Ever since the popular Japanese pancake shop, Flipper’s came to NYC, I have been wanting to go and try their famous soufflé pancakes. But, they always had a long line, and I was waiting until the line is much shorter, or better, no more line. We finally got to go to Flipper’s, with no line, in mid-March. Luckily for us, with it being a weekday, and with restaurant capacity low, not many people are going to Flipper’s on that day.
They had outdoor seating area, but the seating was not set up. It is possible that they only offer outdoor seating during weekend, when more people are visiting. With first glance, we didn’t know if they were open or not, but they had the sign outside with their menu, and they had “Open” on the door. We walked in, and there was no one on the first floor.
From what I read before we head out to Flipper’s, I read that we are supposed to go up the stairs, where the host will be there to seat you. There is a staircase to the back on the left, with a sign that says “Dining” with an arrow pointing up. So, we went up to the dining area.
Bright yellow wallpaper accompanied the staircase, like a ray of sunshine. At the top of the stairs, you are facing the kitchen, where the staffs are busy making delicious magic. When you turn around, you see this open, bright, warm space with greenery, exposed red bricks, and lots of windows.
The second floor was bigger than I thought it would be. They had a large communal table in the middle, with tables spaciously placed along the walls. They had nice skylights, bringing in bright and sunlight into the space. I like the plants hanging everywhere, with natural lights flooding the space. Such a happy place!
The brightness is emphasized with their yellow neon signs and yellow designs on the walls. As their famous soufflé pancakes has distinctive yellow hue from the egg, it matches the space and the theme perfectly.
We wanted to order some drinks, and they had all sorts of drink menu, more than I expected. They had a good amount of coffee and tea offerings, some juice and lemonade, and then, Flipper’s Signature Drinks. And to my surprise, they also offer alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, sake, and mimosa!
I was curious about the Flipper’s Signature Drinks, which had five different tea listed, with choices on ice, sweetness, and boba. Overwhelmed with all the choices, I asked our waiter what his favorite drink was, and he said “Milk Tea” from the Flipper’s Signature Drinks menu. He told us exactly how he likes it, which was with ice, half (50%) sweetness, and with Boba. It sounded great, so we went with that. And here is the Milk Tea with ice, half sweetness, and Boba ($6.25). It was really good! Even though it was “half” sweetness, it was plenty sweet. It tasted like Japanese Royal Milk Tea that I used to get in Japan, but without Boba. Really good! The Boba was plump and tasty, and the size of the glass was nice size too. We enjoyed it very much!
For food, we had to order one of their soufflé pancakes for sure. We decided to go with Matcha Flipper’s Pancake ($19). It is basically their classic Flipper’s Pancakes, topped with matcha powder, whipped cream, matcha whipped cream, and sweet azuki beans. It comes with three soufflé pancakes, and even though each one is rather small, they are very plump and much taller than regular pancakes.
The pancakes don’t have much sweetness to it, even the cream was not sweet. So, the syrup was a must, in my opinion. But with the lack of sweetness, it was rather refreshing pancakes, which is strange to say, but true. On their menu, it had an instruction on how to each these pancakes. It says to use two forks, pull apart the pancakes, and enjoy. However, when you are provided with one fork and one knife, it is not possible to follow their instruction… So, we used a knife and a fork, so we don’t need to passing one fork back and forth just to eat. If they want their customers to follow their instruction, then they should provide extra fork… Anyways, they were fluffy like a sponge, egg-y like a soufflé, different from any other pancakes out there for sure.
We also ordered another dish, plus a side dish. We went with Chicken and Waffle ($17), and a side of Bacon ($5). I saw several photos of their Chicken Waffle, which had one round waffle topped with two large pieces of chicken. When it came out with two small waffles, I was a bit sad… Nothing like seeing a whole, round, beautiful waffle under the juicy chicken… We love chicken and waffles, we have had some really amazing ones, from Hills Country Chicken, which we liked it so much, we went back for the second time. We had really great Chicken and Waffle from Capitol Diner, and then at Circa Brewing Co. in Brooklyn too. And yes, they all had that classic, round waffle under their juicy chicken.
Well, back to Flipper’s. They had two square-shaped waffles, with two chicken pieces. It came with a side of Maple Butter, which tasted like caramel. Sweet and interesting, it went great with waffle! The chicken thigh was very juicy and meaty, but the other piece was rather thin, and a bit dry. They were crispy and not greasy, with a little kick to it, which I liked.
The side of Bacon was super crispy. I prefer my bacon to be less crispy, I like juicy bacon…but that is just my preference. It was good, but nothing special. I noticed that all the pates had a small chip on the edges. I said, “they should call themselves Chippers Flipper’s” LOL.
They have a bathroom near the staircase, passed the kitchen to the right. One unisex bathroom, but I believe there is another one downstairs (although it might be closed when the first floor is not in use).
Inside was bright yellow, the same wallpaper that leads you from the first floor to the second floor. It was small, but with bright color and a nice sized window flooding sunshine into the room made the space feel bigger. It was clean, and it also comes with a bit of humor. Just look who is having some pancakes in the mirror!
Overall, we had a nice lunch here at Flipper’s. I am glad we finally got to try their famous and popular soufflé pancakes. The milk tea was really great, and the pancakes were indeed interesting. If I am in the area, I would like to go back and try their Eggs Benedict, or the Parfait. Have your tried their fluffy soufflé pancakes yet?
Flipper’s – 337 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013