Grandma's Pancake House — Restaurant in Cookeville

This was one of the worst experiences I ever had at a restaurant, period. I put off coming to this place for years because I had heard mixed reviews (some loved it, some didnt enjoy it). So on a whim, I went and got the #2 Combo: 2 eggs (medium), bacon, hashbrowns (I decided to have onions added), and 2 pancakes. For my choice of drink, I had a half sweet half unsweet iced tea.

As my tea came, I was surprised at the novelty sized glass (not unpleasant, I have huge hands so it was funny getting my picture taken with it). But as I drank from said glass, I noticed it was very weak. Not a huge deal, I'll get something else. So I asked for orange juice. Tasted wonderful, but it was almost room tempature. Again, not a big deal so I asked for a glass of ice. At this point, I think the waitress was getting irate with me. After all, they seemed busy with the amount of staff. So that is worth noting. And by the way, I think it was awesome that they have freshly squeezed juice. Not many places do that, and you can definitely taste the quality.

But onto the entree.

As my platter came to the table, I was again surprised (this time with distaste) at what passes for hash browns at this establishment. Instead of shredding the potatoes and toasting them on a flat surface, these looked to be chopped at random sizes and thrown around a griddle until its soft. There was no taste save for the undertaste of stale, and the texture was the stuff of nightmares. The bacon looked really good, and I eagerly took a bite to get rid of the hash brown texture. This time I was met with grainy, dry meat. I can guarantee you 2 things. That they bake their bacon (which is good), and it had been sitting out (not good). Even the eggs, by god how can you mess this up. I have to show bias here because it wasnt all that bad, but it wasnt that good either. But by the time I tasted them, after having the horrid sides, I was done with the meal. Save for those excellent fluffy pancakes. Now THATS how you make a pancake! I particularly enjoy that they bring each person their own tiny tub of just whipped butter and that the syrup was heated in the dispenser.

But to top off this little escapade, whats a bad dining experience without frustrated workers that don't have the concept of customer service in their frontal lobe?

As the bill was brought, I expressed dissatisfaction to the waitress and she simply asked me what I wanted her to do about it. Honestly, I was willing to have that part of the meal replaced with a breakfast sandwich of some sort. But that was the last straw. I asked to get that portion of the meal reduced from the bill (which was easily doable. If you look at the menu, you can get a half an order of pancakes which is actually 3, so even then I wouldnt get what was paid for). But nope. She said she would get the manager. I did not want to wait long, and the service is fairly slow, so I went to the hostess to complain since no manager was in sight.

Here's the thing though, another waitress comes over and starts saying things like "You're the only ones to complain. Everyone here is happy." Which I know to be a load of bull. Because as many people Ive heard speak the gospel of Grandma's Pancakes, I've heard just as many curse its name.

So no, I will not be returning unless its under...

Truly the worst service I've EVER experienced. I drove from Nashville to meet my son, who drove from Knoxville, so we could have breakfast together. The food and value are outstanding, hence the 2 stars; however, the service was absolutely unacceptable. I waited until after my meal was served to get my coffee that I had ordered immediately upon arriving. No refills on coffee or water. No check-ins on how our food was or if we needed anything additional. I wanted a to-go order to take home, but the server was in such a hurry that I couldn't get a word in after placing our table order. I tried to get his attention multiple times and hoped he'd be back to refill our coffees. I finally was able to flag him down to place the to-go order, and he LITERALLY REPRIMANDED ME FOR ORDERING MORE FOOD. He said there was a line of people waiting outside and a pile of tickets in the kitchen. I apologized for the inconvenience, and my son and I tried to enjoy the remainder of our time together. I went up to pay (giving a more than generous tip for good service), and then the server came back and LEGITIMATELY TOLD US TO LEAVE! He said he needed our table and there were too many people waiting! Soooo, we left, said our goodbyes in the tiny, awkward parking lot, and went our separate ways. I got home to find that my TO-GO ORDER WAS WRONG. 🤣 I can't make this stuff up. It was the absolute worst!!! Shameful, rude service to a quiet, friendly table with a decent-sized ticket. I keep asking myself what I did wrong or could have done differently, and I feel really confused and offended by the garbage service. It's literally an hour and 45 minutes for me to drive there, so there will be no returning to exchange the incorrect to-go order. I don't regret the trip because my time with my son was precious, and the food was fantastic. I don't even regret the generous tip because I know times are tough in all industries and particularly the service industry; but my son and I couldn't have been nicer to this man, and we were TREATED LIKE TRASH. I can't recommend this restaurant for dine-in based on this terrible experience, but my hope is that takeout is a better experience because the food is really outstanding, and it's a sweet little restaurant that has character and isn't a chain, but man, PLEASE improve upon your customer service! It nearly ruined a rare visit...

Read amazing reviews about this place but it was anything but amazing. I sat waiting for Gordon Ramsay to come out and shut the place down. When my party of four arrived just past 10am there were three booths open but rather than seat us the hostess looked around the room as if desperately searching for someplace to put us. Mind you, she didn’t actually greet us. After thirty seconds or so of searching she turned and went behind the cashier desk to drink her coffee and converse with the cashier leaving us standing. Southern Hospitality? I think not. It was a hot day and this place offers very limited ac, in the form of a couple ceiling fans that do little to help. Seating is some sawed off rocking chairs or uncomfortable wooden booths. We figured - it’s locally owned by a family so we cut some slack there.

Finally after being seated a waitress comes to our table, very abrasive. We ordered 3 waters and a chocolate milk. The waters came out and our six year old waited another 7 minutes for her chocolate milk (She was not happy the waitress referred to her as a baby either) We placed an order for our food and waited.. and waited seeing several tables get their orders first.

When the food came out it looked great, the pancakes were a little inconsistent in size but no big deal. This is 100% a case of looks being deceiving. One omelette had a piece of either metal or glass in it, very small and difficult to tell which. The other had a long brown hair. Unappetizing. We were done eating after that. Our daughter had not touched much of her food and we insisted she eat it. She complained it was bad. She’d gotten chocolate chip pancakes which seemed more like wheat pancakes with a few chocolate chips sprinkled on top and they were about the consistency of a breakfast sausage. I took a bite and understood why she didn’t want to eat it. In fact, I felt bad for scolding her for not eating them.

The waitress had been rude, snappy at me when I was attempting to confirm with my six year old what she wanted. Did not offer any refills and half through the meal slapped the receipt on the table.

Will not recommend to my worst enemy. Writing this review about ten minutes after leaving and I feel the need to go to the bathroom - it’s coming out one way or the...