Five of the Best: the Gold Coast’s best pancake places to mark an ancient pancake celebration
Did you know yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, a day celebrating feasting on pancakes? Mark the holy tradition by checking out our top five pancake places.
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It was Shrove Tuesday this week, the day when the pious whipped their remaining goodies into rich pancakes as a last hurrah before Lenten fasting. Denise Raward has found the best places to mark the tradition.
Crepe Addict
Paradise Centre, 2 Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise
For real French pancakes cooked and served by real French people, Crepe Addict is happy to bid you bienvenue today.
It goes without saying its pancakes — and crepes — are cooked the customary French way. “The batter is our recipe,” co-owner Amel Braham says. “The pancakes are very light and fluffy. We serve them with fresh whipped cream, ice cream and maple syrup and with strawberries and banana.”
For the gluten-free, there are traditional Bretonese buckwheat pancakes and crepes, with sweet or savoury fillings.
Amel and her partner Pascal Bobet have been doing their thing in the Paradise Centre for four and a half years and you know it’s a good sign when the place is on the ‘must visit’ list of French tourists.
“We get many French people who come to eat here and also a lot of locals who keep coming back,” Amel says.
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Pancakes on the Rocks
Shop T1.31/4 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise
After 45 years of serving pancakes, you can’t go too far wrong here — except if you’re indecisive.
The array of pancake alternatives is dazzling, but general manager Nelson Tromp tips the two bestsellers will continue their long run of appeal today.
The Devils Delight features decadent chocolate pancakes, strawberries, cream, ice cream and chocolate sauce while the Apple Crumble is served with marinated apple, ice cream, cream and topped with homemade crumble.
“Our simple stacks with whipped butter or ice cream are also very popular, particularly on Shrove Tuesday,” Nelson says. “You can have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.”
An interesting aside: the Pancakes franchise has been surveying its 25,000 customers a week to learn more about their favourite pancake toppings. Not surprisingly, chocolate was at the top of the list, followed by the unexpected runner up of cinnamon then peanut butter, then apple.
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Cardamom Pod
3/3 Brolga Avenue, Southport
To indulge your pancake lust without the guilt, Cardamom Pod offers some wholesome, nutrient packed alternatives.
Chef Vijay Burramukku says the Numtella Pumpkin Protein Pancakes batter is made with butternut pumpkin and flavoured with ginger jam and secret spices.
They’re dairy-free too, made on soy milk. They come doused in healthy homemade Nutella style sauce with berries, espresso crème and freshly ground coffee bean choc crumble.
“They are very good and very popular,” Vijay says.
For a gluten-free alternative, there’s the banana and walnut pancakes — the batter is made with buckwheat, almond meal and almond milk.
“They come with banana and walnut topped with date and almond butter caramel sauce, fresh blueberries, crushed macarons and our lemon cashew cream made with cashews, coconut oil, turmeric, vanilla paste and lemon oil. It’s really good.”
Be early — the pancakes are on the breakfast menu available until 11.25am.
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Pancakes in Paradise
Surf City Church Complex, 3046 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise
If you like a challenge, the all-you-can-eat pancakes deal for $9.99 has your name on it.
The staff will kick you off with a stack of four, served with maple syrup and whipped butter, and for an hour, you can indulge to your tummy’s content.
Owner Glen Day says the in-store record is 19 pancakes held by an unlikely contender, a young Japanese girl.
“It looked like she’d eaten a stack almost as big as she was,” he says.
Her picture is on the record board and, if you think, you might be able to do a bit better, there’s a $50 in-store voucher to be had.
The Surfers Paradise store is something of an institution with Japanese tourists who, Glen says, love posting pictures of their visits and meals on social media.
“It’s a funny thing why we are so popular in Japan but we love serving them,” he says.
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Pancake Diner
Level 1, The Strand Shopping Centre, Coolangatta
The southern sister store to Pancakes in Paradise also knows its way around producing a good pancake.
Owner Glen Day says the secret is in a thick, quality grill plate able to hold its heat and cook pancakes evenly.
Using a tried and tested American style buttermilk recipe, Glen says you just drop the batter onto the plate and let the magic happen.
The family-run business has been serving pancakes since 1991 and hasn’t messed too much with its formula since then.
You’ll find the a vast selection of gourmet pancakes including more lavish indulgences such as the sticky date pancakes with real dates, sticky date sauce, cream and ice cream, and black forest chocolate pancakes with fresh strawberries, blueberries, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream, topped with chocolate fudge and chocolate chunk sprinkles.
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