Everyone’s a breakfast person when it comes to Golden Diner’s Pancakes. And if you haven’t seen these fluffy, pillowy pancakes on your feed, then you need to fine-tune your algorithm!
The iconic pancakes first went viral in 2023, leading to weekend sales of 1,120 pancakes and queues of up to three hours now.
Golden Diner serves up classic American diner favorites inspired by Asian flavors, like its fresh Yuzuade, Thai Cobb Salad, and of course, the Honey Butter Pancakes (P.S. the secret is the soy sauce in the syrup!). In fact, the diner pumps out 35 quartz of maple-honey syrup every single day!
Lucky for all pancake lovers, The New York Times recently spoke to Sam Yoo, the owner and recipe developer, who after years of keeping it under wraps, was finally willing to share how exactly he makes these scrumptious stacks—and yes, they require cooking first in the skillet, then finishing in the oven.
Ingredients for Golden Diner Pancakes (4-6 large pancakes)
This recipe is from Sam Yoo and adapted by Genevieve Ko.
Pancake Batter
- 2¼ teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast (one ¼-ounce packet)
- 2 cups/260 grams all-purpose flour, divided
- 1¼ cups/300 grams buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup/60 grams canola oil or other neutral-tasting oil
Maple-honey Butter
- ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
Maple-honey Syrup
- ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup/100 grams honey
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Berry Compote (optional)
- 14 ounces/400 grams mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and stemmed strawberries, cut to the same size as the small berries
- ⅓ cup/67 grams sugar
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 lemon
Explore the step by step instructions on The New York Times Cooking recipe.
Not the best chef? No worries! Golden Diner just began accepting weekend brunch reservations. If you can’t score one, you can always explore other NYC pancake favorites.
Moreover, you can try more from Chef Yoo at his Midtown restaurant, Golden Hof — Korean Bar & Grill.
📍Golden Diner: 123 Madison Street, New York
🗓️ Open everyday from 10am to 10pm (seats under 30 people indoors)