The Pancake Parlour Doncaster — Restaurant in Melbourne

Hi there,

Just wanted to shoot through a message regarding the service at the Doncaster store. I have a few points and I apologise in advance if this comes off as overwhelming but it is genuine and sincere constructive feedback I do not wish to come across as rude.

I usually have a pretty fine experience but I find myself when I visit this restaurant that there’s always something a bit off. The people working always feel so absent when serving. Just kind of void to any sort of feeling? An example of this is they kinda see through me when I’m serving and just blank faced.

I also get particularly frustrated when the workers automatically assume I’m using the QR code to order when I want to order directly with them as I’m using usually a voucher or paying with cash. What I mean by this is that we don’t get tended to as a table for a while because they think I’ve already ordered.

I also think serving water should just be a default request from the waiter. I would also like to see waiters ask whether or not I’m paying cash or card and double checking what I have ordered instead of just pressing a few buttons in silence and turning the eftpos machine around.

I want to also exemplify a situation I had tonight where a waiter seemed a bit short with me. I made my way up to the register to pay. No hello, how was your food etc nothing. Didn’t get asked if I’m a member, automatically just goes to card turns it around. I say to the young gentleman I have a voucher I’d like to use he goes okay and accepts it. Then says $5.8 please and then I say before he automates to the eftpos machine I’d like to pay card. He seems visibly upset in some way I’m paying cash and I nicely hand him the $10. I get back the change slammed onto the table. HUGE pet hate considering I nicely handed him the my cash and I had to scoop my coins off the table. I understand people do have bad days but especially when I’m coming in wanting some nice service it just becomes disappointing when someone treats me this way for no reason :( I was nice and courteous to the gentleman and I got passive aggression. I’m hoping my feedback can shed some light on the gaps this location has with their service as I come here often with...

In-Depth Review:

Food 5/5 *Cheese and Potato Pancake - Absolutely delicious! Been eating these pancakes for the last decade more since high school! That cheesy crusted layered on top of the Pancake is the signature unique point. Hint - Always add bacon bits to it upgrades the texture of the Pancake so you get soft, medium and crispy textures melting and exploding in your mouth. If you're feeling generous, add mushrooms too! *Pancake Short Stacks are equally amazing! Milky, creamy not too sweet vanilla ice cream on signature pancakes or soft, yet crispy crepes! Do not miss these 2 amazing dishes! *Fish and Chips was also generous portion, fresh and delicious, but not as great as the above *Deluxe Fries are an unmissable dish as well! Hand peeled and cut wedges, topped with fresh sour cream and delicious seasoning. Phenomenal!

Value 2.5/5 *Extremely expensive. For example, the cheese and potato pancake is nearly $30. If you eat it as is, it's a bit lacking in punch and kicks of flavour. If you add bacon for an extra $6 or so, it's around $36, then add mushrooms is $40. Definitely not worth it considering the unit cost price is nowhere near thst much, but hint in winter: If you come on Tuesday, it's only $10! Go nuts here 😊

Atmosphere 5/5 *Booths available everywhere, outdoor seating, really warm and friendly vibes, kid friendly as well. Hint - The choo choo train activates on the hour and moves around near the ceiling. Greet for young kids!

Customer Service 5/5 *Friendly, warm service by everyone so far. The only thing I notice with almost every floor staff is that they always forget to give cutlery and water! Not a deal breaker as they are apologetic upon realising 👌

Overall *Utilise the winter hack Tuesdays deals, go nuts with extras on this day. Use the app to score points and extra Perks to increase value for your buck. Dining here full price is questionable, but if your just after the short stacks and other sweet pancakes they are very valuable! Definitely a must dine in experience you must...

Last night after work, I went to visit Pancake Parlour for a quick snack and a takeaway. This used to be my hanging out place with my friends. We use to come here very often. But these few years, the quality and the food has dropped significantly. Price went up and the portions of the food got smaller. I use to love the Fresh Strawberry Pancakes and Deluxe Fries here. I haven't been here for few years since I mostly lived overseas for work for quite sometime. Last night I revisited this old place and ordered my Favourites as mentioned above, Strawberry Pancakes for Dine-In and Deluxe Fries for takeaway with extra Sour Cream. The Strawberry Pancakes quality did not tastes as Good as it use to be. The Strawberrys were fresh, but less portions than what I use to have and the Pancake tasted dry and a bit weird, was like a lot of grains in it. Got home and looked at the Deluxe Fries, they were the usual size except they didn't give me the extra Sour Cream I paid $4.40 for if I remember the price correctly. Only had one serve of Sour Cream and enough to enjoy the Fries. I ordered it for a snack later on for watching a TV show. Now everything is ordered Electronically from the Website via scanning a Bar Code. Seriously lost that touch of service talking to the waiter what I want. Was wanting to add extra Cheese as well other than extra Sour Cream, but they don't offer it on the Menu on the website. Seriously this is not as Good as it used to be and the Prices aren't...