Best Pancakes In Sydney: Where To Get Them

By: Melissa Fine, ellaslist 

Because sometimes, you just need a good stack of pancakes. From the decadent to gluten free and kid-friendly options, add these pancake joints to your breakkie bucket list, and scroll to the end of the post for our favourite One Cup Pancakes recipe!

Speedos, Bondi 

Perhaps the most colourful, insta-worthy cafe there ever was, head to this old Bondi favourite for the Caramelised Banana + Chia VEGAN Pancakes, and the picturesque North Bondi view. This place gets packed on the weekend, so a weekday visit might be your best bet for a family/mother's group feed. 

Pancakes On The Rocks 

Come here for all the pancake art on the kids menu - from the Butterfly Pancake to the Funny Face Pancake, complete with marshmallows, fresh strawberry, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, strawberry jam and 100's & 1000's. These will keep the kids entertained and their bellies happy while you sit back with a stack of one of the signature buttermilk or chocolate pancakes at this old-time favourite - the Bananarama is our pick.

We like that they do savoury pancakes too, which make pancakes perfectly acceptable for dinner, right? The kids' 'Ned Kelly' buttermilk pancake comes with whipped butter, scrambled egg and bacon. 

Hale & Hearty, Waterloo

A must if you like your pancakes THICK, or on the healthier-side. One of my go-to healthy pancake spots (yes, really!), you'll find people patiently waiting in their active wear here every weekend for a table at this shoebox-sized gluten free, dairy free pancake joint. Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Banana & Walnut, Sweet Potato & Bacon are just some of the mouthwatering pancake options on the menu, and each month there's a unique Pancake Special, with Peanut Butter & Jam on rotation. It's worth the wait in my opinion, but come here on a weekday when you'll grab a table easily. The Plain Snack Stack will go down well with little fussy eaters too. 

Bread & Circus, Alexandria

Just around the corner from The Grounds, there's a line for breakkie at this warehouse-chic cafe on weekends - but it moves quickly, and at the communal seating you'll find diners taking their insta-snaps of the pink-plated dishes like the Breakfast with Gwyneth health bowl and the flourless, gluten free and super light Caramelised Lemony Banana Pancakes - complete with a side of ricotta, maple syrup and compound lemon butter...I get these every time, and you wouldn't know they're a better-for-you pancake option. 

Cooh, Alexandria 

A must-try on this health conscious cafe's menu, the pretty-as-a-picture Buckwheat Pancake is heaven and health on a plate. It's worth pre-booking a table if you're heading here on the weekend to avoid a 45-minute wait. 

Bills, Various Locations

Along with the not-quite-scrambled eggs, the fluffiest ever ricotta hotcakes are the signature breakkie dish that people keep on coming back for on celeb chef Bill Granger's menu. The Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Bondi locations are all pretty roomy and pram-friendly, but we'd avoid going here on weekends to avoid the standard Sydney line out the door for a good morning feed. 

Pancakes At Home: Jamie Oliver's One-Cup Pancakes

An ellaslist recipe favourite, there's no measuring equipment needed other than one cup so the kids can help out. Thank's Jamie Oliver for the recipe! See original recipe here. 

Ingredients

• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup milk
• sea salt
• olive oil
• OPTIONAL:
• 1 punnet blueberries
• yoghurt, to serve 

Method

1. Crack the egg into a large mixing bowl.

2. Add the flour, milk and a tiny pinch of sea salt. Whisk everything together until you have a lovely, smooth batter. Fold through the blueberries, if using.

3. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat and after a minute or so, add ½ tablespoon of oil. Carefully tilt the pan to spread the oil out evenly.

4. Add a few ladles of batter to the pan, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to spread out slightly – each ladleful will make one pancake, and you’ll need to cook them in batches.

5. Cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, or until little bubbles appear on the surface and the bases are golden, before flipping with a spatula. 

6. When the pancakes are golden on both sides, use a spatula to transfer the pancakes to a plate.

7. Repeat steps 5 to 9 with the remaining batter, adding ½ tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches, if needed.

8. Serve immediately with your favourite toppings - we like yoghurt, berries, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and chocolate chips...anything goes! 

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