We accidentally made pancakes a week early for pancake day, so we decided to go to My Old Dutch pancake house on the actual day. When we first arrived Mr M said, “I knew there’d be a queue, but I didn’t think it would be like this!” As it turned out, we would hear these words several times over from our fellow queue-ers as we waited to get in.
I first visited My Old Dutch more years ago than I care to remember, but this was my first pancake day visit. We arrived at around twenty to seven that evening to see a queue that stretched across at least three shops. It was quite a cold night, and there was a bit of rain while we waited. It wasn’t until an hour and fifteen minutes later that we were finally sat down inside perusing the menu by which time my toes were frozen and we were both damp, hungry and feeling rather sorry for ourselves.
The extensive menu at My Old Dutch soon cheered us up though! There is a wide range of both savoury and sweet pancakes as well as salads, waffles and non-pancake desserts. The savoury options are particularly imaginative with toppings that include chilli con carne, seafood, chicken curry or a create your own option. Since my last visit, they have also added a range of butterscotch American-style pancakes, which arrive stacked on a plate and dripping with toppings.
As I had been eyeing up the menu online since lunchtime, I already knew what I was having: a create your own savoury pancake with chicken, mozzarella, mushrooms, sweetcorn and red chillies – light enough to hopefully leave space for dessert! Mr M went for a My Old Dutch – smoked bacon, chicken, ham, sweet pepper, mushroom, sweetcorn and cheese. We also ordered a bowl of frites with garlic mayonnaise.
There’s a nice range of drinks at My Old Dutch including fruit beers, wine, milkshakes and hot drinks, but on this occasion Mr M ordered a Hoegaarden and I had a glass of sauvignon blanc.
Our pancakes arrived on giant plates that filled the whole table, and were as good as always. The pancake itself was delicious and a nice consistency – thick enough to hold the fillings together but not so thick it was stodgy. The fillings were nicely distributed (although last time I had the red chillies they had a bit more heat to them than this time) and, as I had hoped, I still had room for a sweet pancake at the end. The frites were also good, and the garlic mayonnaise they were served with was a particular hit with Mr M.
For sweet, Mr M ordered his usual – apple, cinnamon and ice cream, and I decided to go for the classic pancake combo of lemon with sugar. We got a couple of Nutella hot chocolates (soya milk for me and normal milk for Mr M) to go with them and again, everything was gorgeous. The hot chocolates were particularly good and warmed us up nicely before we had to head back outside.
The bill for the two of us came to £65 including service charge at around 8%, which is distributed between all staff. Queueing aside, we had a nice evening and didn’t once feel rushed by staff, despite how many people they had waiting to get in. The food is reasonably priced, and pancakes make a nice change from other casual dining options. I probably wouldn’t advise going on pancake day (unless you’re wrapped up warm and prepared to queue for at least an hour), but any other day of the year, My Old Dutch is a consistently great place to eat.
Albatine x
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