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!

Yelp reviewers, thank you for the recommendation! I'm just passing through (Louisiana to Niagara…read moreFalls) and did a quick search for a good place to eat in this area before I booked my hotel & I'm thrilled I made time for Angelle's Diner! I made lots of friends in the outdoor dining area since I have my sweet dog. My new friends recommended hamburgers & the BLT. I decided to strike out on my own & ordered the Country Fried Steak with white gravy. Now I'm from Texas & I love CFS, so when I tell you it was good, that means something!!! It was fresh & hot! Fresh okra that you can tell was hand breaded (amazing, my first of the season since we've had so much rain in LA)! The onion rings were also awesome. The ranch was a little runny but it tasted great (I just would have liked more sticking to the ORs)! Patty was great!!! Super helpful & attentive. She brought my pup water & then brought him refills. That has never happened to me before! Doggie owners, I felt welcomed. All that plus a really nice fruity cake for dessert cost $23.58! I feel weird giving my meal a 10 (since I'm from TX & the food is a Texan staple) but it's well deserved. Great ending to a very long day driving!

The service is always timely, food is fresh and well prepared! I love the option of inside or…read moreoutdoor seating! The menu is extensive with many options to explore!

I enjoy having breakfast at Ernie's for its warm and cozy ambiance. As soon as I enter the place I…read morefeel right at home. The sever already knows what I usually have to eat, and she serves me a freshly brewed cup of coffee as soon as I have a seat at my favorite booth. Ernie's on the Market is owned and operated by Bill Kopcial, a former Roanoke City firefighter and his business partner Scotty Smith. They are wonderful individuals. Bill always greets me when I'm having breakfast and he stops by. Just the other day, I ran into him and his family at McAlister, where they were having dinner. My usual breakfast there is two fried eggs over easy, with bacon, homefries, and white toast. I also enjoy their omelets. On weekdays they are one of the few restaurants that open at 6:00AM, so it gives you an opportunity to get a head start of the day. The server is a very friendly and hospitable young lady, who is always looking after her customers to see if they need a coffee refill or would like a glass of iced water to enjoy with their food. Today I had the usual breakfast. No matter how the cook prepares my breakfast, it always tastes so good. The white Texas toast is always fresh and soft, and the eggs and bacon tastes just right. I also enjoy looking at the historic photographs on the brick wall and their flamboyant decor. Their prices are reasonable enough to be able to leave a well deserved good tip. And one always leaves the place with a good feeling.

Fantastic and Fast. Perfect local breakfast. Great service. Super friendly and welcoming. The food…read morecame fast and hot. Delicious, flavorful and filling. Perfect downtown location near shopping and local vendors.

We asked our car where to eat and Gemini suggested Scrambled. When we arrived at about 1:00 pm, it…read morewas pretty quiet and we were seated right away. Amanda our server was there and delivered some really good coffee and took our orders. My wife ordered the scrambled eggs and sourdough toast, our daughter had the Denver omelet. I was looking for something light, so I ordered the Sweet and Savory combo. A half order of biscuits and gravy, plus their famous vanilla French toast. The large portion of scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, and the sourdough toast was very flavor full. Our daughter loved the Denver Omelet scrambler, but was unable to finish the large portion. I am really glad that I only had the half portion of biscuits and gravy, two biscuits and generous portion of gravy were the best I have ever had. I barely had room for the four half slices of delicious French toast. It did not need the syrup. My wife appreciated the fact that I ate my biscuits first and had to share the French toast with her, she loved it too. Overall, we all really loved Scrambled. The food was great, and Amanda was very attentive. If we lived in the area, we would definitely make this a regular stop. Thank you Gemini!

Located at one of the most prime locations of Roanoke's City Market Square in one of the corners of…read morethe Historic City Market Building, with a beautiful view of the heart of Downtown Roanoke, this breakfast restaurant is open daily from seven o'clock in the early morning until two o'clock in the afternoon, except Sundays that they open at eight o'clock, and they're closed on Mondays. Last time I visited this restaurant and wrote a review I found it simply amazing: its decor, its ambiance, its food, and most important of all, its excellent customer service by its friendly and very efficient servers. I invite you to read that review and view my photographs accompanying it to get a better sense of my experience here, then. However, this time around, it wasn't so good. And I judge restaurants by their consistency of quality of food and service. This time, the ambiance was nice and the service was excellent by a friendly young lady server, but the quality of the food left much to be desired, especially the way it was cooked. The cook was a total disappointment. I was one of the first ones there when they opened their doors. When I entered, a group of friendly and eager to serve servers who where gathered around chatting, waiting for their customers to arrive, greeted me and gave me a warm welcome, and invited me to take the table of my choice. Soon after I was seated, my server, a friendly young lady came by and took my order. I asked for orange juice and coffee to drink, as well as a glass of iced water. And to eat I asked for the dish that I so much enjoyed and was looking forward to having today: the Steak & Eggs. I ordered a five ounce filet cooked medium rare with two fried eggs cooked over easy, served with homefries as my choice of side, and for bread: white Texas toast. While I waited for my food to come out, I enjoyed drinking my orange juice and coffee, looked over the menu, and looked out the window where I saw in the distance, Ernie's, one of my favorite breakfast restaurants, for its consistency of quality food and service, and relaxing environment. When my server brings my food, the first thing I noticed was my flat filet cut. Usually this cut is for customers who like their steak well done. Last time, my filet was a thick cut one, cooked medium-rare to perfection. Then I saw the fried eggs. They weren't over easy, but over cooked as well. And the toast was over-toasted and laid there while the food was cooking, because it was luckwarm and hard by the time it got to me. When I cut my steak with the steak knife to see if it was pink inside, it was not. It was tough and dry. When my servers. I signaled one of servers asking for my server and tell her about my steak. She replied that now they were using a different meat provider, but that she would take it back and ask for another to be cooked. She only takes the steak back. Shen then brings me another back that not only had a weird shape, but was rare and with gristle. Judging by the quality of the second steak, the cook didn't intend to make amends, or maybe didn't know better. It's a pity because everything else about this restaurant is comforting, but when the food isn't, it takes away the desire to return. I hope the management and the owner of the restaurant read this review and take the necessary steps to correct the misdoing. Because restaurants' success is brought about through repeat customers and not by passersby.

Having recently moved to Roanoke, we headed here on a recommendation from son and dil. The diner…read morewas busy but spots were open for us. From a great comprehensive breakfast menu and over a big cup of coffee, we ordered. I had the "Little Boy" that include 2 eggs and 2 either bacon or sausage. A pancake and biscuit w sausage gravy accompanied the eggs and bacon! She had chip beef gravy over toast, a hard to find favorite of hers! Service was quick, pleasant and efficient, the breakfast was yummy, ample and a great experience! Glad we discovered a nice old school diner w a great menu, great vibe and service!

Food is out of this world. No matter if you go for breakfast, lunch or dinner you get the best…read morefood and service. It has the old time southern atmosphere Best sausage gravy and hot dogs

This family-owned restaurant is located off the Virgil H. Goode Hwy in Boones Mill, Virginia and…read morehas been in operation since 2014. To get there I had to drive on the highway and with the change in time, when I arrived, night had already fallen, and it was dark. With no traffic lights to turn to the small parking lot of the restaurant, I had to wait until cars stopped coming from the other side to be able to turn towards the restaurant. You could say it was an adventure just getting there on a Sunday evening. Once inside, the place was clean, cozy and had a comfortable ambiance, with eclectic dining furniture and decor. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review for a better sense of the place and the quality of the food. A young lady who would be my server, greeted me and took me to my table, leaving a copy of the menu with me and taking my drink order. I had a fountain drink. When she came back with my drink I ordered a House Salad with the House dressing to start with, and a Klukin Pig Sandwich with Homemade Chips. The sandwich had ham, chicken, bacon, provolone and Chef dressing on a Ciabatta bread. The salad was a nice size salad, served in a plastic bowl. I enjoyed eating it with the House dressing very much. The sandwich was not too big but good tasting. And the chips were pre-cooked, so they were somewhat dry. I had expected they would be fried at the moment, like in other restaurants I'd had homemade chips before. For dessert I had a Funnel Cake Sundae. It was huge and delicious. The other desserts they had were mostly slices of cakes and pies packed in plastic containers. I could see the locals or tourists of this small town dining here, but I wouldn't make it a trip just to dine there.

Watch out for Up charges. I got charged $17 for a hamburger that I thought, I was paying $11.75…read morefor. Extra up charges without ever been told when taking my order. Big Ripoff! I won't be back! P.S. The hamburger was good. But nothing to write home about.

Great service and even better food! the food is also very cheap and affordable. The waitress even…read moresaid a 67 joke to my son. all around great experience.

Country cooking at its best Nothing fancy just good food…read moreHad pancakes and bacon Coffee was hot.

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.

Love the seating area outside, dog friendly! Nice large biscuits- super hefty that'll keep you full…read morefor a long time. Wait wasn't too long. Nice variety on the menu for everyone, from breakfast tacos, plates, French toast to biscuit sandwiches. Loved it for a casual group breakfast.