The best pancake houses in London for Shrove Tuesday
Thin or thick, sweet or savoury: however you like them, these are the best London restaurants flipping pancakes on Shrove Tuesday
Pancake Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, marks the last day of feasting before lent begins. The Christian celebration shifts every year according to where Easter falls in the calendar and is traditionally celebrated with pancakes as a way of using up cupboard ingredients that may prove tempting during a time of abstinence.
Don’t fancy flipping them yourself? As we hungrily await Shrove Tuesday on 17 February 2026, we’ve been on the hunt for the best pancakes in London. To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve found a number of classic pancake menus (think fluffy stacks with rich sauces, fresh fruit and smooth ice creams), as well as some non-traditional options in case you fancy going a little avant-garde with your pancakes this year. What could be batter?
The Ned, Bank
The Ned will be celebrating Pancake Day at its Malibu Kitchen from 17-21 February. Pick from lemon meringue pie pancakes, coffee, chocolate and caramel stacks, tres leches, ricotta with tomato jam and spinach, or for a savoury option, parmesan and bacon jam pancakes. Open from 7am daily for breakfast and lunch, pair yours with the purple-hued ube, maple or blue matcha lattes.
27 Poultry, EC2R 8AJ, visit thened.com
Café Royal Grill, Regent Street
Café Royal Grill will be marking the start of Lent with a menu of three distinctive creations on Shrove Tuesday. Pancake lovers can indulge in a three-course menu that starts with a crisp potato pancake topped with smoked salmon, crème fraîche and chives, followed by a main course of baked buckwheat pancakes served with decadent lobster and tarragon. Pancake Day isn’t Pancake Day without a touch of sugar, and to conclude the experience, Café Royal Grill will serve a French classic: Crêpe Suzette, finished tableside with blood oranges and Grand Marnier. Available for lunch and dinner on 17 February, each dish can also be ordered to enjoy separately alongside the a la carte.
68 Regent Street, W1B 4DY, visit hotelcaferoyal.com
Granger and Co, across London
Bill Granger’s tasty brunch dishes are loved the world over, finding fans first in Australia, where he opened his first restaurant, Bill’s, and then later in London when he moved into Notting Hill’s Westbourne Grove with the debut Granger and Co outpost. Serving an informal menu of breakfast and all-day dishes in Chelsea, King’s Cross and Marylebone, a signature dish that will come into its own on Shrove Tuesday is the ricotta hotcakes. Available all day, don’t miss out on these incredibly light and fluffy hotcakes, which are made with fresh ricotta and folded egg whites to create a tender, custard-like texture and topped with honeycomb butter and fresh banana.
Visit grangerandco.com
Chet’s, Shepherd’s Bush
Images: James Moyle
Chet’s, the Thai-American diner at The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush is celebrating Pancake Day with a playful twist on classic flavours and global influences. Fluffy American pancakes will be topped with Madagascan vanilla chantilly, fresh berries, caramelised banana, berry compote, maple syrup and a shower of sprinkles for the ultimate sweet treat. Those who prefer savoury can expect a kick from sunny side up eggs, crispy bacon, som tum-infused maple syrup, pickled Thai chillies, spring onion and sesame seeds for a balanced bite of sweet, salty and spicy.
65 Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8QE, visit thehoxton.com
The Wolseley, Piccadilly and The City
The Wolseley is something of a breakfast institution in London. Enter both its Piccadilly outpost, next to The Ritz, and its newer restaurant in The City from 7-11am during the week and you'll discover a hive of activity as breakfast meetings and suited-and-booted clients fill its tables. Pancake Day will likely be no different, with both restaurants offering American-style stacks for breakfast, as well as crêpes with either chocolate or lemon, and the traditional crêpes Suzette with orange segments, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream, all day long.
Visit thewolseley.com
Polo Bar, Bishopsgate
Polo Bar – the 24-hour classic caff in The City – is going all in on Pancake Day, serving its award-winning fluffy stacks all day and all night. It’s one of the biggest dates in Polo Bar’s calendar, with more than 15,000 pancakes flipped every Shrove Tuesday. The menu features a line-up of indulgent limited-edition specials, ranging from the Spicy Full English – three fluffy pancakes piled with streaky bacon, hash browns, Cumberland sausage, cheese and a fried egg, finished with a drizzle of cult-favourite Laoganma crispy chilli oil – and the Chocolate Lava: a soft stack topped with molten chocolate sponge, fresh cream, strawberries and generous lashings of hot chocolate sauce.
Back by popular demand, the steaming Sticky Toffee Pudding pancakes are finished with vanilla ice cream and rich toffee sauce. To sweeten things further, one lucky pancake lover will be in with the chance of winning free pancakes for a year when they enter Pancake Tower Challenge; take on 12 fluffy pancakes with toppings like seasonal berries, cookies and cream, or banoffee and Biscoff and see if you can complete the challenge.
176 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NQ, visit polobar.co.uk
Christopher’s, Covent Garden
Christopher’s, the celebrated American restaurant in Covent Garden, has created a decadent pancake menu especially for Shrove Tuesday, which will be available from 16-20 February. The menu will feature sweet and savoury stacks inspired by the restaurant's signature viral dishes, such as the chocolate French toast and the best-selling apple crumble, which guests can pair with the dessert-inspired cocktails.
Don’t miss the matcha soft serve pancakes – light, airy ricotta soufflé stacks served with matcha soft scoop ice cream and oven-glazed raspberries – and the truffle pancakes, featuring king oyster mushroom and sweetcorn batter with truffle, whipped parmesan cream and sweet potato crisps, with the option to add blackened shrimp. To complement the menu, order a Biscoff martini or the non-alcoholic No-spresso martini: an espresso-based treat with cream and vanilla in a cacao-rimmed glass.
18 Wellington Street, WC2E 7DD, visit christophersgrill.com
The Delaunay, Covent Garden
Inspired by the grand cafés of Europe, The Delaunay's majestic 1930s-inspired interiors are a sight to behold. A popular choice for the pre-theatre crowd given its proximity to Theatreland, it would be remiss not to try the breakfast menu which features every egg dish under the sun and the signature Gröstl: paprika fried potatoes and onions with spinach and a fried egg. On 17 February, however, the restaurant will be serving its fluffy pancakes all day with lashings of maple syrup, bacon, mixed berry compote or crème fraîche. The choice is yours...
55 Aldwych, WC2B 4BB, visit thedelaunay.com
Franco’s, St James’s
Beloved Italian restaurant Franco’s, a veritable dining institution in St James's, will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday with a special limited-edition crêpe available for one day only. Filled with blood orange, ricotta and olive oil ice cream, expect a refined, Italian-inspired take on the traditional pancake. Perfect for those who like their sweet treats with a side of sophistication.
61 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX, visit francoslondon.com
Twenty8 NoMad, Covent Garden
Known for its standout breakfasts, Twenty8 NoMad is a bold, New York City-inspired bistro located in NoMad London's lush palm-filled dining room. To celebrate Pancake Day, guests can enjoy a stack of lemon poppy pancakes, topped with blueberries and whipped ricotta, for either breakfast or brunch exclusively on 17 February.
28 Bow Street, WC2E 7AW, visit hilton.com
Fischer’s, Marylebone
Fischer’s, Marylebone’s quaint neighbourhood restaurant inspired by the grand cafés of Vienna, is inviting guests to enjoy pancakes all week long from 16-22 February. The restaurant will be serving up crêpes with a series of toppings to choose from, including fresh strawberries, banana, and sliced orange, and sweeter options such as chocolate sauce and butterscotch.
50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN, visit fischers.co.uk
Mildreds, across London
Vegan restaurant Mildreds, which boasts outposts in Soho, Canary Wharf, Borough, Camden and more, will be cooking up a variety of pancake stacks throughout the week. Pick from a choice of two buttermilk pancake toppings – forest berry compote and vanilla cream, or banana Biscoff caramel with hazelnut praline – and indulge in the option to add ice cream, extra maple syrup, or even an extra stack.
Visit mildreds.com
Where The Pancakes Are, London Bridge and Battersea
Having started out as a pop-up on Regents Canal in 2015, Where The Pancakes Are has since taken the capital by storm. The pioneering pancake purveyor is celebrating Shrove Tuesday with a limited-edition menu which will flip Britain’s most classic combination into a pancake stack, with the rhubarb and custard piled high with meringue, pistachio and vanilla and finished with rhubarb expertly ripened by Myatts of Mockbeggar in Kent.
The menu, unsurprisingly, doesn't stop there. The day will be stacked full of fermented buttermilk favourites, such as the simply served signature with a choice of maple syrup and butter or lemon and sugar. Other options include the Recovery, served with almond butter, banana, apricot-almond granola and Canadian maple syrup, and the English Breakfast: streaky bacon, breakfast sausage, fried egg, roast tomatoes, slow cooked beans and maple syrup.
Visit wherethepancakesare.com
Crêpeaffaire at The Hippodrome, Leicester Square
Crêpeaffaire at The Hippodrome will be showcasing what it does best on 17 February: thin sweet and savoury hand-crafted crêpes with mixologist-worthy, bar-strength cocktails on tap. Crêpes include Love You Lotus, topped with Biscoff spread, the Whole Shebang, with bananas, strawberries, whipped cream and ice cream, and Oreo Cookie, alongside savoury options of Wiltshire ham and cheddar and smoked salmon and cream cheese. Made with organic flour and natural ingredients, Crêpeaffaire offers vegan and gluten-free options, too.
Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7JH, visit crepeaffaire.com
