Pancakes on the Rocks, Sydney: Long Lines, Bad Taste

2015-07-04 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Since I've been here, my weekdays consist of nothing but working and eating, so how good my meals are basically determines if I had a good day. After making a bad choice for lunch, I was really stressed about what to eat for dinner. I picked my dinner menu as carefully as drafting a free agent in pro baseball, and finally settled on "Pancakes on the Rocks"—a place highly praised on various blogs that sells my absolute favorite food: pancakes.

Cityscape showing Sydney Tower and the Harbourside building at dusk

Building entrance with a sign that says Welcome to Harbourside — Pancakes on the Rocks is located inside the Harbourside Shopping Centre right in front of Darling Harbour. The mall's layout is confusing, making it hard to find, but every time I asked for directions, people were super helpful, so I got there easily enough.

Illuminated sign reading Pancakes on the Rocks on a red background — Arriving at Pancakes on the Rocks.

People waiting in line in front of a restaurant glass door with an open sign — I arrived to find a massive crowd. Most of them were Chinese tourists, and surprisingly, they were waiting in an orderly line. I think I waited for about 15 minutes. For those 15 minutes, I ~~studied~~ picked out my menu.

Restaurant menu printed with photos and various items like pizza, crepes, and pancakes — The menu. Prices range from 10 to 15 AUD, which is on the expensive side, just like in Korea.

Inside a restaurant with several people sitting at tables eating under warm lighting — It took another 5 minutes of sitting there just to wait for a waiter, and then about 10 more minutes for the food to come out after ordering.

Two pancakes on a plate topped with vanilla ice cream and strawberries — I ordered the Strawberry Patch, which is supposedly their most famous dish.

From the moment I arrived to the moment I got my food, it took roughly 30 minutes. It's a good thing today is a weekday and the Lunar New Year holiday is over; if I had come yesterday or the day before, I easily would have waited a full hour just to eat some pancakes. Since a big crowd usually proves a place is tasty, my expectations were pretty high before digging in.

I took a bite!

Ah... Were my expectations too high? Or was I just exhausted from the long wait? Did I really get my hopes up just to taste this? Personally, I think the pancakes at Butter Finger in Gangnam Station (Seoul) are way better. And compared to my favorite pancake spot in Hannam-dong, this felt really carelessly made.

I was hungry, so I scarfed it all down anyway. It wasn't completely awful, but I was disappointed because I thought a supposedly top-tier pancake place would be different. First of all, the strawberry syrup was so sweet that the actual strawberries tasted like nothing, and since the strawberries were frozen, I didn't really want to chew them. For some reason, the pancakes themselves weren't savory at all and just tasted dry and chalky.

I don't know... Seeing all those people eating there, it must be a good restaurant, but I guess it just doesn't suit my tastes.

Harbor view at night showing illuminated high-rise buildings and moored boats

Laser Skirmish promotional banner hanging under a glass dome ceiling with purple lighting

Night view of a building with a round roof illuminated in purple under the night sky, with high-rise buildings in the background — I was grumbling on my way back to the hotel about how my whole day was ruined, but the Sydney night view comforted me, as if saying, "At least you're not working overtime."

#AllMealsFailedToday #ButterFingerWouldKillItInAustralia #GuessTheirTasteBudsArentGreat #Overrated #WellTheyAreBritishDescendants...