Pancakes for breakfast are a treat! Here's where to find the best stack.
I Taste-Tested the Pancakes at McDonald’s, Denny’s and IHOP—Here’s the Clear Winner
Published on Mar. 28, 2025
3. McDonald’s
At McDonald’s, an order of hotcakes includes three pancakes, each exactly five inches in diameter, as well as one container of hotcake syrup and two pats of whipped butter.
The first thing we noticed about the McDonald’s pancakes was that they looked perfect—almost too perfect. Each one was precisely the same size. Even before taking the first bite, it was clear that these must have been made by a machine and reheated, rather than flipped fresh from the griddle. The color was a bit pale, and they were pretty thin.
Bite-wise, these pancakes were slightly rubbery. The hotcake syrup was not pure maple syrup but rather corn syrup with flavoring and caramel color. At $4.99 for three pancakes, McDonald’s offered mid-range value for its stack.
Bottom line: Of the three restaurants we sampled, McDonald’s was the only one with a drive-thru option for pancakes. This is your best bet if you want pancakes that don’t require getting out of the car.
2. Denny’s
While Denny’s is a diner typically associated with sit-down service, we found it offers speedy and efficient to-go ordering. We ordered a small stack of pancakes for $3.49. Moments later, the order was up, and we were on our way.
A lovely, sweet aroma wafted from the to-go box. Inside were two pancakes, each six inches in diameter. They had a golden brown hue and arrived with a container of syrup but no butter. The taste test revealed that the pancakes were as sweet as they smelled. Depending on your palate, one might even declare these a little too sweet. We wished there was a container of salty whipped butter included to offset it a bit. Denny’s syrup, like McDonald’s, was doctored up high-fructose corn syrup rather than a natural option.
However, it was clear that these pancakes were made from scratch to order, which we certainly appreciated.
Bottom line: The pancakes from Denny’s were easily the best value. If you prefer a sweeter pancake, these are definitely for you.
1. IHOP
A three-stack of original buttermilk pancakes at IHOP sells for $7.99, making them the priciest pancakes on our list. That being said, they were also far and above the best of the bunch! IHOP lived up to expectations, given that “pancakes” is in its name. The order arrived with two containers of old-fashioned pancake syrup and two whipped butters. Each pancake was six inches in diameter, and they were clearly made to order.
Each pancake was a deep golden color and delightfully thick and fluffy. The pancakes were a sweet treat, but not overly so. The salted butter was delightful as well. Like the other two chains, IHOP’s syrup is corn syrup-based. Our only complaint is that a pancake house should offer pure maple syrup for its signature menu item.
Bottom line: When the word pancakes is in your name, you better deliver, and IHOP does exactly that. These might have been the most expensive fast-food pancakes, but they were worth it from the first bite to the last.
