Walker Brothers Original Pancake House opened their first location in Wilmette, Illinois in 1960. The popular pancake house has been consistently rated the top in Chicago area by various sources.
Walker Brothers Original Pancake House had its beginning as a snack shop in Evanston, Illinois in 1948. Evanston is just north of the City of Chicago, on the North Shore. The snack shop expanded into four snack shops. They continued to expand and became one of the first franchisee of of The Original Pancake House from Portland, Oregon.
Walker Brothers on Green Bay Road in Wilmette is the highest grossing pancake house in the ninety unit franchise, according to the Walker Brothers Website. There are Walker Brother Pancake Houses in Arlington Heights, Glenview, Lincolnshire, Highland Park and Lake Zurich.
Walker Brothers on Green Bay Road in Wilmette is the first of the Chicago North Shore Original Pancake Houses. The Walker Brothers restaurant is a white building with a flat roof. Visit on the weekend and there is a good chance that there will be a line in the front entry.
We visited Walker Brothers recently. One this occasion, there was no line and we were seated immediately. There are sections, separating areas of the restaurant. Sturdy wooden tables and stained glass lamps create a cozy, intriguing atmosphere. The Wilmette restaurant is focused on breakfast. The newer Walker Brother Restaurants have been expanded to include lunch sandwiches and salads.
The server asked if we wanted to order a beverage. We each ordered a cup of coffee. Walker Brother’s coffee is a special Kona blend and is full of rich flavor. A small white pitcher of real cream was placed on the table along with the coffee.
Walker Brothers is one of those restaurants where everything on the menu looks so good that is is hard to choose. The Baked Apple Pancake is the specialty of the house. There is a twenty minute wait for this baked treat filled with fresh apples and Sinkiang cinnamon and sugar glaze. The Danish Garden is another oven baked pancake, but is filled with vegetables and cheese instead of apples and cinnamon.
Menu categories include omelette’s, eggs, pancakes, waffles, crepes and smokehouse sizzler’s. Breakfast mends, such as thick sliced bacon, farm style sausages, chicken links, hickory smoked ham, Canadian Bacon and Corned Beef hash are custom made to Walker Brothers specifications.
We placed our orders. I ordered the Venicia Benedict, which was described as “Poached eggs with fresh sauteed spinach, mushrooms and bits of crisp bacon on a toasted English muffin topped with rich hollandaise sauce.” There was a choice of buttermilk pancakes or fruit with the dish. I upgraded to potato pancakes for a dollar extra.
My companion ordered the corned beef hash with scrambled eggs and potato pancakes.
Breakfast was served in under ten minutes. My Venicia Benedict looked very much like Eggs Benedict, with the addition of the spinach and mushrooms. Each half of the English Muffin was topped by a poached egg, bacon pieces, spinach, mushrooms and the rich sauce. One the side were three thin, crispy potato pancakes. The edges of the potato pancakes were thin and lacy, prepared just right.
My companion had ordered the corned beef hash with scrambled eggs and potato pancakes. The corned beef, potato’s and onions were finely diced and served in a shallow dish. The spicy corned beef was counterbalanced by the potatoes.
The potato pancakes were served with a choice of sour cream or applesauce. I ordered applesauce, but requested maple syrup as well.
Both of our breakfasts were neatly and attractively presented. We each agreed that breakfast was wonderful. The service was friendly and efficient. The food and coffee was well prepared and tasted excellent.
Walker Brothers is a pancake house, and offers a variety of pancakes. The Classic Pancakes menu offers Buttermilk, Blueberry, Banana, Georgia Pecan, Bacon, Potato, Swedish, 49er’s Flapjacks, Chocolate Chippies, Wheat Germ, Buckwheat and Little Dollars.
I have eaten at Walker Brothers several times and have always enjoyed the meal. When looking for a good, satisfying breakfast it is pretty hard to go wrong at Walker Brothers.
Breakfasts at Walker Brothers are in the $6 to $10 range. Our two breakfasts with coffee and tip was about $24.
Walker Brothers Pancake House is at 153 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, Illinois, 847-251-6000. There are additional Walker Brother Restaurants in Glenview, Highland Park, Lincolnshire, Arlington Heights and Lake Zurich.
For additional information, see the Walker Brothers website.
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