Original Hotcake House
| Address: | 1002 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97202, USA |
| Phone: | +1 503-236-7402 |
| Site: | hotcakehouse.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours Open 24 hours |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
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Alexander Graham
Anyone out their ever dined at an anti-transgender restaurant? Anyone ever heard of one in Portland? I truthfully had never experienced one, until I ate at Hot Cake House in SE Portland. Its very strange how Portland can be open in one instance and very torpid and close-minded in the other. Rather than go through the 4 page novel of describing my personal experience in detail, Im going to summarize it for any LGBT readers in 3 words: Dont go here! This place is trans/homophobic to the max. The night crew took two hours to finish an order, did not serve us, then attempted to deny issuing a refund, using unfamiliarity with the register as an excuse. When I called the manager about it the next day he initially attempted to defend his late night crew in that they were tired and its rough on the crew when its late/halloween weeked etc....And this is an excuse for taking two hours to complete an order then hesitating on a refund?! Dwight, I guess thats what he calls himself (the manager) did display a degree of sense in treating my friends and I to a free breakfast the following day and a seemingly genuine phone apology, though the sincerity was not so apparent in person. The only reason I showed up for my free breakfast was that the refund in an of itself was only $7.25 and having had to wait that long to get a refund almost cancels the time/cost of the drive to get there. I figured we may as well have a free meal, but ironically the cashier who issued us the free meal even tried to question why we would order 3 hotcakes instead of one. I think despite this places reputation, there are some serious ethical issues and professional wrinkles to iron out in business practice. The reputation of your business should come first and foremost in line with customer service and satisfaction. Somewhere along the way Dwight and company might have missed the boat. In spite of all this, the food itself is relatively good and when Dwight prepared it personally it was served in a timely manner. Certainly an experience I would want anyone else to have to go through, but what good would it do to not share it?
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Amanda Wilson
*wipes drool off face* (maybe it was syrup) PEOPLE OF EARTH! I HEREBY DECLARE THIS THE ORGINAL HOTCAKE HOUSE OF UNREPUTIBLE GREATNESS. Its an old greasy spoon diner. Its off a busy street and the parking situation isnt ideal. But if youve got a need for a real pancake this is the only place you need to go, and youll find a way to the end of the line to wait for a chance to order. This is not IHOP or any of the other joints, this is a family-owned and operated place thats seen tens of thousands of satisfied customers over the years, butt imprints left in the booths and chairs, worn table tops eaten through by black coffee stains over a decade. Its got charm, and the smell of breakfast is hard-baked into the walls. I dont care what else you get off that menu (its all pretty darn good) the real reason this place exists is HOTCAKES BAAAYBEE! Get yourself at least 2 when you order and try to ignore your stomach as you wait ~10-15 minutes for someone to bring it out to your table. Youve got plenty of time to get some coffee and napkins and silverware, you should be ready to dig in by the time that plate hits the table. Leave another 15 seconds for the butter to melt and - BAM! BUTTERY HOTCAKE HEAVEN! IN YOUR MOUTH! Theres an episode of Family Guy where Meg goes to work at a diner and brings Stewie along, who prompty gets hooked on pancakes. This is that place IRL, no joke. Sooooo good. Mouth waters just thinking about them, they soaked up the syrup just right and quickly vanished off my plate every time Ive had them. Yeah there are omlettes and gravy and biscuits and stuff but holy cow those pancakes. Sorry HOTCAKES. Worth every penny. DO IT. go now. open 24/7 go go go
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Kathryn Fowler
My friends and I went here one time. My friend is gender fluid and dressed in drag, and the staff essentially refused to serve her. My other friend and I, both cis, got our meals and had time to eat them before the restaurant just refunded her money. Shed waited over an hour and asked twice about her food before getting to that point. And even then, three out of four of the employees seemed to not care and were reluctant to give her a refund. One said he couldnt because he didnt know how, which is valid but rather hard to believe. When she called the next day to speak with the manager, he was defensive of the employees before eventually comping a meal...I dont know that my friend ever received any kind of apology. I dont know how to describe my disappointment in this situation. I am sad for my friend for having to put up with this, and all the other bullshit discriminatory behavior and systems that she encounters. She was actually visiting Portland from a super-conservative town in northern California to see if she would like to move here. Portland is supposed to be one of the most supportive cities in the US of the LGBTQ community, and we need our businesses to continue to meet and/or surpass that standard. I do not wish to support any business where the employees discriminate against my friends and other members of the LGBTQ community.
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Ron Car
As a sub-contractor I try to support local business whenever I can when I travel in Oregon and Washington. My plan was to do this until I came in contact with the owner outside and I was unloading equipment for my job. And this is why I am giving one "star". He told me he was not happy that four off street parking spots across the street where temporary closed (with permits from the city) and I was taking parking from his business. The REAL issue I was in the spot he normally park his truck and I got there first which was legal off street parking! (My company truck has logos and phone number on it. We are taught to be nice to "special" people even if we did NOTHING wrong is what I did) I told him after I unloaded my equipment and setup my equipment up that I would move my truck in ten minutes. He does not understand he loss a long term customer and that he does not control off street parking!!! (He parked his truck behind me blocking the piano business driveway which was clearly mark) Now if I had parked my company truck in his parking lot or blocked his driveway I could understand him having a attitude problem. Maybe he got up on the wrong side of the bed (against the wall) and he felt the need to take his pain out on me.
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Barbara Flores
I was not able to experience the food because they did not allow myself and my service dog in, They did say what is your disability....WHAT? That is 1. Not Legal 2. Not informed at all regarding Oregon Law or ADA laws I was so embarrassed everyone in the place turned and looked at us like we were trying to rob the place. Im sure your food is good however, you do need to educate yourselves (ALL EMPLOYEES) What the laws are regarding SERVICE ANIMALS, And Do Not ask anyone else What their disability is you just might be sued! All I want is for you to get the correct information ....maybe someday I might try to come back. But, Ill give you a few months to up your game on the education front.
