(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Find your perfect pancake at these 11 L.A. restaurants
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Pancakes are not something you eat in a rush. They’re for taking a moment to slow down, to be present. There’s a ritual to them — watching butter melt into the crevices, drizzling on generous amounts of syrup, maple or otherwise. They pair well with other things on the menu — bacon, eggs, hashbrowns — but are also just as satisfying on their own.
Pancakes, always comforting and filling, are the ideal breakfast food (and great at lunch and dinner too). They also happen to be endlessly customizable: whether you prefer a base of buttermilk or ricotta, or buckwheat or cornmeal, fillings like blueberries or bananas, and toppings like maple syrup, butter or whipped cream. There’s a pancake out there for everyone. Even if you’re not a sweets-in-the-morning person — you still want a bite. There are few things more enjoyable than at least one stack for the table.
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Thankfully, Los Angeles is a city filled with incredible pancake options, whether you’re looking for a classic buttermilk stack with crispy edges, a soft and fluffy diner pancake rippling with fresh fruit, or pancakes made with alternative, flavor-packed grains like rye and oatmeal. Here are 11 of the best pancakes in the city:
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Jon & Vinny’s
Brentwood Italian $$
2019 #57
(Silvia Razgova)
The team at Jon & Vinny’s has perfected the classic buttermilk pancake. They arrive at the table fluffy and piping hot, with an evenly griddled exterior that gives the outside a gentle crispiness. The plate is best when slathered with the entire ramekin of softened salted butter it is served with, along with a generous pour of maple syrup. You can add fresh berries as a topping, but really this is the pancake for purists.
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Cafe Telegrama
Coffee Breakfast/Lunch $
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
What sets the pancakes at Cafe Telegrama apart from the rest of the pancakes in Los Angeles are their iconic crispy edges. Perfectly caramelized, they are the result of cooking the pancakes for at least seven minutes in a generous pool of nutty brown butter. The edges are in sharp contrast to the rest of the pancake, which is quite tender thanks to the ricotta in the batter. They arrive stacked two to a plate, swimming in maple syrup, and topped with a generous amount of house-made blueberry compote.
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Yang’s Kitchen
Alhambra Chinese $$
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
It’s worth braving the weekend brunch lines at this beloved Alhambra institution for the giant cornmeal pancakes. The team at Yang’s whips together cornmeal from Grist & Toll with mochiko rice flour from Koda farms to create a pancake that is gently chewy with deep savory notes from the cornmeal. There is no maple syrup: Instead they come topped with fresh whipped cream, seasonal fruit and condensed milk for drizzling. They might not be traditional by any means, but it’s always worth ordering a stack for the table.
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Cafe Tropical
Silver Lake Cuban Bakery $
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(Cafe Tropical)
While it’s easy to get distracted by the super flaky guava and cheese pastries at Cafe Tropical in Silverlake, it would be a mistake to sleep on the pancakes. They are super thick and fluffy thanks to the yeasted batter and are cooked individually in a pan to order. You can add blueberries into the pancake, but the classic version shines best. At $8.50 an order, they are also some of the most affordable in the city.
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Breakfast by Salt’s Cure
Santa Monica Breakfast $$
(Andrea D’Agosto)
I almost hesitate to call these pancakes, and in fact, the official name on the menu is “Oatmeal Griddle Cakes.” Made from a base of oat flour and cinnamon sugar, these thin-yet-hearty griddle cakes taste like a deeply gooey, slightly underbaked oatmeal cookie. There is absolutely no maple syrup or syrup of any kind available, but you won’t need any if you are careful to get the scoops of cinnamon molasses butter into every nook and cranny.
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Friends & Family
East Hollywood Bakery $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The best things come to those who wait, and that is exactly the case for the pancake at Friends & Family. It takes 20 minutes to bake, once you place your order, but what arrives at the table — a spectacle of fragrant, nutty buckwheat crowned with a scoop of vanilla-laced berry compote — is absolutely worth it. This pancake is thick, something you can easily cut into slices like a cake, but the buckwheat base keeps it from feeling too heavy.
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The Griddle Cafe
Hollywood Hills West Breakfast/Brunch $$
(The Griddle Cafe)
Bigger isn’t always better, but it’s impossible to not be delighted by the truly massive, dinner plate-sized pancakes that show up either two or three to a stack at this legendary Sunset Boulevard breakfast spot. While the classic buttermilk pancakes are solid, this is not the place to hold back — you might as well really go for it with one of the diner’s over-the-top novelty options. The best? Either the Golden Ticket, pancakes stuffed with brown sugar-baked bananas, caramel, walnuts and streusel; or the Black Magic, a stack of pancakes brimming with crispy-yet-soft crushed Oreo cookies and a mountain of whipped cream. Just be ready to nap afterward.
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Clark Street Diner
Hollywood Hills American $$
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
If you’re looking for a classic diner pancake — soft, fluffy and stacked high on a plate like out of a storybook — Clark Street Diner has perfected them. There are no crispy edges, but there is a tender crumb. No dry pancakes here. The blueberry pancakes are particularly notable, with just the right amount of fresh fruit woven into the batter.
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Alta Adams
West Adams Breakfast/Brunch Soul Food $$
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Brunch is always a vibe and a good time at Alta Adams for many reasons, one of them being the stellar cornmeal pancakes. They are generous in size and really embrace the balance of sweet and salty with the addition of brown butter caramel syrup and plenty of honey butter. Don’t forget to order a side of the excellent fried chicken. Though it is usually paired with Alta Adams’ waffles, the fried chicken might taste even better with the pancakes.
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John O’Groats
Cheviot Hills Breakfast/Lunch $$
There are many things that contribute to the charm of this 33-year-old Cheviot Hills staple, like the blue checkerboard tablecloths, the warm and friendly service, and the truly satisfying seven-grain granola pancakes. Though it sounds salubrious in name, it’s anything but in texture, which is soft and gently oat-y from the granola that is folded into the pancake batter.
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The Sycamore Kitchen
Fairfax Restaurant
(Raef Harrison)
Not too thin and not too thick, the buttermilk rye pancakes from the Sycamore Kitchen are essentially the Goldilocks of the breakfast world. This classic stack, which gets a flavor upgrade from the addition of rye flour, is filling but not overwhelming and easy to share — but no one would blame you if you didn’t.
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