Today is Pancake day, here’s where you can get some if you don’t want to make your own
Granger & Co
We went for brunch at Bill Granger's Notting Hill outlet, and have just started salivating at memories of the honeycomb butter that accompanies its ricotta hotcakes. (Seriously, it's like Pavlov's dog around here.) You get three hotcakes, with maple syrup and a slab of banana. They are gorgeously fluffy and the ricotta gives a deliciously sour note to take the edge off the sweet, making them unlike any other pancakes we've found. The place gets very busy so don't be surprised if you have to wait.
Granger & Co, see website for locations.
Ricotta hotcakes at Granger & Co
The Breakfast Club
We first tried to visit The Breakfast Club's Soho joint on a Sunday morning. That was a stupid idea, as we saw the queue snaking down the street. So instead we headed to a branch down a tiny side street opposite Liverpool Street station (also the location of the secret Smeg fridge that gets you into a cocktail bar) on a Tuesday afternoon. Much quieter. They serve white flour buttermilk pancakes with bacon so crisp you could snap it in half, and on our visit they left us with the maple syrup bottle. (We can't guarantee that would happen at busier times.) For the ultimate comfort food combo, get a hot chocolate with mini marshmallows.
The Breakfast Club has branches across London — see website for details.
Pancakes and bacon at The Breakfast Club
The Book Club
It's straightforward buttermilk pancakes for breakfast at The Book Club: beautiful fluffy ones, with a slightly chewier texture than found elsewhere and none of that uncomfortable food-baby effect later. They come scattered with bananas, strawberries and blueberries, and no skimping on the maple syrup. Add bacon for extra if you like. With a homely chipped mug of Earl Grey and Erma Franklin over the speakers, this is the best start to the day we've had for a while.
The Book Club is at 100 Leonard Street, EC2A.
Buttermilk pancakes at The Book Club
Creperie du Monde
An achingly artisanal corner cafe in Hackney with wonky chairs and rough hewn tables, Creperie du Monde does bloody fantastic crepes. With the choice of 'white' or 'brown', we opted to cut down on the sugar intake and picked a savoury crepe with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella in a rich, herby tomato sauce that wouldn't be out of place in a top notch Italian restaurant. Never mind just talking about pancakes, these crepes take some beating in the general realm of lunch.
Creperie du Monde is at 51 Chatsworth Road, E5.
Fantastic savoury crepes at Creperie du Monde
Senzala Creperie
Hipster gastronomy centre Brixton Village is where you'll find Senzala, and it's where you should head if you're vegan but still like the taste of pancake. All Senzala's galettes (crepes made with buckwheat flour, which is also gluten free) are vegan and they do several vegan savoury toppings. If you're in the mood for something sweet, just ask and they'll make a vegan crepe to order. Being a tad hungover on our visit we opted for a white crepe with caramelised apple, cinnamon, maple syrup and creme fraiche, the latter being a stroke of genius; a cool, slightly sharp zest to offset the lake of syrup the crepe swims in. And definitely recommended as a day-after restorative.
Senzala Creperie is at Brixton Village Market, 41-42 Coldharbour Lane, SW9.
Cool creme fraiche at Senzala in Brixton
La Petite Bretagne
Everything about this Hammersmith creperie is French: the recipes, the decor, the music, the staff and the clientele. It's also another ideal venue for coeliacs as all the savoury crepes are wheat and gluten free, and sweet crepes can be gluten free if you ask. We opted for the most expensive thing on the menu: we cannot resist tartiflette, particularly not in such francophile surroundings. .
La Petite Bretagne is at 5-7 Beadon Road, Hammersmith. There's another branch at 65 Clapham Park Road, Clapham.
My Old Dutch
It could be easy to sniff at My Old Dutch, with its bright orange frontage, tiny yet strangely comfortable wooden chairs and mock-Delftware plates. It is defiantly, sweetly, uncool. But the pancakes work. They are the sort you make at home – thicker than crepes, eggy and no buttermilk. You get just the one, but it is enormous enough to be satisfying without a distended stomach. We went for a sweet pancake and chose our own topping: banana, maple syrup and cinnamon. The smell is divine. We also like the way the bananas clearly went in the pan first, batter filling around them, so the undersides were slightly charred and caramelised.
My Old Dutch has branches in Holborn, Chelsea and Kensington.
Enormo-pancake at My Old Dutch
This article originally appeared on Londonist