A Comprehensive Review of Our Visits to Little House of Pancakes in Gatlinburg
Of the big 3 (or 4) pancake restaurants in Gatlinburg, surprisingly, Little House of Pancakes is the last one we’ve visited. The reason for us is simple: It is the least convenient one to reach. If you know us, we like to park the car at our accommodations and leave it, with the only exceptions being for a hike or a few unique stops in The Arts and Crafts Community.
I know what you’re saying: But Little House of Pancakes is on the way to Glades Road, right? Yes, but are those shop open early when we eat breakfast? Nope. Which means we decided to give them a chance around seven years ago on the morning of our departure. It’s now a tradition that only ends because we will become Gatlinburg residents next month. Here are the reasons it became a staple of our many visits.
It seems all the breakfast places in town have an identifiable sign that everyone recognizes, and once you see LHOP’s marker, it deservedly belongs in the company of their friendly rivals. It’s not difficult to distinguish from the East Parkway, making you curious to see if they compare to the other iconic establishments. Well…
Once you set foot inside, it looks, feels, and…smells like a local breakfast eatery. And I mean smell in the nicest way possible. When you hear local eats, sometimes you envision a hole-in-the-wall space with cramped quarters. Not so with this one. The charm is drawn out in a larger place with old newspaper print table tops, wooden seating, and splashes of Americana and idiosyncratic artwork that still seems to work in harmony.
Who’s ready for the food!
Well, we definitely look forward to our final meal before the nearly seven hour haul back to Ohio. It’s simple breakfast food done well, to put it simply. The pancakes are the stars of the show, as they should. What makes them so good is the lack of syrup needed as a topper. They are not dry, and are soaked with plenty of sweet flavors on their own. They have many different flavor additions, but a basic buttermilk short stack will do you just fine. LHOP deservedly belongs in the same conversation with the other pancake houses in downtown Gatlinburg; in fact, I would even dare to put their cakes above them.
Pancakes aside, I normally order eggs with breakfast meat and gravy, unless I get an omelet. The latter features your meat of choice mixed in with the egg, instead of being thrown on top like a garnish. I prefer Little House’s method, and they don’t cheat you on the cheese either. When I order fried eggs, I love the way they don’t separate my over well eggs, so it feels like you’re getting more than asked. The bacon is always crispy and the gravy is always creamy. It’s all very delicious! Don’t ignore those diced potatoes as well. It’s a favorite of many happy guests.
Now we’re ready for the sole “disappointment”—the coffee. You can’t expect much from restaurant coffee in Gatlinburg anyway. If this is what coffee tasted like in the early twentieth century, count me out. I’ll order it anyway, because my morning joe is as essential as an oversize bottle of water on a hot day in the sun. On a positive note, their mugs are ginormous. You may only need a refill to heat it up. Yes, it’s a big boy cup for sure!
It’s tough to get bad service for breakfast in Gatlinburg, and Little House of Pancakes is no exception. Typically, it’s pleasant, attentive but not overly annoying, and efficient. It’s everything you want in an experience at a local Southern restaurant. I love the handwritten checks that are nonexistent in chains, but an old-school staple of many of these local diners.
Prices used to be excellent compared to the other popular tourist places, but they now slightly eschew value and charge just as much as a place like, say, Log Cabin, which we’ve enjoyed on vacation too. Hard to argue about $7 for a “short” stack of pancakes from LHOP though. And $10 for a meat and cheese omelet with toast or biscuit and potatoes is fair for the quality you receive. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss paying less than $7.50 for it fairly recently. Sign of the times, I guess. Take a look at this menu below from 2021! Two large pancakes for $4.99? Crazy good! I miss these days already.
Another of its endearing qualities that leave no doubt of its local ties is the regulars. Lately, we’ve only seen just this one individual, but in our 10 or 12 visits, we’ve noticed the same group of men park their trucks in the lot at 7 sharp. If you had any uncertainty prior, this is a telltale sign it’s a prime spot for the locals.
I can see us coming here fairly often as locals. I understand how most want to stay away from the tourist hot spots. We’ll still go to these places on occasion, but the out-of-the-way locations will be desired visits more frequently.
In the end, we will continue to enjoy Little House of Pancakes. Only now, we won’t be faced with a long journey back to Ohio. Home will be less than 10 minutes away, and I can’t be any happier about that fact!
I hope you enjoyed a summary of our experiences at Little House of Pancakes. If you’d like to see more reviews, tips, and stories about our new home in Gatlinburg, I’d like to invite you to join this publication as a free or paid subscriber. The latter won’t miss a single detail of our new life on the doorstep of the Smoky Mountains, so don’t chance missing out. I’m grateful and humbled from your support! Thank you so much for reading about my passion!