Olney Pancake Parlour

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#12 of 28 Restaurants in OlneyCafe, British, ££ - £££

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Olney Pancake Parlour

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+44 1234 713152Improve this listing

About

Olney Pancake Parlour (home of the world first pancake race in 1445) serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. As well as delicious homemade sweet and savoury pancakes with fillings that will tantalise anyone's taste buds ;) So if you are looking for a warm and friendly family feel environment with great food and freshly ground coffee then OPP is the place for you! PS we also have amazing milkshakes and a variety of cakes for you to enjoy. If you are looking for an extra special treat we also have our very popular pancake afternoon tea, perfect for any occasion.

Features

CUISINES

Cafe, British, Contemporary

Meal types

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Drinks

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

American Express

Cash Only

Digital Payments

Family style

Free Wifi

Gift Cards Available

Highchairs Available

Mastercard

Non-smoking restaurants

Outdoor Seating

Reservations

Seating

Street Parking

Takeout

Visa

Location

24-25 Market Place on Market Place, Olney MK46 4BA England

Street Parking

Does this restaurant have tables with seating?

Yes

Unsure

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Closed now

• Opens at 8:30 AM

Sunday

8:30 - 17:00

Monday

8:30 - 15:00

Tuesday

8:30 - 15:00

Wednesday

8:30 - 15:00

Thursday

8:30 - 17:00

Friday

8:30 - 17:00

Saturday

8:30 - 17:00

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4.0

305 reviews

Excellent

151

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Emily H

4 contributions

We could stay here all day... and sometimes we do!

Mar 2024 • couples

This is a regular visit for us, and always find the staff welcoming and helpful, the atmosphere lively and friendly, and most importantly the food always fresh and so tasty. I have a nut allergy and they always remember when I go to order a sweet treat. They even remember we like a window seat!

Written 16 March 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Skodafan2007

Newmarket15 contributions

Great family memories

Aug 2024 • family

We wanted lunch to be a family experience to be remembered with our daughter and granddaughters. Promptly guided to a suitable table for five and quick return of waitress to take drinks orders. As the drinks arrived we ordered the food, mainly including pancakes, which arrived in a reasonable time. ( After all they ARE cooked fresh ) . Everything was tasty and hot. Very pleasant service by both waitresses. Clean tables and tidy restaurant. After such a pleasant experience I was surprised to read recent negative reviews so I want to redress the balance. We had a great experience. Thanks. IF a member of staff said "well, we are busy" that is not acceptable, just have sufficient staff for busy times or tell customers you're full. I'd rather be turned away than have poor service "because you're busy".

Written 29 August 2024

lincolnhatter

Lincoln806 contributions

Tasty but pricey

Oct 2022 • none

Home of the Pancake Race, where else would you eat on a day trip to Olney? Booked in for lunch by a friendly member of staff to make sure we got a table, needn't have bothered as there was plenty of room at lunch time. Ordered a ham and cheese pancake and Mrs C went for a pumpkin soup, she thought the soup was delicious, and I enjoyed my pancake, problem was, it just wasn't enough, still hungry afterwards, I thought for 8.75 it was not particularly good value. Nice coffee though. Our server seemed a bit distracted when we spoke to her

Written 2 November 2022

Very disappointed customer

Northampton33 contributions

Absolutely awful

May 2024 • family

Absolutely awful experience here. Service was terrible, 45 minutes to take our order. Another 45 minutes to bring our food which was cold and congealed so indigestible . We returned the food expecting freshly cooked replacements. Instead, after 10 minutes, our original food was returned to us a little warm but not cooked. We were very disappointed by the Olney Pancake Parlour and do not recommend it. We went across the road for food , yes the Pancake Parlour Olney was that awful.

Written 27 June 2024

Catherine W

1 contribution

Awful afternoon tea on mother's day

Mar 2024 • family

Booked afternoon tea from a specific menu, turned up and it was completely different with no fresh pancakes which is why we drove half an hour to come on mother's day for it. Included some plain sandwiches which were very boring. I had been before and had lovely afternoon tea with large savoury crepes, which is why I rebooked, but this was awful. Complained and they did try to offer one pancake (between 3) as an apology but then when we got the bill they tried to charge us for everything separately (plus the 'apology' pancake) and didn't take off the deposit we paid. Then they took off some of the deposit we paid, but not the correct amount. Resulted in most of the time there complaining, which ruined the whole experience. We had promised our daughter pancakes and she didn't understand why we didn't get them. Would have rather just gone for the normal menu which would have been a lot cheaper if we had known what the altered afternoon tea menu was. Will not be returning sadly, very disappointed.

Written 10 March 2024

Molly B

1 contribution

Not worth it

Jul 2024 • family

We waited almost 40 minutes for someone to come and take our order. My partner went to go and order and they told him this was not possible and to go and sit back down. 10 minutes later a family arrived and when the waiter eventually came over and went to take their order he said “oh I ordered when I got coffee when we came in” but as he was a regular these customers clearly get priority treatment. We were sat by a window, it was cold, blowing a gale (napkins going everywhere) and starting to rain. We asked twice for it to be shut and to be told “we will get someone to do it” lies. We ordered a breakfast each and then pancakes. We asked for the pancakes to come out after as we didn’t want them to be cold (common sense right??) nope all the food came out together and when questioning the waitress her response was “we can go and leave it in the kitchen until you’re done” when pointing out they would be stone cold we got an “oh” before she walked off. I have been coming here since it very first opened and I am so disappointed with how much it’s changed. Not worth the money anymore when the service is abysmal

Written 27 July 2024

Tom B

Hello MollyB We're disappointed in reading this and wasn't aware or would even think it would take 40mins to take an order? We'd appreciate if you could email us some more details to info@olneypancakeparlour.co.uk so I can investigate with the team. Thanks Tom

Written 28 July 2024

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Angie

6 contributions

Daylight Robbery & Atrocious Service!

Sept 2023 • family

We arrived, family of 3, we were seated swiftly by a very pleasant gentleman and then it all went downhill. Waited at least 20 minutes for our order to be taken, gave up and went to the desk to order only to be greeted by a waitress saying “I will be over to take your order in a few minutes”. Shocked that she wouldn’t take my order at the desk I went and sat back down. We would have left if it was not for the fact we had promised our daughter pancakes as a last treat before school. The waitress finally came over, saw another table waiting for their order to be taken and said ‘I’m not sure who was first?’, thankfully the other table kindly said it was us, so she took our order first - not that it made any difference, will explain below, (2 sparkling waters with lemon slice, lemon & sugar pancake with cream, cinnamon sugar pancake with cream, and naughty notella with cream). Drinks arrived, unopened and glasses had no lemon which we specifically asked for and no ice. Now to make a situation even worse the other table received their food first! The waitress simply said ours was coming, there must have been a mix up in the kitchen….. A further 5 minutes later and 2 out of the 3 pancakes arrived, except we had no cutlery so we just got to sit and admire it & imagine what it tasted like. The waitress then brought cutlery over and brought the 3rd pancake out which had ice cream instead of cream so had to send it back - on the plus side it came back with a double helping of cream which made our daughter’s eyes pop out on stalks. (That gave them 1 star). On another plus side, hence the extra 1 star, the pancakes were hot and tasty & our daughter kept saying how yummy the naughty notella was. HOWEVER, for the portion size, (3 thin pancakes each), the price was extortionate! 3 pancakes & 2 sparkling waters for £25.50 for poor service & rude staff. This was our first visit and needless to say also our last! Highly do NOT recommend visiting Olney Pancake Parlour unless you have time to waste and very deep pockets!

Written 3 September 2023

Tracey M

1 contribution

Not a great experience/ very poor

Jul 2023 • couples

Went in with my partner and we waited almost 1 hour for pancakes? 1 hour! I’m not sure why it took so long to have a simple pancake made and when it came out it was expensive for what it was! Just was not worth it. Further more staff were more busy talking about nights out they have had or nights out they are planning to have than actually looking after customers who are waiting for their food. Poor service all round, crammed in and not great food. Not sure why they seat more people than they can serve and furthermore priorities should be set right as talking about personal nights out rather than looking after customers should never happen. I usually don’t complain and wouldn’t but I had to write this review as just felt all round experience was so poor including the food, sorry to say we will not be returning.

Written 9 July 2023

mcurtis1

Wellingborough1 contribution

Unpleasant experience

Feb 2023 • family

On the 1/2/23 I paid Olney pancake parlour a visit with my youngest son, (age 9). This was meant to be a pleasant experience reminiscing of when I took my son as a little baby and having spent meany years enjoying the cafe with friends. This was very short lived. On entering Olney Pancake parlour a woman with a South African accent greeted me with a very disgruntled approach saying that the parlour was not serving any hot food anymore, then going straight on to say that the parlour shuts at 3 o’clock precisely! She then said “sit over there I’ll bring your drink over”. Startled and rather taken back on her rudeness with not even being treated with a formal greeting of, “hello” or “how are you today”, I was rather shocked. After paying for a very expensive small cup of hot chocolate and a piece of cake, (£8.00), I advised to tell the lady politely, “your not quite a people’s person are you”!! I felt the need to say this as I work in sales and don’t think I would feel very happy knowing I’d left a customer feeling as bad as I felt with this woman’s cold customer approach. I didn’t even want to sit there having my drink. Giving this review is imperative to the local community, reason being, 1. The lady is a dreadful example of the buisness (Olney pancake parlour), 2. She is leaving customers feeling uncomfortable and not ever wanting to return. 3. My review is being forwarded to many a clientele now knowing the tragic experience and now not wanting to ever visit. 4. The cafe will loose customers. 5. Give the local friendly area a bad name. I will on future days to Olney MK go to the Costa Coffee shop or Brassiere just around the corner, they have much friendlier customer service. Customer rating for this place, a zero! 😞 #AWFUL

Written 1 February 2023

dilovestravel65

Milton Keynes18 contributions

Memorable American Style Pancakes!

Jun 2024 • couples

I love this place, the food never disappoints! This is my 4th visit. My husband and I stopped by for a late lunch. I chose the American pancake breakfast and a Chai Latte, honestly the chai latte was so good, yum! Could easily have sunk another cup. My pancakes, 3 American style together with Olney sausage, 2 bacon, poached egg and maple syrup was one of the best meals I've ever had, totally delicious 😋 My husband chose a tuna baguette which wasn't a baguette at all rather a triangle panini type bread but I did ask beforehand and this is how it was described. He enjoyed it, very tasty was his verdict, together with a strawberry milkshake topped with cream and a pancake parlour mini waffle, nice touch! Service was speedy, we sat outside in the sunshine - perfect 👌 I picked up a loyalty card today, 1 stamp for each drink purchased, worth keeping in my purse.

Written 8 June 2024

tw0h00ts

London86 contributions

Disappointing

Nov 2023 • couples

Having been a regular here for about 10 years, we have tried the cafe several times since change of management. It’s been ‘okay’. As it’s a regular haunt for us, have tried to remain positive. This last visit was poor. The table was not clean. A request I made on my online booking seemed to have not been passed on (you can leave requests the booking form, so, benefit of the doubt, perhaps my request didn’t come through? ). No apology made. My Cooked breakfast was almost cold, though my partners was fine. My breakfast was almost inedible and I left much of it. If we had more time I would have sent it back. No one asked if the food was okay, not even when paying, and again, a lukewarm transaction at the till with staff chatting to people they know, rather than interacting with my partner whilst paying. Such a shame. In addition, there seems to be much more emphasis on dogs. Today it felt more like a dog cafe. Like another reviewer on here, we both felt the place has become quite cliquey. Time to find another venue. A great pity as it’s been part of our lives for a very long time.

Written 24 November 2023

Al J

1 contribution

Rather stay home

Nov 2023 • family

What was supposed to be a pleasent outing to Olney quickly deteriorated upon entering the Pancake Parlour. All around poor service, a mini milkshake for my child which came in a small plastic cup half filled with frothy milk and a teaspoon of Nesquik, devoid of any ice cream led to a sense of dread fearing what was to come. A frazzled 3x3 inch Belgian waffle with 4 chicken dippers thrown on top for more than £10 was nothing to be sniffed at, although I would rather have had a chicken bake from Greggs whos quality would have point this joints to shame. Alas they staff are unfazed, or couldn't be bothered. Neither could I actually, and we won't be back. Rather go across the road to Costa which blows this wreck out the water

Written 20 November 2023

Jessica H

1 contribution

Unfortunate experience while shifting to new management!

May 2023 • family

I think it is under new management so maybe I will give them the benefit of the doubt while changes are made but our experience today was not really up to scratch unfortunately! I don’t like complaining but starting with the facilities, there was a ladder left on the floor behind our booth, the booths are tiny (barely room to swing a pancake let alone a cat!) I was touching knees with my mum opposite me, the high chair we were given was dirty and broken and sadly it just got worse from there! The service was VERY slow, we actually wondered a few times if we’d been forgotten, there were 2 things advertised on the menu and the signage on the wall that we asked for that it turned out weren’t actually being offered (sharing platter and loaded milkshakes) and items (one pancake and one drink) were forgotten from our order. It was clear to us after we’d nearly finished our pancakes that one member of our party had been forgotten and when we asked where it was a rushed reply resulted in a stack of strawberry pancakes being hurried out to us that had clearly been slapped together last minute! What a shame, unfortunately I won’t be going back anytime soon as I’ve been put off now! Somewhere I’ve wanted to try for ages. On a positive note to end, the pancakes were delicious when we finally got them!

Written 31 May 2023

Jennifer Donaldson

Hello Jessica I'm sorry to read that your experience wasn’t 100% what you expected and this isn't the standard we want to set having just recently taken over the business. In terms of the ladder in our parlour room, this is actually our disabled ramp into the parlour which allows customers with access requirements to be able to enter into the building. We like to have the parlour be accessible to all our customers. As you mention, we've recently taken over the parlour and have introduced new menus which the final few dishes and drinks are still rolling out. Given the level of change we've undertaken and getting all our staff upto speed on what we want to offer going forward. (We're on day two of our new menu) As for the missed order and poor service - we hold our hands up and yes we made a mistake here, we can only apologise for this. We've checked with the team and they don't re-call this being raised on the day so couldn't try and address the issues there and then. We always encourage our customers to raise any issues they experience as this gives us the opportunity to resolve any issues and find a solution that is satisfactory to you. We'd love for you to give us another go and hopefully restore the faith in what we can offer at OPP If you do wish to discuss this any further please do drop us an email at info@olneypancakeparlour.co.uk or give the parlour a call on (01234 713152)

Written 31 May 2023

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Goodcustomerservice

180 contributions

The only place in Olney

Apr 2024 • solo

I ventured in here the other day when the sun was out and came streaming through the windows making the place, warm, inviting, bright and welcoming. I could have chosen any of the other coffee/tea shops in the village but this place is the perfect location - including little tables out front for those lovely, sunny days 🌞 Everything is home made, the pancakes are freshly made to order and the hot drinks are a delight (check out the pics if you don't believe me!) - word of warning, come hungry cos they don't go small on portions here 😁🥞 If you choose anywhere in Olney, choose here! You will not be disappointed!

Written 14 April 2024

hat-hire

Milton Keynes45 contributions

One employee ruined it

Mar 2023 • family

I wasn't going to write a review but the more I thought about how the lady made me feel I have to, as she said, 'let it out'. We waited nearly an hour for food. There was obviously some kind of issue as a lot of tables food came out at the same time. They had waited far less than us, but maybe something went wrong in the kitchen. When paying the lady asked me how it was, I explained what had happened. She then drilled into When I sat down, when the order was taken, in order to establish precisely how long we were waiting to justify that there was no issue. For the record, sat down 1130, order taken 1140, food arrived 1225. She tried saying that 30 minutes wait is normal so 40 minutes isn't that bad. As I was shocked by her lack of knowledge for the hospitality sector and basic manners I also informed her that it might be a good idea to have spoons on the tables. As one of my kids was getting upset sat still drawing for an hour, when the food came I had to find someone to ask for a spoon, they serve ice cream with pancakes. She once again responded uninterested and said that spoons are available on request, like they are made of some precious metal. I do know that some people complain unnecessarily. Some can be extremely fussy. But if you can't take feedback don't bloody ask.

Written 14 March 2023

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