QC Coffee and Pancake House — Restaurant in Rock Island

The saga of trying all the "pancake houses" in the Quad Cities continues! After trying most of the pancake houses in Iowa, I found this location on Google maps in Rock Island. With MLK day off work, what better time to head across the river to experience more great area breakfast!

I was fortunate to park right in front of the restaurant in 4 hour parking. The exterior looks like a modern diner - plenty of windows, a big sign with the place's name, and a big awning with accompanying lights above. They advertised themselves as "home of the cinnamon roll pancakes"... I'm sure they're tasty, but I'm definitely more about savory breakfast at this point.

Upon stepping into the vestibule, I found the space full with people waiting to be seated. I checked with the server at the front and found the wait was about an hour. No issue there - pretty much everyone has the day off, so it should be a little busy. I left my name and number and went for a walk around downtown Rock Island.

Not but about 40 minutes later, they called back and I returned to be seated. I was quickly able to get my beverage and food order in and settled down to relax in my booth.

The space, overall, is very bright. The walls are mostly painted light yellow or blue, with some containing pictures of the food on offer and one sporting a large mural of the area. The lighting is a mix of 2 x 4 foot florescent lights in the drop ceiling and individual suspended fixtures mostly above the peripheral booths. Dark granite or laminate floors cover the space, providing some coloring contrast. In short, it's a well designed dining space that's as cheerful as the staff I got to converse with. I like it.

I soon had my Math Plate and sourdough toast and tucked in. No complaints about the food - the bacon was thick cut and had great texture, the sausage links were large and juicy, and the scrambled eggs were plenty fluffy and paired well with the toast. Speaking of - the sourdough toast was a $1 extra, but definitely worth it. It's the first sourdough I've had at a Quad Cities diner that I felt actually tasted noticeably like sourdough. All in all, it was a good meal!

If I lived in Rock Island I'd be here every other day for breakfast. Sadly, I'm not going to be driving over here that frequently from Bettendorf but could definitely envision driving here every so often. Thanks QC Coffee and...

I have driven by this location multiple times but was always intimidated by the long line and the people waiting outside lol. Today I drove by and seen an empty park and said today will be the day and when I tell you the 45 minute wait was well worth it go and see for yourself.

We put our name on the list and they called us when our seat was ready, It was a packed house around 10:30 AM. Our waitress came within 5 minutes and took drink orders and then gave us some space to review the menu. I asked a few questions about some of the menu items and I felt she gave a good description and her honest opinion which was very helpful. She was very attentive with refills and just checking in with us. food presentation is everything to me I feel like the fist impression is always a lasting impression.

our food came out on these nice size saucer plates and the food portions filled out the entire plate.

My omelet was thick and packed with meat, vegetables and just the right amount of cheese. I was expecting to get the standard taco style omelet with every thing just laying in the middle and the omelette folded over. my hash browns had a nice golden, semi fried hard layer with a good crunch on the top layer.

My pancakes tasted like a good ole homemade cinnamon roll unrolled and laid flat. them pancakes were big and tasted so good. I think they are a popular item because the waitress recommended them when I said I will just take a stack of pancakes.

the atmosphere was very nice and it was very spacious inside. you did not feel like you where elbow to elbow with others. the only thing if there was anything to point out was the front entrance. it’s very crowded at the front because you got people waiting to be seated and people trying to cash out so you had to keep moving because the wait staff was also in and out of that area as well getting drinks.

this will definitely be my new breakfast/...

My wife and I love having breakfast/lunch here. I have not had one meal here that was bad. I took a picture of our meal a little late. To say we enjoyed the Belgium waffle and pancakes with omelets is an understatement! The waitresses are so nice and food is very quick no matter how many people are there. My wife can't do sugar and we asked if they had sugar free syrup. Yes they do and it was very good. We had to ask what it was and they brought out the bottle for us to know what it is. I have included that picture. Next time I will think of getting a picture of our food before we devour it, but it is so good. Update Saturday, October 11th, 2025 Ok back for the 3rd time. We ate here last week with our son and once again at the midpoint of eating, we said pictures. So, we thought this weekend we would go again, because we needed to take pictures. They were closing at 1 p.m., but we waited 15 minutes and we got a booth. We have started to name our booth it is so good. Anyway, I had the chicken sandwich with fries and my wife once again had the Denver Omelet with hashbrown and 2 pancakes. With out our son the inhaler, she had to take half home for breakfast the next day. My chicken sandwich had bacon, cheese and a special sauce with just a little kick. I will say it was the best chicken sandwich I have ever had. I have eaten a fried chicken sandwich for as long as I can remember and this by far was the perfect one. Great pickles and all. The wife needs to branch out, but she is an omelet and pancake lover. The service was great again and we just love all the noise of people being happy and having a great meal with...