Pancakes are considered "As American as Apple Pie." Particularly the fluffy buttermilk variety, are…read moredeeply embedded in the American breakfast tradition. And diners have become synonymous with "a place for everyone," connected to the nostalgic idea of America. Put the two together and you have The Pancake House in Salem, Virginia. After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And "The Pancake House" in Salem, Virginia, is a perfect example. This restaurant that opened its doors in the mid 1950's, not only has survived through the years, but has kept the ionic American breakfast tradition alive and well, as I discovered today when after having driven by it many times in my pearl white Lexus, I decided to stop by for an early breakfast, and give it a try. Located on Apperson Drive next to the Lee-Hi Lanes Bowling Center, in Salem, Virginia, The Pancake House is a long-standing diner, known for its, friendly, old-fashioned atmosphere, and classic American comfort food, serving breakfast and lunch daily. What impressed me the most when I entered the restaurant was its cleanliness and old charm yet with comfortable new furniture and decor in the traditional diner style. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. As I entered and sat at one of the booths, I was greeted by one of their friendly servers, given a menu, and asked what I wanted to drink. I ordered a cup of coffee, which tasted very good. And for food I ordered the Pork Loin breakfast with two fried eggs over-medium, and buttered white toast. As well as two pancakes. My server did an excellent job explaining the terminology of how eggs were cooked there. The ambiance was so relaxed and friendly that I felt welcomed and totally at home. I sat in the main dining room just in front of where the kitchen was located behind a large window where the food was delivered to the servers to take to the customers. The quality of the food was superb, cooked just right. The eggs were fresh and tasty, the pork loins were generous size and cooked to perfection. And even the toast were crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. The pancakes were huge size and nice and fluffy. My server made the appropriate rounds to check on me and provide coffee refills. She also provided me with a glass of iced water without me having to ask for it. Their clientele were people of all ages and all walks of life. Since they open at six in the early morning on weekdays, the time is very convenient for customers to have breakfast early and go on their day. I highly recommend this place for an extraordinary breakfast dining experience and plan to return real soon to try out some other items on their menu.

Aesthetic: Traditional, relaxed diner with an array of breakfast items and combos…read more My Favorites: The corned beef hash, well done! Experience: This spot was poppin. I could tell it's a local favorite when we walked in on a Thursday morning, and it was packed. We ordered eggs, corned beef hash, and a side of pancakes. I was surprised the corned beef hash outshined the pancakes, it was so delicious. Order it extra crispy!

This is totally the kind of spot you'd love! It's this little cafe tucked away in the back of a…read moreconvenience store/gas station, and they make hot, fresh food to order that's super tasty and won't cost you an arm and a leg. We found it last year by accident and now we always make sure to stop whenever we're around. You just order at the counter, the menu's on a board behind it, and they usually have some specials too. You tell them what you want, give your name, and they'll give you a receipt to pay up front. There are about five or six tables if you want to eat there. Everything's made fresh, so it comes out hot. Right now, the breakfast special is $7.99 and you get three eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns or seasoned potatoes, and toast. The people who work there are really nice and friendly.

Not at all what I expected after looking at the website... but definitely an experience not to…read moremiss! Once we got over the fact that this joint is located inside a gas station convenience store, we placed our order and stood in line with people paying for their gasoline so we could pay for our food and a couple bottles of water. About 10 minutes later, they called our name; we grabbed our food from the counter and sat down at one of the five tables. We popped open our foam clamshells and dug into fluffy pancakes while "Honkytonk Badonkadonk" blared on the radio. This place is about half the cost of a more traditional restaurant, has half the ambiance, but this was one of the best breakfasts I have eaten in a long time. Definitely recommend it if you are passing through.

I got the spicy chicken sando from their food truck. The chicken itself is pretty good, but very…read moremuch lacking spiciness and the sandwich is larger than practical. Could use more spice. Expensive for what it is, but if you want to eat a huge sandwich, it's good.

It looks like an old-school old school! Feather Bone Provisions & Assembly used to be an elementary…read moreschool, and you can tell: the dining room looks a bit like a school cafeteria. There are lockers in the entryway, and little throwbacks to academic life here and there. I could never get a glass of wine at my elementary school, though. So Feather Bone is way cooler. These guys have an interesting setup. You have to order your alcohol at the bar, separately from your food, and they will bring it to you. I can't tell if it's because the bar and the restaurant are two separate entities, or what. When I visited, it was with a big group, so we got a bunch of things for the table. I think the start of the meal was the pimento cheese board, which came with crackers, pickles and slaw, plus some colorful vegetables. I had never had anything like it! I'm not usually a pickled veg gal, but they went really well with the soft and slightly spicy cheese. Plus, this appetizer is very pretty. Equally impressive were the Bang Bang Brussels -- roasted Brussels sprouts with a chili crisp vinaigrette and sesame shallot crunchies on top. Leaves of Thai basil and cilantro covered the top. This dish went really fast at our table. Another star: the focaccia and miso butter. Sometimes, a simple slice of bread and butter will be just the perfect thing. This one is amazing. I got the fried chicken, because I heard that it is one of Feather Bone's specialties. It was super crunchy and deeply brown, and came with gravy and hot honey to dip it in. Other things that people at my table ordered that they loved: the pork chop (comes with apple sauce gravy and a fennel salad); the World's Best Cookie (not bad); banana pudding (good, but had too much stuff on it, like a caramel drizzle and cookie crumbs). Feather Bone is a fun place to find comfort food, and it's great for big groups.

Haven't been here in a few years; great to see the same wait staff and more importantly I was…read moreremembered, Wow! Fantastic VT memorabilia for a great college atmosphere. Good is super fresh and made with love, with a portions easily for two.

Abby's was great. Love to support locally owned small businesses. Friendly service, great food and…read morefantastic prices. Love.

This is a bar/restaurant in a hotel lobby. We sat at the bar and were pleasantly greeted by the one…read moreand only server. I ordered a grilled salmon dinner that included a small salad and a serving of garlic mashed potatoes. My wife ordered chicken strips and fries. The salmon was good. The salad was good. The potatoes not so good. The chicken strips were good. There are a few booths along a wall as well as the bar area to eat. Biggest gripe is the wait time on your order being cooked. It must be a one man show in the kitchen( at least the night we were there). Overall the food was ok/good. Service was friendly and fast but......there are better places around town to eat. If I could add a 2&1/2rating that's what it would be. My very good rating max is 4 stars so I couldn't put a 3 star rating here. Sorry guys. Might have been a bad night for dinner but I'm telling about my experience that night

For perspective I am Diamond level member with IHG, this means nothing other than I stay in a IHG…read moreproperty 3-4 nights a week and have ate many a dinner in their onsite restaurant. Never once have I had a single issue worthy enough to mention. Also for perspective it's 8pm, it's been a 14 hour day and I surly was in no mood to get into my car when it's less than 20 degrees outside and the wind howling, but I did. Sat at a table for over 15 minutes, bartender avoided me as she was in deep conversation with another patron I suppose. Moved to the bar. Got a TUDE from her with a "I would have came over, you didn't have to move". Then another guy just walks up, she gives him a menu and then his drink, I have neither. Finally she comes over my way, I asked if I could place a take out over. She grabs a menu, drops it in front of me and walks to the other end of the bar without asking or taking my drink order. She starts at the other end of the bar taking drink orders for all the other patrons who already have a drink in front of them. My daughter was a waitress while in college so I'm extremely empathetic toward wait staff, my lowest tip is 20%, good service 30% and excellent pays 40%. Tips are how they earn a living. Walked out.... also the menu is vastly different than what is offered on their website. Also I guess it may have been the chef- working extremely hard the entire time holding up a wall. What's sad in the end is I'll bet a 100 to 1 that not even a peep will come of this review from hotel or restaurant management.

For stars Best…read moreexperiensed of my life!!! Loved the biscuits.. just like mama's cooking down home cooking. Don't miss this absolute must see on your way through charlotte your going to love it to I just loved it my son loved it to yes North Caroline Best staff ever Five star

I have been to this place a wide variety of times, and every single time they have impressed me…read more It's beautiful inside, the staff are wonderful and accommodating. For the food, everything I've had has been a 10/10. My go to is a half order of the biscuits and gravy! It is always so flavorful, the biscuits are giant and fluffy. The gravy is seasoned perfectly. My second go to, as well as my girlfriend's is the hot honey fried chicken biscuit. Portion wise that thing is hugeee, most of the items are so they are absolutely worth what you pay! The chicken is so tender and crispy, breading is amazingly seasoned as well. This paired with the jezebel sauce is heaven on earth. I cannot express how much I love this place, their food is wonderful, their biscuits are massive, and their service is great. Only issue I've ever had was my delivery order never showing up (not their fault but the delivery drivers) and they immediately comped and replaced my meal. 100% recommend.

When I first dined at this restaurant for dinner the dining experience was so good that I expressed…read morea desire to return for breakfast someday. Today I finally had an opportunity to do so, and so early in the morning I drove up to the restaurant for breakfast. When I arrived, a friendly lady greated me at the Host's station and had me seat at the table of my choice. I sat down in one of the booths and shortly after my server arrived, greeted me, and took my order. I ordered coffee to drink. To eat, I ordered the Meat Lover's Triple Meat Omelet, with homefries and white toast. My server put in the order, and yet it took a bit long to arrive. Other customers who arrived after me received their orders before mine arrived. When my order finally arrived. It looked good. They put cooked peppers and onions on top of my homefries just as I requested. The american cheese melted inside with the bacon, country sausage & ham, however the amount of meat was little compared to other places where I've had breakfast before and the price was almost double. The ambiance of the place was relaxing, and the breakfast tasted good, but just good, not great, so I wouldn't mind having breakfast here again, but I wouldn't call it a favorite place to have breakfast.

My experience working there is ok. Sometimes I feel isolated and this makes me feel all alone, but…read morethere are great people working here who shows me genuine kindness, and that makes up for my feeling of loneliness.

I'll start by saying it was graduation weekend, it was busy, and they were short staffed. I'm not…read moresure if you could book a reservation in advance or not but it was around a 1 hr wait. When we finally got seated the bartender was also the waiter which slowed things down. Super confused why they weren't more prepared with staff when they knew it would be a very busy weekend, but ish happens. The food took about 45 mins to come out. The food did not come out all together. So everyone ate at different times. Furthermore, the cold was lukewarm when it came out. Only 3 people out of a party of 8 received hot food. The food: The portions were big, but the food was not great. It might be better or different on a weekend or week day when something major isn't happening. Waffles 2/5 Chicken biscuit 3/5

My wife, son, and I stopped by the Hatch in mid-January for a late Sunday lunch. It was OK to good…read more- but not fantastic. On the plus side, parking is free and convenient (near the movie theater away from downtown Blacksburg) and service was friendly. Although the interior has a casual vibe, the prices seemed high for the quality of food. The dishes yielded mixed reviews. For example, my son loved the mac-n-cheese but did not particularly enjoy his Ribbe sandwich (which was a tough pork chop). The fried chicken and sides (collared greens) were both delicious, but our appetizer dish of hush puppies was strange. It consisted of large fried cornmeal balls that were difficult to break (but the honey butter was nice). The Cobb salad was OK. I'm not sure if we will return to the Hatch again - but if we do, I will definitely order the fried chicken and sides.