The Original Pancake House — Restaurant in Town of Amherst

(Note: I write these reviews in part for my own nationwide business clients, for travel and activity inspiration. Follow me for more! I’m a financial planner - CFP®️practitioner - with a focus on retirement wealth strategies, primarily serving business women and LGBTQ individuals. #VirtualPlanningCraftedWithCare®️)

I stopped here with my family during a weekend trip to visit Niagara State Park (see my review on that too!)

We were searching for Sunday breakfast that offered gluten free options because of Celiac Disease. This place did not disappoint!

There was a bit of a wait but not unusual for a Sunday. That had a waiting area inside and also seating outside with plenty of parking in an adjacent lot. It’s also mobility friendly. It’s a bit tight in there but they can certainly make it work with a heads up.

The breakfast food was some of the best I’ve had. Period. Not only did they accommodate my allergy, but they also had a lot of variety. Notably, they had things I don’t normally find, regardless of my allergy restrictions, like PB and raspberry pancakes! Obviously that’s what I had (gf) and it did not disappoint. The rest of my family also raved about the food.

The service was good. We got our food in a timely manor and had drinks filled in between. I’d also say the cost was appropriate for the serving sizes, taste, and freshness.

I’d say that this establishment is a good choice for families, singles, retirees and it appears LBGTQ friendly. In fact, I found that whole area to be welcoming.

I had one major problem with this establishment. I’m only mentioning it because I hope they read this and take my comment constructively and with good intentions…. The bathrooms were so dirty that it made me uncomfortable to use them! It was mostly the floors. Looked as if they hadn’t been swept or washed in months. Then on my way out, I noticed a gross kitchen floor too. I very much believe that an overall clean establishment will have a clean bathroom and a clean kitchen floor. I know it was the weekend and super busy, but that’s no excuse for allowing patrons to walk on floors littered with dust, cereal, tissues and overall sticky. I hope they make an effort to to better. Because if I was a local, this might keep me from coming back. And I would not consider having an event at a food establishment that wasn’t sparkly clean.

Overall, I gave it five stars because it met my personal needs and given the busy weekend, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe this isn’t the norm. But the...

I don't typically post bad reviews, but hope to save other families with small children the trip of going to a restaurant that is not family friendly. We went early to avoid crowds and got there at 8:30am, we were sat right away by a very friendly hostess but at a small table right in the middle of the restaurant at the very front with a 2 & 4 yr old with a high chair and booster seat, needless to say we were getting bumped into repeatedly as people walked by and since they had zero crayons, coloring mats etc. And our food took about 30 mins to come out after ordering, those sitting right on top of us were probably not thrilled with us entertaining our well behaved but ansty children who were hungry and sitting waiting far too long. (Normally I have a backpack full of things to entertain them, but we had just dropped off my car for an oil change and it was in the car...figures we go to the one "family" restaurant that has nothing for kids the one and only time I didn't have our backpack...not that we'd even have room for it as we were crammed together with so many tables it would have definitely been in the way) Next...the food...most was mediocre at best, and my husband's spinach and feta omlette was terrible, it was so over cooked it appeared as if it was literally baked like a quiche...the texture was so off-putting my husband who can eat anything and rarely complains about food didn't even finish it because it was that bad and hard to get down. The kids had pancakes and sausage, which we had to order extra sausage because the meals are not even complete meals, nothing there is actually. Everything is a la cart add on's...over priced, small portions for the prices, and the most average food you can imagine. The only exception was my strawberry and cream crepes...they tasted good, though the crepe itself was on the thick side and not delicate, it did taste good...however you get two for $12.30 with nothing included and you can't add crepes on to a main breakfast like eggs and bacon (does not include toast or homefries...but does come with 3 plain pancakes- no substitutions)...so I ended up ordering 1 over easy ($2.25) egg and a side of home fries($4.30) for an additional...so I spent $20 for 2 crepes, 1 egg, and a small side of homefries. Oh and $5+ for a "large" glass of orange juice, that was in an approx 10-12oz glass.

The service was mediocre, food bad to mediocre, overpriced especially for quantity and quality, overall experience 3/ 10, and we will not be going back there...

Update: So during a different visit (today Feb 12th 2025 - because the below review was from a while ago) We received these ROTTEN strawberries. They are pictured as the third and fourth photos. Yes, rotten, snotty, slimy, strawberries. And, I'm not really sure why the waitress stormed off without a menu then returned a few minutes later to rip the menu off the table. She spoke at our table snappy and was slamming items on it disrespectfully. She gave a member of our table the wrong thing and then acted like it was our fault. She orders the same thing everytime which is frequently. I could see myself in handcuffs. So this visit makes me say: look at your food. Is it prepped properly at this restaurant? I see a lot of good reviews so are you reviewers really looking at what you get? Why have standards slipped so far? Because this restaurant was so on top of things in the past. Just as an aside: urine all over the lower walls and floors, no soap, and no toilet paper in some dispensers.

I've been frequenting this establishment once or twice a month for years. I have given it great reviews over the years. After COVID, it's been seemingly downhill for this restaurant since. The restaurant wasn't busy when we arrived. Our table was sticky, unwashed, so I used a wet napkin to clean it. Bathrooms looked like those you might see at an annual fair behind a beer tent. Everyone around us ate their food and were leaving before we were fed. Today the food was disgusting. No coffee refill. Food tasted like it was unrefrigerated; particularly, the vegetables in my omelet. The eggs were dry. It tasted like it sat around for 30 minutes. Plate was delivered with sticky brown goop caked all on underside (please see the photo). This might have been an accident but its probably carelessness. The only thing good were the pancakes. The waitress didn't collect the check and they don't offer to cash out at the register anymore. No response by the business is necessary but let me give this business a recommendation: get your stuff together because people will vote...