PS
Click here for more information.

6) Best Pancakes For Vegans: Christopher's

Now with their first vegan pancakes, the American restaurant is pushing the boat out this year in an attempt to secure its spot as London's one-stop pancake location.

Alongside their ever-popular 'Build-Your-Own' pancake, this year's specials include 'The Lobster One', complete with sea kale and chorizo, and 'The French Toast One', based on the food haunt's infamous dessert.

In the heart of the Covent Garden, we think this is the perfect pre or post-theatre stop.

Address: 18 Wellington St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7DD
Click here for more information.

7) Best Pancakes For Sharing: The Breakfast Club

Dish, Food, Pancake, Cuisine, Ingredient, Breakfast, Dessert, Meal, Berry, Produce,
Breakfast Club

Portions come giant size at The Breakfast Club. So, is there any surprise why there's usually a queue outside its venues on a daily basis? We think not but, rest assured, its food is worth the wait.

The institution's pancakes come pilled high, fluffy and pretty damn perfect. Like things sweet? Try the 'Banana and Salted Caramel', 'Pancakes and Berries' or ' PB&J' (they're gluten free and vegan).

If all else fails, do it like the Americans do with bacon, eggs, sausage, home-style potatoes and dollops of maple syrup. Enjoy the kooky vintage inspired interiors as you eat and try not to get the Joey Tribbiani meat sweats.

Address: Various locations
Click here for more information.

8) Best Pancakes For Refined Palates: The Modern Pantry

Do you like to eat only the finer things in life?

Then the bright and airy Modern Pantry is the brunch place for you. In the heart of Farringdon, diners will find the restaurant's famous mozzarella and plantain pancakes served with Urfa chilli spiced mango, toasted almonds and crème fraiche.

Believe us, you haven't tasted pancakes like it.

Address: 47-48 St John's Square, Farringdon, London EC1V 4JJ
Click here for more information.

9) Best Pancakes For Dinner: Mr Bao

Mr Bao Pancake
Mr Bao

If French, American, British or even Dutch pancakes are not for you, then let us tempt you with a Taiwanese option.

Head down to Peckham for a savoury pancake with a twist. We can't get enough of 'The Full Taiwanese' featuring Taiwanese sausage, a spring onion pancake, Flock + Herd smoked bacon with a Bao Bun, asian beans and spiced eggs. Alternatively, opt for the 'Rolled Spring Onion Pancake' with slow beef or mushrooms.

If you're not already salivating, you need to reevaluate your life choices.

Address: 293 Rye Ln, Peckham, London SE15 4UA
Click here for more information.

10) Best Pancakes For Variety: My Old Dutch

With over 40 types of pancakes on the menu, My Old Dutch is a pancake lover's paradise if you like some variety and imagination in life.

Opened in 1958, this institution has been serving up stacks of the fluffy stuff for over half a decade to tourists passing through with crowd pleasing toppings like butterscotch, Ferrero Rochers, and Kinder Buenos.

Choose from a menu of classic savoury pancakes, with unusual fillings such as seafood, chilli con carne and lamb stew, or classic, sweet flat cakes coated in everything from apple an cinnamon to peaches and Nutella.

Address: 131-132 High Holborn, Holborn, London WC1V 6PS
Click here for more information.

11) Best Pancakes For Instagram: Café Miami

Pancakes Cafe Miami
Cafe Miami

Clapton's art deco Café Miami offers some of the prettiest pancakes (and decor) East London has to offer.

A quick look at the menu and you'll find buttermilk pancakes stacked with bacon, maple syrup and blueberries, a banana and oat option with honey and cinnamon and, our favourite, the Bounty pancake with chocolate and coconut. Oh, and did we mention dairy and gluten-free options are also available?

Café Miami's minimalistic setting, baby blue crockery and baby pink neon signs will have you thinking you're in Miami Vice in no time.

Address: 24 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0PD

Click here for more information.

12) Best Pancakes For Market Strolls: Electric Diner

Set amongst the stalls of Portobello Road market, this exposed brick New York-inspired diner has West London flocking for their fluffy buttermilk pancakes, served with whipped butter and maple syrup.

Cocktails, wine, smoothies and juices are also on offer at this diner, and it even offers discounts on meals if you've purchased a cinema ticket at the Electric Cinema (terms and conditions apply).

Grab a red leather booth and a big cup of coffee to wash down your stack.

Address: 191 Portobello Rd, Notting Hill, London W11 2ED

Click here for more information.

13) Best Pancakes For Wellness: The Linnaean

Best pancakes - London
Linnaean

It's not often can you have pancakes under the same roof as a spa offering manicures, blow-dries, express glow facials and massages. But that’s exactly that kind of luxury treatment on offer at London’s recently-opened Linnaean.

As well as offering some of the finest beauty treatments in the capital (it’s interiors alone are enough to have your Instagram feed sorted for weeks), Linnaean’s restaurant offers a plant-rich menu including a variety of vegan and gluten-free pancakes.

The ‘Linnaean Matcha Pancakes’ are topped with coconut cream, matcha and served with seasonable fruits and fruit syrup, while the ‘Chocolate and Banana Pancakes’ come with roasted almonds, seasonal fruits and chocolate syrup.

We suggest washing down the brunch time staple with a ‘Tropical Plunge’ mocktail, cucumber cooler, ‘Aparello’ or a simple lemongrass and ginger tea.

Address: Embassy Gardens, 2 New Union Square, Nine Elms, London SW11 7AX

Click here for more information.

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Katie O'Malley
Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.