Happy Jack Pancake House
$ • Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
Happy Jack's has a gluten free menu, but our waitress told us they use the same grill surface for all the pancakes (mixing gluten and gluten free). She offered to ask the kitchen to clean the surface with water but said they couldn't be sure there would not be cross contamination. We were disappointed since they offer a gluten free menu. However, with the cleaned surface, my son didn't get sick after eating the pancakes.
Very thoughtful employees with reminders about what was contaminated (hash browns) and what was awesome.
They have a dedicated menu and the staff are knowledgeable. Ask any questions you have and make sure to pass on the potatoes as they have a coating that contains gluten. Definitely a must visit place!
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More Reviews
THE BEST CINNAMON ROLL PANCAKES EVER!! also, be sure to let your server know about the precautions needed. The server said they clean down the grill area to cook the pancakes but they won’t use separate spatulas unless you ask so make sure to ask so this is celiac safe!! I’m not very symptomatic but I was completely fine after eating here!!
My son who is celiac, loved it. I spoke to the waiter and she confirmed that the eggs were also gluten free; not just the pancakes. We went two days in a row while there on vacation from New York. My kids loved it and so did my wife and I.
Nice place to have breakfast, wonderful pancakes. Glutenfree menu with all the options. No complaints after
Had a good experience , variety of pancakes and servers are knowledgeable.
My partner and I both ordered GF pancakes and the server told us that the griddles get cleaned before any GF pancake order. We went during a breakfast rush so it was very busy but we got served pretty quickly by a very friendly server! Overall great experience, would definitely go again. Pancakes were delicious and we did a mobile order the next day to get more, and the box that the mobile order was in was marked gluten free.
Decent breakfast. Several options. Very much a dennys or ihop type restaurant.
This was our family's favorite place while on vacation! We went twice because it was so good. Happy Jack has a dedicated gluten free menu, which includes delicious pancakes 😋 I havent had gluten for some years, but theyre what I remember reg ones tasting like 🤗 my celiac daughter was thrilled with the choices ad our meals were filling. The staff is not only knowledgeable with gf items but friendly as well. 10 out of 10, would recommend.
This was one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in the last 10 years. I ordered the eggs and bacon with blueberry pancakes and a fruit cup. The bacon was soft, but not at all rubbery or chewy. It practically dissolved in your mouth. The eggs had no seasoning yet still somehow tasted amazing. After I ate them, I noticed virtually no grease or oil on my plate. The gf blueberry pancakes were extraordinary. They weren’t cloyingly sweet (like almost all the other gf pancakes I’ve had) and were surprisingly filling. I was so satisfied I couldn’t even finish them. The blueberry syrup wasn’t overly sugary. The coffee tasted great and left me feeling clear and energized.
All of this speaks to not only their ability to accommodate gf diners but also the exceptionally high quality of their ingredients. In the Midwest, I went to similarly accommodating diners, but I often left feeling bloated or tired or on a sugar high. You could tell they were using sugar, oil, or salt to cover up lackluster ingredients. I left this restaurant feeling restored and utterly satisfied.
If you’re interested in a remarkably high-quality, accommodating breakfast experience, I highly recommend you give Happy Jacks a try.
Oh, yeah: their service was also exceptional.
Delicious pancakes and a dedicated gluten free menu. It’s nice to find a breakfast place that does pancakes as gluten free so we can enjoy all the specialty items. Add in the fact that they have a solid operation to not make the wait unbearable, I’d highly recommend.
Had a great experience here. They have a separate gf menu and answered all of my questions. Food came out so fast and looked so good that I asked to make sure it was gf. Staff is so friendly. Will be going back.
Great family atmosphere. Service was great Food was delicious. Staff was knowledgeable about Gluten Free And have separate Gluten Free menu.
Visiting in OCMD this week and have eaten here twice so far. First day, the server was much friendlier and simply more reassuring than the second day. I told her I had a gluten allergy, and she brought me my own menu!!!! With pancakes and waffles on it!!! A full, actual GF menu. It made my mouth happy. And she explicitly stated they use a separate griddle, without me even having to ask. They also sell 100% pure maple syrup, though I had brought my own. Both mornings I ate there, I had banana pancakes and scrambled eggs. Zero issues. And the pancakes were delicious. I'm actually sad that I won't have this option after vacation is over.
Got the cinnamon bun pancakes very yummy!! Didn't get sick and I'm very sensitive celiac.
I love this place for breakfast! They have an entire gluten free menu, and yes, it includes pancakes and waffles with all of the fixings! They label the gluten free items in separate containers. This morning I placed an online order and when we arrived, the sweet ladies at the front desk told us they noticed the GF order and mentioned the home fries I initially ordered are no longer GF (very recent change) so they swapped it for fresh fruit with no upcharge. I appreciated them looking out! Always pleasant service and have never felt sick dining there.
Awesome food! I was able to get gluten free cinnamon bun pancakes. They have a full gluten free menu for breakfast. Just be careful of the home fries, they are on the gluten free menu, but they are not cooked in gluten free oil. The waitresses were knowledgeable enough to mention the chance of cross contamination!
NO BUENO- ate here the morning of May 17th, and was encouraged by the reviews here and elsewhere, had a SEVERE reaction. Immediate flags went up when seated and explaining to the server about my condition. She brushed it off and acted as though it was routine, then proceeded to tell me that the gluten free pancakes were cooked on THE SAME GRIDDLE as the wheat ones. I expressed alarm at this and she responded with “I could have them wipe it down”. Uhm what? I tried to relax and allowed her to do what was normal, because of both the reviews and the size of the gluten free menu. When the meal came out she proudly told me that the cook had also used a clean spatula to flip my pancakes. 🤨 I had a very severe reaction about an hour and a half later. This place is not what it is cracked up to be for safe g free eating and I have serious concerns if there are both shared griddles and shared spatulas in their kitchen. DO NOT trust this place.
My husband is gluten intolerant and was very happy to find gluten-free pancakes for breakfast. He ordered "The King of Breakfast". The pancakes were so good he couldn't believe they were gf. Our server was knowledgeable about gluten-free options and the fresh-ground coffee was strong.
Visited for breakfast today. Had an omelette and blueberry pancakes. Delicious and no reaction!
Dedicated gluten free menu, food came out on a different color plates to differentiate gf. Tasted very very good. Would definitely recommend and go back again.
I called the one on Philadelphia Ave before going, just to confirm they had GF. The woman who answered confirmed they use the same waffle iron for both GF and non-GF items. I made a sound of disappointment(awe..)to which she gave me attitude and said “we’ve had lots of Celiacs and never had a problem.. plus the waffle iron gets so hot it kills off all the gluten” Before I could even start to explain it doesn’t work like that, she started into another very snotty tangent about how they never have problems and know what they’re doing. We clearly decided to skip it and go to the Bayside Skillet instead.
We were so happy when we saw our sun gluten-free food, from a different door from the rest of the food!
this place was absolutely delicious! get the gf pancakes if you go. it is really, really good and highly recommend. did not get sick and i am VERY sensitive/ allergic to gluten
So many GF options on a separate GF menu. I got the GF chocolate chip pancakes and they were pretty good.
They had a gf menu with a lot of different options. The server said to not get gf waffles due to cross contamination, so I ordered Pancakes instead. I got the M&M pancakes with sausages on the side. The pancakes were delicious, I did not get sick from eating them.
The GF waffles were amazing. I was worried at first that they weren’t GF because they tasted so good. The GF pancakes were delicious as well. So happy they had such an extensive GF menu!
Elvis pancakes were amazing! Zero reaction! Plan on going back for more before our trip is over!
The gluten free pancakes were good and I didn’t get sick from them. I also got an omelette I didn’t like because it was more like a crepe because all the toppings were inside the thin egg “wrapper.”
I was a bit nervous about getting the pancakes due to some of the mixed reviews. I am happy to say I had - delicious meal with no reaction!
I ordered the pecan pancakes and a side of turkey sausage. Also, I ordered the natural maple syrup for an additional cost. I thought it would be worth it as the table syrup might be questionable.
Love this place. Every time we are in Ocean City my daughter has to go here so she can get gluten free pancakes. Always good and she doesn’t get sick.
I was excited to try them because they had such a big gluten free menu. After eating here I will never ever recommend it to anyone that needs gluten free. The food was delicious but definitely not gluten free I believe they gave me regular pancakes. I have never been so sick immediately after eating since before I got diagnosed with celiac. While I know the risk of cross contamination, this is not how I react after getting cross contaminated this is why I believe I had regular pancakes. Such a disappointment
The pancakes were so good we went back twice in a weekend. This was the first time I’ve been able to have fun flavor pancakes out and will be going back any chance I get.
I was so excited to go to Happy Jacks. When I got there I asked promptly for GF pancakes and I am pretty sure she herd me. But the after mass was not pleased. I had the worst diarrhea ever and I am scared to go back ever since.😩 😞
I ordered takeout twice and both times the pancakes (one time blueberry, the next very berry) were fantastic. The staff were very friendly and efficient when I picked up my food.
There is a full page of gluten free options including quite a few of their specialty pancakes. There is also a gluten free kids menu and they were able to substitute specialty pancakes for the standard ones on the kids menu. I generally don’t eat sweet breakfasts, so when I do allow myself the splurge I want it to be great and I was quite pleased. Friendly service also and outdoor seating available.
Great GF menu. Pancakes were delicious! Not sure about a perfectly clean kitchen but they seem to make an effort.
Knowledgeable staff, excellent gluten free menu. Gluten free pancakes are wonderful, such a nice treat. Aurora
Always a favorite atop of ours for several years now. Now that my wife is GF and DF intolerant, it is a must stop for their amazing GF pancakes. The wait staff seems to be very knowledgable when speaking on the menu and details of cross contamination procedures. Megan the owner is awesome and always a gem to speak with. Gluten i tolerant or not, Happy Jacks is a must stop for at least one breakfast during your OCMD stay.
Let me start by saying I really had high hopes for this place based on previous reviews. I don’t know where the break down was but I got sick from cross contamination shortly after leaving breakfast. Our server Dan was very friendly but was moving so quickly and took several orders after ours and then returned and said he had to reboot his system and had to wait to enter our order. I reminded him I had celiac/ gluten allergy and he said he would enter it but again left and took more orders. I can only assume in the chaos he didn’t flag the order.
I recently eliminated dairy from diet as well so could not order pancakes (which seem to be the go to here), they also put their potatoes in the fryer so couldn’t have them either. Ended up ordering two eggs and sausage and fruit. It was delicious, but as I said I unfortunately got sick.
A very large GF menu available. The cinnamon bun GF pancakes were fantastic! We go back here very year.
Fabulous GF blueberry pancakes. There food is delicious and they have a gluten free menu on the back of the regular menu. Lots of great choices. Wonderful food and a great way to start my day!
Great waffles and large variety of GF options and flavors. They also had GF syrup.
Great gluten free menu- not only had gluten free pancakes, but had cinnamon bun pancakes! Waitress was patient with food restriction questions. Didn’t have a wait today, but in years past had a wait on weekends.
Our daughters favorite in OC! Amazing to have options when ordering GF pancakes - pecan, bacon, chocolate chip, etc. The waffles are my personal favorite.
