On Shrove Tuesday, look beyond the classic lemon and sugar and try some of London’s most indulgent pancake specials.
Shoreditch café-bar The Book Club has turned one of London’s favourite cocktails – the Espresso Martini – into a suitably boozy stack of pancakes. The American-style pancakes are sandwiched with Kahlua cream, drizzled with a rich chocolate, espresso and vodka sauce, and then topped with more cream and chocolate coffee beans. They’re available from 9am until 10pm, alongside an Japanese-inspired savoury option topped with crispy katsu chicken, bonito flakes, pickled ginger, seaweed, Japanese mayo and okonomiyaki sauce.
Pancake Day is the perfect time to try Thomas’s, the all-day café at Burberry on Regent Street that’s a treat for foodies as well as fashionistas. There are four delicious savoury options to choose from, including Sutton Hoo chicken with truffled mayo and Secret Smokehouse salmon with crème fraiche, caviar, dill and spring onions. If you’ve got room for dessert, the poached rhubarb and honey cream combo sounds too good to resist.
POLO Bar has teamed up with British ice-cream brand Jude’s to create three decadent specials. Get your greediest pals together and demolish a stack of red velvet pancakes topped with Jude’s Cherry Ripple ice-cream, glacé cherries, vanilla cream, and a probably unnecessary but delicious slice of red velvet cake. If you fancy something fruity, there’s an apple crumble and custard option, and a tropical stack made with fresh fruit and mango-passion fruit frozen yoghurt. POLO Bar is open 24 hours a day – perfect if you fancy pancakes for breakfast or for a midnight feast.
Until 18th February, Foxlow are serving pancakes at Soho and Balham through the week and on weekends at Clerkenwell and Chiswick. You can keep it classic with lemon and sugar; go savoury with mushrooms, bacon dust, and a fried egg; or go all out with the Elvis – a ricotta pancake topped with peanut butter, maple glazed bacon and roasted banana. They’re donating the money from Shrove Tuesday pancakes sales to the Magic Breakfast charity – good food, great cause. Get involved!
When it comes to indulgence, Christopher’s never fails to impress. They’ve gone all out this year with a special of grilled lobster, sea kale and chorizo served on a purple and sweet potato pancake. There’s a vegan pancake trio for your meat-free mates, French toast pancakes for those with a sweet tooth, and a build-your-own option if you feel like getting creative. Choose from toppings like maple-cured bacon, blueberry compote, and honeycomb ice-cream to create your own bespoke stack.
Over in Chelsea, Bluebird are celebrating with sweet and savoury options available all week long in the café, plus a pancake decorating contest for kids on Shrove Tuesday. There’s a healthy-ish pancake topped with smashed avocado, roasted peppers and green tomato salsa, but we’ve got our eye on the ultra-indulgent breakfast pancake served with bacon, brown sauce, and a fried egg.
If you book for weekend brunch in the restaurant, you could tackle their monster stack of six pancakes sandwiched with caramelised banana, hazelnut praline, toasted marshmallow and Valrhona chocolate sauce. Come hungry, or maybe bring a friend to share it with!
Move aside waffles, it’s time to try chicken and pancakes! Giving Pancake Day a Southern twist, Joe’s will be serving fluffy American-style pancakes with sweet tea-brined fried chicken and bourbon-infused maple syrup. Take a mate along and share a pot of their Louisiana Ice Tea, spiked with Jim Beam Rye and peach liqueur.
If you can’t face another flippin’ pancake, how about a pancake cocktail instead? At the ultra-glam Long Bar in Fitzrovia, you can celebrate Shrove Tuesday with a blend of homemade pancake and blueberry Mustika liqueur, lemon, and maple syrup, topped with cream. Spoiler alert: It tastes just like blueberry pancakes – you’re going to want more than one.
Still hungry? There are bottomless pancakes at Boondocks; a pancake pop-up in a ski lodge; and pancake races all over London. Are you flipping at home this year or heading out for a pancake party? Let us know in the comments.
