Pancake Original Story

Photographed and Written by Terri Walton 


I can’t think of a more delicious way to escape the cold winter chill than brunch and you can do so at Pancake Original Story. They have excellent versions of brunch classics such as pancakes, homemade sausage patties and waffles. Other items, like the omelettes, pale in comparison to these gems but are still decent.

Pancake Original Story is a Hannam-dong staple. As I entered the tiny restaurant I could smell the reason why. The sweet scent of pancakes hung in the air. I looked around. The restaurant was full, so my party and I decided to brave the cold—instead of escape it—on the patio. Some details I admired while waiting for my food were tire wheel lights, mix and match wooden chairs and shelves of colourful beverages. The urban rustic motif matched the made from scratch meals Pancake Original Story served up.  On the patio our coffees, which came out promptly, kept us warm.  Steam rose off the tumbler of heated milk given for them. This attention to detail was something I liked about the staff at Pancake Original Story. All these elements created a cozy atmosphere at this quirky nook of a restaurant.

Pancake Original Story

The menu offers a wide variety of pancake flavours and other ala carte selections like Eggs Benedict and French toast. On weekends the brunch combos provide the best value. They range from 12-14,000won and come with a choice of home-fried potatoes or salad.  My friend ordered The Carnavasary, the standard breakfast fare shines here:  two eggs, a sausage link, bacon strips and a homemade sausage patty with two large pancakes.

On my first visit to Pancake Original Story I tried the Uncle Tom’s (Ros Coe’s) plate, which is the star of these combos. It comes with two eggs, white sausage link, bacon strips, sausage patty and delectably smoked chicken.  Don’t be shy to use your hands to eat this tender and juicy piece of meat.  After I wiped my hands clean I still had waffles to enjoy. They tasted extra scrumptious with loads of Canadian maple syrup!  I chose the salad instead of potatoes as my side. It was a good choice as the lettuce leaves were crisp, in refreshing contrast to the heavier items on the plate. On the patio, my partner enjoyed this combo and devoured the chicken.

 On this visit, I tried the Puffy Colorado Omelette combo. It was a decent effort but the omelette wasn’t folded properly. While I was promised delicious fillings like sausage and blue cheese their appearance throughout was inconsistent at best.  It wasn’t the worst omelette but definitely a disappointment. However, all the other elements were fantastic especially the dollar size pancake. It had a rich buttermilk flavour. The homemade sausage patty seasoned with freshly grown rosemary (the bush is outside on the patio) was tasty.  All in all if you stick with the classics you can’t go wrong here.

Although the food is delicious there are some drawbacks to Pancake Original Story. Coffee isn’t included with the brunch combos, so expect to pay an additional 4-5,000won if you need java to ease you into your day. Also expect to wait during peak hours on the weekends as the restaurant has six tables, but Pancake Original Story is well worth the wait.

Pancake Original Story is located at 261-6 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
02-794-0508

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