The Pancake Cottage — Restaurant in Avalon

Date of Visit: December 27, 2023

I visited Pancake Cottage with high hopes, drawn by the promising menu and its appealing location in Avalon Bay. Unfortunately, our experience was marred by the service, which was notably subpar, contrasting sharply with the quality of the food.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a hostess whose demeanor was surprisingly unwelcoming, setting a disheartening tone for our visit. This was not an isolated incident, as her attitude noticeably differed from the warmth she showed to other patrons.

Our server, while not outright rude, demonstrated a lack of attentiveness that was hard to overlook. He consistently prioritized the adjacent table, overlooking our needs for simple things like coffee refills and checking on us. This lack of attention was particularly noticeable and quite frustrating.

It's important to note that other customers have shared similar experiences of neglect and poor customer service. Reviews dating back to September 21, 2023, also highlight issues with the staff's attitude and responsiveness, including an incident involving a lack of assistance with a bee problem on the patio and misleading information from the front desk.

The food, however, was a redeeming factor. The Chicken Fried Steak and Breakfast Burrito were delightful, and the Banana Pancakes we shared were a treat. It's a shame that the service didn't match the high quality of the meals.

In conclusion, while the food at Pancake Cottage is commendable, the lackluster service significantly detracts from the dining experience. If you're considering a visit, be prepared for potential service issues. Alternatively, you might want to explore other breakfast spots on the island for a more rounded and...

DO NOT COME HERE FOR BREAKFAST!!! Had an extremely bad experience here recently on the morning of Thu, 21 Sep 2023. The front receptionist (a young lady) was completely sour grapes the second we walked in and asked about seating. It was apparently full everywhere inside, and then we noticed no one seated in the outside, front patio tables. I said we'd take a table there. After sitting down and ordering from our waitress, we noticed bees starting swarming us, especially our drinks. We tried tracking down the waitress, but she was nowhere to be found. When I went inside to find her and ask for another table, she brushed me off in a hurry and told me I had to speak with the front receptionist. When I went back to the receptionist again, she proceeded to tell me that she told me previously that there were bees there outside -- which was completely false!!! She had a heavy Spanish accent and either lied to me about the bees, or POSSIBLY muttered it under her breath -- but because her/understand English was bad, I couldn't hear her whatsoever. Ironically, I'm a fluent Spanish speaker, and she could have just told me about the bees in Spanish. Nonetheless, her attitude and body language was ROTTEN on both conversations with her. No employees there cared about us nor tried to help us under the circumstances. We went back inside; got our own to-go box; and quickly left on our own after paying the bill at the front desk.

I will never go here again and recommend you go to the nearby breakfast spot (MI CASITA) for...

The staff is rude. They charge for water and claim that California is in a drought even though California is not in a drought anymore. Management wants to nickel-and-dime you. According to California law if you serve alcohol you must provide free water to your patrons and they are breaking the law by charging for bottled water and not even offering ice water in a glass. Every other restaurant in Avalon will totally give you water. I left this place in anger because of the attitude I got from the server and I went to other restaurants and told them about my experience here and they said that the owner here is very stingy and despite this place being super-busy they only employ four servers to run the whole place... if my job was understaffed I would be rude too but as a patron and a customer and a person who appreciates the whole dining experience this place is not for me. I feel like the only reason this place does well is its proximity to where the boats let people off en masse( location location location). But if they were in the middle of Avalon or further away there's no way this place would succeed. Anyway I think it's pretty bad when other restaurants tell you that the owner of a place you had a bad experience in is a cheapskate and they would never work for him. That says a lot...