Making it into Seattle Magazine for serving the Best Northwest Style Pancakes, I was off to the U-District (& more specifically the Portage Bay Café) to meet up with 2 sisters famed for their pancake-eating abilities. Arriving 30 minutes after opening time we were almost knocked over by the amazing smell that greeted us as we walked in the door. The place was already well-occupied by loudly chattering locals. The U-District location is the Portage Bay Café ”Mothership”, with other locations in South Lake Union & Ballard. NOTE: There is free parking for PBC diners in the hotel-next-door parking lot! Don’t feed a meter! :-)
The Portage Bay Café is like a Build-A-Bear Workshop, but for pancakes.
STEP 1: Pick your pancake
Vegan Pancakes, Organic Pancakes, Swedish Pancakes, Organic Apple and Whole Wheat Pancakes , Buckwheat Pancakes , Rice Flour Pancakes…yeah & you thought a pancake was {just} a pancake, huh. By the way. The pancakes. They are huge. HUGE.
Buckwheat Pancakes @ The Portage Bay Café
STEP 2: Visit the Toppings Bar
Strawberries, pears, blueberries, almonds, brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, blackberries, whipped cream, raspberries, butter…& a bunch of bowls filled with other yummy stuff. This is where it gets really fun. Pick whatever combination of toppings you want & simply pile ‘em up on those pancakes. But while you’re there, remember the admonition in the menu – “take all you want, but eat all you take”. Good advice. Those pancakes…they’re HUGE.
After a trip to the Toppings Bar
STEP 3: Eat
And eat, and eat, and eat…
Swedish Pancakes
We had a great time at Portage Bay Café. Lovely restaurant, fun ambiance, great food, HUGE servings, fantastic fresh juices. Shame about the so-so service. It was super busy & we did feel like our server just wanted us to vacate the table so that they could get more people in.
There were LOTS of things on the menu that we all wanted to try so I am certain this one will be added on to the Big Breakfast Adventure re-runs.
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