Pancake Pantry - Nashville, TN

Posted By Michael Stern on December 5, 2006 9:11 AM

Breakfast in Nashville means country ham. And you can have a wonderful slab of country ham at the Pancake Pantry, but it is not ham that puts this breakfast house on the roadfood map. It is fantastic pancakes, all kinds of them, the best being sweet potato pancakes that are fluffy and soft, just begging for a drizzle of the silky cinnamon cream that is provided in a pitcher on the table. And who can resist Caribbean buttermilk cakes strewn with pecans, bananas, coconut and powdered sugar? Or wild blueberry cakes, devilishly seasoned sugar and spice cakes, Swiss chocolate cakes, even creamy potato pancakes made with minced onion.

In addition to cinnamon cream, every table is provided a cruet of warm maple-flavored syrup. All the usual breakfast meats are available on the side, including that outstanding country ham, which is sizzled to a nice crunch around its edges on the griddle. Orange juice is freshly squeezed, sweet and pulpy.

Nearly always crowded (but with a fast turnover that usually precludes long a long wait), the Pancake Pantry is a big restaurant with plenty of space among the tables and a high-spirited ambience throughout the dining room. It is impossible to imagine being in a bad mood when eating here. After all, what’s not to be happy about when you are eating excellent pancakes with plenty of butter and syrup and good coffee on the side?

Overall Rating

sweet potato pancakes

Hash Browns

country ham

Swedish Pancakes

Smoky Mountain Buckwheat Cakes

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Posted By Marty Davin on August 20, 2011 1:12 PM

Completely overrated diner food and nothing more. Nothing better than I have eaten anywhere else. The only difference was the time of the wait and the size of the check. Service was decent. The wait time for the food was long, almost like our order got lost, and the waitress even had to go and check on what was taking so long.

Waiting twenty minutes in line for pancakes that are nothing to rave about makes this a tourist trap. I endured this because my daughter wanted to eat there. The bill was more like an expensive lunch than a mediocre breakfast. Do yourself a huge favor and skip this place while in Nashville.

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Posted By DC Woods on April 4, 2011 8:17 AM

WARNING: I just read that this iconic Nashville restaurant scored a 59 on its inspection report. That is about as dirty as a food establishment can get without authorities closing their doors.

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Posted By glenda Palmer on March 24, 2011 6:35 PM

I was very disappointed in this restaurant. Raves over this food are hard to fathom, and the Pantry is definitely overrated. I had buckwheat pancakes and they tasted like chocolate. Bacon was greasy and not cooked enough and food came to table lukewarm.

Overall Rating

Smoky Mountain Buckwheat Cakes

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Posted By Nancy Castro on March 12, 2011 12:40 PM

I had the sweet potato pancakes and they were excellent with the cinnamon cream syrup. The hash browns were the best I have ever had. The warm maple syrup was delicious, too. They didn't live up to the warm greeting they advertise, but the food is good.

Overall Rating

sweet potato pancakes

Hash Browns

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Posted By Brady Scott on January 10, 2011 7:06 PM

My biggest complaint about this place was they had two seperate prices for Orange Juice. One regular price and another for "fresh squeezed" I opted for the more expensive fresh squeezed. Let me tell you this was not fresh squeezed, it might have said so on the carton but I make O.J. all the time and this wasnt it. Other than that the food was very good, neat atmosphere, and an exciting location.

Overall Rating

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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Posted By Jennifer Blackwell on March 22, 2008 2:19 PM

My friend and I went to the Pancake Pantry while visiting in Nashville. It is everything I hoped it would be. Our shuttle driver told us he and his wife eat there often.

We were really lucky that the line was quite short. It was just out the door, and we were under cover from the rain. Once inside, I was immediately very impressed with how quickly the staff works. They have an amazing team of bussers that swoop in to clean up and reset a table once guests leave. As quick as they are, however, they do not hover. There is no pressure to eat fast and run.

We were delighted with the food. The sweet potato pancakes are divine. My friend said her pecan pancakes were absolutely wonderful. We were in agreement that we could have eaten a meal of just hash brown potatoes. I would caution that a little bit of the ginger cream syrup goes a long way, but that shouldn't discourage you from trying it.

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Posted By Brent Kulman on December 28, 2007 10:44 PM

Most southern cities of a certain size have a good pancake joint, but the Pancake Pantry in Nashville is a cut above the rest. They've resisted the temptation to change and continue to perform at the top level. Success has clearly not gone to their heads (and the Pantry has had plenty of success).

I had the sweet potato pancakes. I have to confess, sweet potatoes are a particular weakness of mine, and I have yet to have a sweet potato concoction that I've disliked (and I am frustrated in this regard as nobody else in my family likes sweet potatoes, so when I see them on a menu I'm immediately attracted as if they are a forbidden fruit). Pancake Pantry's sweet potato pancakes are flavorful and medium-bodied. The portion is large, and I had to restrain myself from eating the whole batch (and why is it that pancake joints always give you about twice as many pancakes as you really need?).

It is the small things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary and at Pancake Pantry, it is the range of syrups and the care taken to match certain pancakes with certain syrups. Two were presented to my table: the everyday syrup (which is maple-flavored) and the cinnamon cream syrup. I kept going back and forth as each of them brought out a different flavor sensation from the sweet potato.

I wish I could have pancakes for breakfast more frequently but my waistline would rebel. Nevertheless, on those rare occasions when I feel like indulging, I would make a beeline for the Pancake Pantry if it were within range.

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