When we said we were going to conquer Pancake Day in London – we weren’t joking. We’ve swam through oceans of maple syrup to discover London’s best sweet pancakes, and we’ve eaten a few odd flavour combinations to find London’s quirkiest pancakes.

But last, and by no means least, we’ve located London’s best savoury pancakes. Egg and cheese on a pancake really is a taste sensation. Have a flippin’ amazing Pancake Day, people:

Savoury Pancakes: Specials

1. For a Meaty Pancake: The Book Club

Order: Whisky maple syrup pulled pork pancakes (£7.50)

The Lowdown: This Pancake Day, The Book Club in Shoreditch will be serving up a delectable menu of pancakes you just couldn’t make at home (well you could, but it would be a lot more effort than the old sugar and lemon, and who needs that!?) The whisky maple syrup pulled pork pancakes features a stack of buttermilk pancakes each topped with sticky, crispy pulled pork and drenched in whisky maple syrup for the ultimate sweet and salty treat. It’s downright ludicrous, but in a very good way.

Where: 100-106 Leonard St, London EC2A 4RH

2. For a Vegetarian Pancake: HIX Soho 

Order: Field mushroom pancake with Berkswell cheese (£9.95)

The Lowdown: Renowned for their original take on British classics, HIX restaurants are offering a range of pancake dishes across the group for all of February. At HIX Soho tuck into their field mushroom pancake with Berkswell cheese, a British take on the well-loved French recipe featuring a savoury buckwheat batter spread thinly creating a crisp pancake, topped with thin slices of seasonal mushrooms. Excellent stuff.

Where: 66-70 Brewer St, London W1F 9UP

3. For an Asian Pancake: Viet Grill and Cây Tre

Order: Banh Xèo pancake (£9)

The Lowdown: On Pancake Day, the team at Viet Grill and Cây Tre will be getting into the spirit of Shrove Tuesday and flipping some Vietnamese pancakes for one day only. Founder Hieu Bui has designed a ‘Banh Xèo’ pancake, a take on the traditional Vietnamese dish. A sizzling coconut and turmeric rice pancake will be filled to the brim with red sea prawns, pork belly, mung bean sprouts and Button mushroom, packing a fresh and flavoursome punch.

Where: Cây Tre Soho: 42-43 Dean Street , London, W1D 4PZ, Cây Tre Hoxton: 301 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LA, and Viet Grill: 58 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8DP  

4. For a Potato Pancake: Tom’s Kitchen 

Order: Potato pancake with fried duck egg, wild mushroom ragout and bacon crumbs (£9.50)

The Lowdown: Tom’s Kitchen is set to celebrate Shrove Tuesday with a selection of gourmet pancakes available for lunch and dinner on Pancake Day at all restaurants. Choose from the potato pancake with fried duck egg, wild mushroom ragout and bacon crumbs for starter, or the prawn and cheese pancake with buttered spinach and mustard sauce for main. For dessert, the Tom’s Kitchen chefs will be serving up blood orange pancakes with orange butter sauce and marmalade.

Where: Locations here 

5. For a Healthy Pancake: Bronte

Order: Edamame and kale savoury pancake (£14)

The Lowdown: Bronte, the design led restaurant on The Strand, have ditch the sweet pancakes for something a little different. The restaurant will be dishing up a delightful and scrumptious edamame and kale savoury pancake.  This savoury option is topped with smoked avocado ratatouille, sheep’s milk yoghurt and harissa, perfect for an early morning breakfast meeting pancake treat.

Where: The Grand Building, 1-3 Strand London, WC2N 5EJ

Savoury Pancakes: Brunch Crepes

6. For a Breakfast Pancake: Bellanger

Order: Ham, Gruyère cheese and fried eggs (£7.50)

The Lowdown: Inspired by the original Alsatian brasseries of Paris, Bellanger is a traditional French restaurant located on the edge of Islington Green. Oozing Parisian charm, this classic breakfast spot serves a variety of crêpes, all made with buckwheat flour. Veggie? Order the crêpe filled with field mushrooms, spinach, Gruyère cheese, and fried eggs. But the ham, Gruyère cheese and fried eggs is legendary, and must order for any Bellanger first-timer.

Where: 9 Islington Green, London N1 2XH

7. For a Buckwheat Pancake: Blanchette 

Order: Ham, cheese and egg (£7)

The Lowdown: Chef Director Tam Storrar will be whipping up fluffy crepes and galettes in classics flavours and with Blanchette twists. Both Blanchette Soho and Blanchette Brick Lane will be serving up specials all day from their bar counter crepe stations, to eat in or take away. Pancake fans will recognise the traditional Bayonne ham, cheese and egg which will feature on the menu alongside lamb, Comte cheese and baby spinach at Blanchette Soho, or Roquefort cheese and leek at Blanchette Brick Lane

Where: Blanchette Soho: 9 D’Arblay St, Soho, London W1F 8DR and Blanchette Brick Lane: 204 Brick Ln, London E1 6SA

8. For a Fishy Pancake: La Petite Bretagne

Order: Océane – smoked salmon, dill, crème fraiche and lemon (£9.95)

The Lowdown: La Petite Bretagne dish up French grub in Clapham and Hammersmith. The restaurant pride themselves on using the best ingredients available on the market to offer you real, authentic crepes and galettes (save yourself the air fare ticket to Paree). There’s a dedicated savoury pancake menu that gives all the sweet pancakes a run for their money. Try the L’Anglaise with stilton, apple, walnut and ham, or the AT team favourite, oceane with smoked salmon and creme fraiche. It’ll make your tastebuds dance with joy.

Where: Locations here 

9. For a Gluten-Free Pancake: Chez Lindsay

Order: Oeuf Jambon with egg and ham (£7)

The Lowdown: Chez Lindsay doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to galettes. The gang have banged out more galettes that you’ve had hot dinners. All of the galettes are cooked to order on a flat griddle, and they’re made from wonderful, nutty-tasting, organic buckwheat (gluten-free and packed with vitamins and minerals, don’t you know). The ham and egg galette is a classic, and a nod to simple, traditional Breton cooking.

Where: 11 Hill Rise, Richmond TW10 6UQ

10. For a Street Food Crepe: La Creperie de Hampstead

Order: Mushroom and cheese (£5.80)

The Lowdown: The best crepes in London come out of a van. What’s brilliant at La Creperie de Hampstead, and makes people come back, is that nothing changes here – they’ve done the same thing every day, with top ingredients, a perfect French technique and a little know-how, and the results are always spot on. Creamy garlic-y mushrooms in a crepe – tasting is believing.

Where: 77 Hampstead High St, London NW3 1RE

Photo Credit: Food Spotting 

Savoury Pancakes: Don’t Miss

11. For a Steak Pancake: Heliot Steak House

Order: Heliot’s Meat Mountain Stack (£14)

The Lowdown: To celebrate this year’s Pancake Day, the Head Chef at Heliot Steak House has created a sensational stack filled with top quality succulent meats layered bewteen light and fluffy pancakes. Heliot’s Meat Mountain Stack is made up of six American style pancakes, a 200g USDA prime rump steak, six rashers of streaky bacon, two Cumberland suasages, a fried duck egg and lashings of maple syrup.

Where: 14 Cranbourn St, London WC2H 7JH

12. For an Indian Pancake: Daawat

Order: Spicy lamb, black mustard seeds and Kashmiri chilli cinnamon (£6.95)

The Lowdown: Daawat at The Strand Palace will be offering a unique spicy pancake which has been influenced by the flavours of Kerala in Southern India for Shrove Tuesday. The spicy pancake is stuffed with a medley of Indian spices, including aromatic black mustard seeds with Kashmiri chilli cinnamon, and spicy lamb. The pancake will be available at The Strand Palace’s restaurants and cafes including Daawat Indian Restaurant, Sacred Café, and The Lounge Bar.

Where: 372 Strand, London WC2R 0JJ

 

13. For a French Pancake: L’Escargot 

Order: Wild mushroom and spinach (£8.50)

The Lowdown: L’Escargot will be serving a range of crepes all week (27th February – 3rd March) to help raise funds for one of the city’s most prominent and effective charities. With centres in London, Bradford and Sunderland, Centrepoint aim to give homeless young people a future and end youth homelessness. The special menu includes; wild mushroom and spinach; Asian duck; ham hock and Gruyère; and Nutella and caramelised banana if you’re after a sweet fix.

Where: 48 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4EF

14. For a Sri Lankan Pancake: Hoppers 

Order: Dosa (£4), chutneys (£1.50) and lamb kari (£7)

The Lowdown: The siblings behind Michelin-starred Gymkahana and Trishna, two of the restaurants that redefined Indian dining in London, launched a restaurant focusing on Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan street food called Hoppers, which opened in 2015. With Hoppers, the whole concept is a pancake – in this case made with rice flour batter, with soaked and ground rice and coconut milk. They get their classic bowl shape from being cooked in a special wok-like pans called appachattis.

Where: 49 Frith Street London W1D 4SG

Photo Credit: John Carey

15. For a Classic Pancake: Oslo 

Order: Smoked salmon and poached eggs (£8)

The Lowdown: Oslo in Hackney has created not one, not two, but three pancake specials for this special occasion. Serving both sweet pancakes with Nutella and strawberries and savoury pancakes with smoked salmon and poached eggs, all tastes are catered for. To help it all wash down, Oslo is offering a maple syrup cocktail that’s two for only £9 all day.

Where: 1A Amhurst Rd, London E8 1LL