Skinny Pancake Stowe — Restaurant in Stowe

We had the worst service from the moment we walked in. Everyone around us was greeted—except us. The host didn’t say hello or welcome us, just bluntly asked, “For here or to-go?” with zero friendliness or warmth. We placed our order for two Noah’s Ark meals (identical orders) and a milkshake, and before we could even complete the transaction, she walked away without any direction. We stood there unsure of what to do until she turned around and told us to sit down because the milkshake would take a while.

The last time we visited, it was lunchtime and much busier, yet we had a server who was friendly and fast. This time, there was only one other family in the restaurant when we arrived, yet somehow we waited almost 45 minutes while other tables—who ordered after us—got their food first. When our food finally came, it was cold, bland, and absolutely not worth the wait.

Between the poor attitude from staff and the disappointing food, I can confidently say I won’t be recommending The Skinny Pancake to anyone. For the price we paid, we expected at least decent service and warm food—not trash service and even worse food.

UPDATE: Thanks for your reply. I want to clarify a few things since your updated comment seems to downplay our experience rather than address it.

Yes, we left the food nearly untouched — because it was cold and bland. That’s exactly why we didn’t eat it. One of your most popular dishes being served in that state doesn’t make it more acceptable, it actually makes it more disappointing.

We also do have a timestamp of our order. While the POS system may not reflect the full wait we experienced, we know how long we sat watching other tables — including a large group — get served before us, despite ordering the exact same meal for both of us. That part of the experience shouldn’t be brushed aside.

As for the host, I stand by what I said: we weren’t greeted at all. Everyone else got a welcome — we got “for here or to-go” with no warmth, no direction, and no follow-up. The tone was unfriendly from the start and unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the visit.

We’re not here to argue opinions — just sharing what happened to us. Cold food, long wait, poor hospitality. It doesn’t matter how popular the dish is or how many people you “make happy.” This experience didn’t meet a basic standard, and it’s disappointing to see the response...

The Skinny Pancake – Downtown Stowe, VT

I am very mixed about this restaurant:

Positives – Great tasting Food, Great looking serving area and very pleasant servers.

Negatives – The food seems to be slightly more expensive than it should be for the portion size that we received…but with the way things are right now…that’s a hard call to make a major complaint about. What I will complain about is that you are expected to serve your own beverages (coffee and water). By signs on each table and by the host/server you are also GREATLY encouraged to order and pay for your own food using an QR Code and your cell phone. The restaurant encourages an 18%-30% tip for the front of the house staff to basically bring your food, pour your beer/wine and for double checking that everything with the food was okay (at 18% this meant they received $4.50).

Neutral – I DID NOT mind paying a 2% back of House Staff tip ($0.50) since, truly from my perspective, they were doing most of the work.

Including our table there was only 4 tables being served with 1 hour to go before the restaurant closed at 2pm. So, I understand that they didn’t have much to do while they casually talked to each other and on their phones. What did disturb me was that I could see the back of the house staff moving quickly “working their butts off” trying to get the food out to their customers while only receiving 10% of my $5.00 tip.

I took a moment to check their bathroom….great looking…great smelling hand soap, but the bathroom itself smelled of having been used a lot during the previous 5 hours and needed a good cleaning, especially from the urine smells near the toilet.

Would I come back, not at these prices and portion sizes…but this restaurant has a nice concept that is slightly unique that I did enjoy. It could definitely be a winning idea with some changes. The number one suggestion is that I suggest some conceptional managerial changes and some staff teammate training so that the front of house and the back of house workloads are more equalized. If not…then the percentage of the sharing of tips should be more like 50-50 between the front and back of...

We stopped for breakfast this morning to start a busy day. I ordered the chicken pesto crepe, and my wife ordered the Noah's ark. She enjoyed her eggs and bacon but she said the crepes that came with her breakfast were maybe a bit underdone. My chicken pesto crepe was really good. Coffee was self-serve (more on that in a minute). My only complaint about the food was that the dark roast coffee was out, and the milder roast was lukewarm (there was decaf, but I didn't try it so I can't say how it was).

If the only thing that matters to you is the food, you can stop reading my review and go eat there, you probably won't be disappointed. I was much less impressed with the overall experience. At the skinny pancake, once you are seated you order and pay on your phone (I think there was a counter option if you don't have a smartphone). Ordering was easy enough, but I was presented with a 2% wage supplement for the back of house employees (I can't remember exactly how this was phrased), plus asked to tip as I was ordering. Suggested tipping options were 18, 20, and I think 22% plus the option to provide a custom amount. I'm not sure exactly what I was typing for since I placed my own order, ran the credit card myself, and got my own coffee. The prices at the skinny pancake were high, and the impression I walked away with was something like "we are going to try to do everything as cheaply as we can, including getting the customer to do most of it, and we are going to charge high prices and also ask you to pay our staff".

Admittedly these things are going to be fine with some customers, but they were enough to keep me...