Pancake Chef Restaurant

The service was a one. The food made it a 3. Very busy and had a long wait for a Sunday at 10am. The server was busy and took her a long time to come get our orders. We are easy going and work in the business and we are always understanding. Coffee, Diet Coke and an OJ took over 10 minutes to come to our table AFTER we ordered. The waitress wasn’t even the one to bring it. We waited a long time for our food too, but the pancakes were delicious, so it made it almost worth it. It’s hard when you have a hungry cranky child and tables that sat after you are getting their food and you are not.

Oh my! So good. Best cream of mushroom soup I have ever eaten. My husband said the same for the chicken noodle soup. Soup and salad were included in the dinner buffet. Kids loved their pancakes. They also have a full bar. Highly recommend.

Basic diner. Offers little or nothing for vegetarians for lunch or dinner. No dijon mustard. Prices are a little high for the quality. Servers are friendly and helpful.

Comfortable, cozy décor. Friendly and prompt service. The restaurant is located right in downtown and easy walking distance from many places.
The food is definitely marked up due to being a tourist area. You get some decent portions, but the quality is so-​so. I had the breakfast pastie, and the crust was hard at the edges, and chewy in the center.

Not to bad first time coming here had breakfast buffet. Not bad average. Good location and very friendly staff

I see some people said the buffet «could kill». I’m here to say that here at this establishment, they replaced the food as it got cold and dry. Very respectful and kind servers.

Outdated? A little. Kitschy? A bit. But the food was great! The dinner buffet had my kids, wife, and I very pleased. There was fried chicken, fried fish, pot roast, BBQ ribs, fried shrimp, chicken pot pie, and 3 kinds of potatoes. On addition the salad and soup bar were included. $ 16.95 for adults, 75¢ per year of their age.
Our waitress, Belourse, was the nicest person I met all dad. She put whipped cream and cocoa powder on their chocolate milk. They were thrilled.
The desserts looked great, but we were too full to partake.
I don’t believe very much of the food was out of a can or box. A gentleman (the owner?) was telling me how he makes the applesauce in his fancy new blender. They also served a full bar with beer, wine, or cocktails. After a full day on the island, this was a perfect fit.

I don’t write bad reviews, usually the business’s I patronize don’t falter this badly.
Both me and my partner have worked in the food business for years. Both as waiters and as cooks.
We sat down and never got serviced.
It was frustrating because we saw our waiter Donovan walk by, oblivious to us. I was starving so I told my partner if we didn’t get service in the next ten minutes, we’d leave.
We left and went to Audies.
I’m sad to say I can’t talk for the food, but if looks could kill that buffet would be on death row.
I’d appreciate a response here by management. There is absolutely no reason why anyone should be forced to wait for water, let alone to order. It seems like what other reviews I’ve now since read are true– if you don’t get the buffet, you will be forced to wait.
If you all at the Pancake Chef want to forgo the menu and stick to the buffet only, I think a lot of future patrons would appreciate it.
Just doesn’t seem like you all want anything other then that buffet to get ordered.
Like I said, we left before we got to try the food. A real bummer.

Have to say this place doesn’t look like much from the outside or the inside, but don’t let the looks fool you.
Had a very good dinner there tonight. Actually, had breakfast for dinner. Steak and eggs were fabulous. The entire family cleared their plates.
Prices were very reasonable for a touristy area like this. There was an employee sitting outside on the bench rambling on about the specials tonight. Glad he was there to talk us into it.

Stopped here for breakfast before we headed to the U.P. The place is very outdated. The servers and hosts were all very friendly. Food was below average but we made the best of it. I couldn’t help but take a picture of what I can only assume is some type of folk art that has been around since the place opened in 1964. Ty buffet was $ 9.99 for adults and $ 0.75 X age for children, which is a unique way of pricing kids buffet meals. Nothing special besides this funky star wars looking doll.

I have to seriously question the sanity of anyone who rates this restaurants higher than 2 stars. If your wish is to travel back in time to an era of tacky décor, useless garnish, and straight-​outta-​box/​can food, then I suppose this is where you’ll want to go. For my party of 5, we were hoping for a yummy pancake breakfast to end our trip up north. We were sorely disappointed.
Upon entering the restaurant, an older gentleman greeted us enthusiastically and exclaimed he had a GREAT spot for us… only to seat us by the kitchen door. Uh, ok.
About 2 minutes after being seated, a tray of juices was shoved in my face by my server as if he was a juice sommelier. No thanks, I don’t want your tray of warm juice.
We proceeded to order from the menu as the buffet looked questionable.
1−(2 orders) Kids chocolate chip pancakes: the only decent thing served, this the 2 star rating.
2-​Western skillet with over medium eggs: eggs were undercooked, hash was cold, and the cheese wasn’t melted. The pancakes came out 5 minutes later.
3-​Strawberry crepes: three words – Smuckers, strawberry, jam. No more words are needed to describe this atrocity.
4-​Pumpkin pancakes. I make them for my husband and so he decided to give them a shot. He said they were flavorless. They were the right color, just no pumpkin flavor.
We all left wondering why we had even stayed. I will say, it was hilarious to hear the same gentleman that seated us tell another customer that they had the best food in Mackinaw City and that other restaurants were coming in to ask them for recipes. *blank stare*

For a family that has a few gluten free members, this place was a great find. Originally, we thought this was just a breakfast/​pancake place… but they serve pretty much everything. They offer GF pancakes, toast, buns for sandwiches… it was great. And it is super kid friendly, which is nice with a three year old and baby. The décor reminds you of a restaurant your grandma would like and everyone in there was really nice. When we are back in the area we will stop by again!

We ate breakfast twice at Pancake Chef during a recent visit to Mackinaw City (and my brother and his family visited a third time – that’s saying a lot!)
Hands down, one of the servers… Mary, I think… was one of the best servers we’ve ever had anywhere. She was attentive and fun. She did little things like bring my husband two glasses of pop at once so that he wouldn’t be without a drink, bring me a to-​go cup for my coffee, and she checked in with us just enough (but not too much). The other server we had worked very hard for us too and was also good.
The food was good. One morning, I had a scramble, which came with pancakes and hash browns (and maybe sausage or bacon? I don’t remember.) It was a TON of food. The other morning I had the breakfast buffet. It was good, considering it’s a buffet (you know, the food sits out and sometimes gets stale or cold… that wasn’t the case here). They had a decent assortment of food on the buffet. I remember scrambled eggs, pancakes, bread pudding, French toast, hash browns, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, fruit cocktail, mini bagels, and cream cheese. I’m sure there were more options than that also.
The prices are a bit on the higher end, but the portions are huge, so you get what you pay for (whether you can eat it or not).
Also notable: my sister in law said the gluten free pancakes were one of the best gluten free items she’s ever had.

The hostess was probably the best part. She was very friendly and offered a lot of information. However, our waitress, not so much. She wasn’t friendly and when I asked what type of hot tea they had, she rudely said, «I don’t know. I can bring a box over and you can look at the flavors yourself.» When she did bring over the tea choices, the water wasn’t even hot.
Their menu is way over priced for what it is. Dinner buffet is $ 16.99 and not very big. I ended up getting a grilled ham and cheese for $ 11.00 and substituted the fries for a bowl of soup. Soup wasn’t as hot as I’d have liked but was tasty.
Probably wouldn’t eat here again. Quality isn’t good enough to justify the prices.

We came here for breakfast this morning and I was impressed at their menu. We staggered in after a long but fun day, and were ready to load up on food for another day of fun.
We noticed that they like to serve booze here all times of the day. I like this. Granted, I didn’t order anything, but the waitress not only offered us the usual of coffee and water, but Mimosa’s and a bloody Mary! I love it! I was tempted to get a mimosa, but I needed some serious coffee, so I stuck with that.
We both went with the breakfast buffet because it looked like it had a little bit of everything. There were regular eggs, southwestern eggs, pancakes, fruit, cereal and a bunch of other stuff. What I also liked about this place was that the servers were not kids. They were experienced waitstaff and seemed really warm and welcoming. This added to the positive demeanor of my experience.
Overall, we had a really good time here. The food was awesome, and we had a little bit of everything. Even if you don’t do the buffett (which is constantly stocked) you still have a fair amount of stuff to choose from off their menu. Overall, I really liked this place and would return again for breakfast in a heartbeat.

This is the best place I have been in Mackinaw City. The staff is friendly, the establishment is clean, and the service was very friendly.
The food was standard breakfast food. There were no substitutes for the meat, unfortunately. But there were gluten free options.

Pancake Chef has been around since the early ’60’s and you can tell by one look at the interior.
Still, it’s a nice little family-​style eatery that serves probably the best breakfast in town. You get more bang for your buck at Pancake Chef than some of the other more «touristy» types of restaurants in the area.
I love their omelets, fluffy and cheesy, just the way I like them. Apart from omelets and eggs in general, they serve up excellent pancakes and the best hash browns. This is a preferred destination for both me and the hubby when we come into town. In fact, he jokes that he wants to make a day trip up here sometime just to eat at Pancake Chef and then go home since they are open year-​round!
As for lunch and dinner, their sandwiches and pasta dishes are pretty decent as well. If you can look past the dated interior, which feels a bit like a time warp, then just enjoy what is arguably the best breakfast place in Mackinaw City.

Pancake Chef has been there since before I was born, and it certainly feels like it. It has that quaint ‘60s interior that I think is very likely original. Given the limited breakfast options in the area, this may be one of the reasons the Pancake Chef has been open since 1964.
But getting away from the time travel jokes, the food IS actually good. I had no complaints about about the food. I would happily come back here if I was in the area.

stopped by on a trip up north, this seemed like a decent choice.
Their menu is super overpriced for tourists ($ 9 – 15) for diner entrees, although if you’re around mackinaw, you are probably used to this. Wide variety, however, and a huge dining room.
We got the breakfast buffet for 11 dollars, which was about what you’d get at a big boy. salad bar was included, which was nice. Service was ok, considering how empty the restaurant was (monday morning).
I don’t think I would go back.

We had breakfast there and it seemed pretty good to us.
Now I did take away one star because the oatmeal was super sticky — like it was placed in the microwave for a while and then served.
The breakfast bar was overpriced for adults ($ 10.99). It was $.50 /​year of the kid (i.e. if your kid is 3, the bar is $ 1.50). That seemed like a great deal.
Overall, I would go back if I needed a quicky breakfast. Note: the bacon was bad — who screws up bacon?