The Original Pancake House — Restaurant in Honolulu

This is unfortunately the last ORIGINAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES restaurant in Hawaii anymore and its a shame because they clearly have the BEST breakfast offerings in the state.The Original Pancake House was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1953 by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke and legendary chef James Beard was one of the Original Pancake House biggest fans!The Original Pancake House is a second and third generation family business, which takes great pride in maintaining the high standards that make their food so outstanding with the extensive menu of delicious authentic national and ethnic pancake recipes. There are over 100 Original Pancake House restaurants from coast to coast, which have won many local and national awards and universal acclaim. Their recipes demand only the very finest of ingredients, such as 93 score butter, pure 36% whipping cream, fresh grade AA eggs, hard wheat unbleached flour, and our own recipe sourdough starter and the pancake batters and sauces are made fresh in each kitchen every day. Consistently top notch food every time, breakfast done to perfection. This location has vintage old fashioned Americana decorations and is rather dark inside but clean never the less in a nondescript strip mall near Home Depot. I am a huge fan of all their food here but especially the amazing oven baked delicacy the APPLE PANCAKE that’s made with freshly, baked Granny Smith apples and Korintji cinnamon sugar glaze; this large sinfully delicious pancake is filled with bubbling goodness and outrageous flavor. Served fresh HOT out of the oven to you! I make this at home for special occasions, it is so good. All of the bakes omelettes are magical because they are BAKED, they rise and come out of the oven fluffy and light as a feather. ONLY here locally do they serve..... the get ready for this....a potato omelette! What a scrumptious combination of a generous portion of potatoes green onions and bacon bits rolling into lightly beaten eggs then baked and finally covered with their sour cream sauce. OH Lord, just...

Upon arrival, hostess seated us quickly. She was willing to provide us ice water but we just wanted to order. She gave us our menus. We sat there and sat there and sat there!!!! Finally, I overheard one of the waitresses tell our waitress "your customer is ready to order!"

When our waitress finally came to our table, we placed our order. One of the dishes we ordered was the Dutch Baby Pancakes! So delicious but it takes about 20 minutes to cook so we asked for our two breakfast plates that we ordered to be served first and informed our waitress that we'd take the Dutch baby once it was done.

So we're eating and I'm listening and watching our waitress and the other waitresses. I hear orders for Dutch baby pancakes being called in - one after another. Not once did our waitress follow up on our Dutch baby. Then, she turned and looked at my husband and I -' turned to the cook and started to complain that she's waiting for an order of Dutch baby pancakes. While the cook and waitress are exchanging words - I'm sitting there thinking "We're a magnet to slow waitresses!"

Our waitress stood waiting for our Dutch baby. By this time, it's been 30 minutes. And then off goes our waitress to help another table. She's taking the order of her new customers and the cook begins shouting "Dutch ready!" He says it about ten times and our waitress is still helping her new customers.

Saddest part, not one other waitress would grab our Dutch baby and bring it to us. How disappointing! You'd think the wait staff would think "I'm reflection of my entire job!" And in this field, customer service is very important!

It's too bad - people have said "this waitress is awesome, that waitress is good!" But not one person can claim - "they have the best staff at Original Pancake House!"

Food is typical of all pancake houses except for the original. Dutch baby pancakes they serve are the best. If I based my experience on one staff member - I would give our waitress an F! If I graded the wait staff or staff in general - I'd...

Whenever we’re on Oahu, the Original Pancake House at 1414 Dillingham Blvd in Honolulu is a must-stop for us. Tucked away in the Kalihi-Palama area, this spot is a bit off the beaten path from the tourist-heavy zones like Waikiki, but it’s well worth the trip. It’s about a 10-minute drive from downtown Honolulu, making it a convenient breakfast haven for locals and visitors alike.

On our latest visit, we dove into a feast that never disappoints. The Spam & Eggs was a perfect blend of local flair and comfort—crisp Spam paired with flawlessly cooked eggs and a side of fluffy pancakes that practically melted with every bite. The Eggs and Bacon were spot-on, with the bacon crispy and the eggs cooked just how we like them. The Blueberry Pancakes, though, stole the show—loaded with fresh, juicy blueberries and made with real butter, they were light, fluffy, and pure bliss. The coffee was fresh and bold, tying it all together beautifully.

Everything tasted incredibly fresh, and that generous use of butter made every dish feel indulgent yet homey. It’s no surprise we keep coming back to this Dillingham location—it’s a reliable hit every time we’re on the island. If you’re craving a breakfast that’s both satisfying and full of flavor, this Original Pancake House is the place to go. Just note: the Ala Moana location has closed, so head to Dillingham...