Parking downtown
The restaurant is on Central Avenue in the middle of downtown. The operator lists paid street parking on Central and nearby streets, along with Hill Wheatley Plaza and the Exchange Street Parking Deck as nearby options.
Overview
About The Pancake Shop
Why stop
- Family-run since 1940, steps from Bathhouse Row.
Heads up
- The small, close-seated dining room can mean an unpredictable wait.
Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Parking downtown
2 active Hot Springs alerts
- CautionPark-wide burn ban in effectA park-wide burn ban is in effect because of high fire danger. - The ban was enacted on August 15, 2026.Official details
- ClosureMaurice Bathhouse closed for renovationsThe Maurice Bathhouse is currently closed for renovations. - Do not plan to use the building during your visit. Check current Bathhouse Row status before visiting.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hot Springs Tour Guide
Your drive to The Pancake Shop, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Hot Springs National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Superior Bathhouse Brewery: A Meal by the Springs0:00 / 0:31
“Bathhouse Row's north end is coming up, with Superior Bathhouse Brewery in the red-brick building. This former bathhouse opened in nineteen sixteen; now its thermal spring water goes into beer.”
Plays as you drive up to The Pancake Shop in the Parkwolf Hot Springs Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Arlington Lawn and Hot Water Cascade
- West Mountain: Town Views and a Stone Shelter
- Fordyce Bathhouse: Beyond the Baths
- Hot Springs Mountain: Pagoda and Tower
- 18 audio storiesacross Hot Springs’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Groundhog, Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 19 trails, 33 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about The Pancake Shop
A downtown breakfast institutionThe Pancake Shop is a family-run breakfast restaurant on Central Avenue, across from the…
The Pancake Shop is a family-run breakfast restaurant on Central Avenue, across from the Arlington and a few steps from Bathhouse Row. It has served breakfast since 1940, making it an easy sit-down stop alongside a visit to Hot Springs' historic district. Come for a full breakfast and a little local history, not a quick grab-and-go.
What to orderThe menu sticks to breakfast: plain, fruit, chocolate-chip and buckwheat pancakes, plus eggs,…
The menu sticks to breakfast: plain, fruit, chocolate-chip and buckwheat pancakes, plus eggs, omelets, grits and the shop's French toast. The sausage is made locally, and the orange juice is fresh-squeezed. Visitors often single out the apple butter, buckwheat pancakes and generous servings, though opinions on consistency vary. The menu also lists gluten-free toast on request.
Expect a small roomThis is a compact diner with tables close together.
This is a compact diner with tables close together. Seating is first come, first served, and the shop doesn't take reservations. Waits are unpredictable: some diners are seated right away, while busy-weekend reports range from about half an hour to longer. Leave some slack if your morning schedule is tight.
A little Hot Springs historyAlbah D. Mason opened Mason's Pancake Shop across Central at 133 Central Avenue in 1940.
Albah D. Mason opened Mason's Pancake Shop across Central at 133 Central Avenue in 1940. The business later moved to 216 Central, where an original menu is displayed on the wall. Tom and Ruth Ardman bought the restaurant in 1966, and their daughter Keeley has continued it with her husband since 2004. The building itself once housed the Liberty Café, a souvenir photo shop and The Italian Kitchen.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Hot Springs
71 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsGroundhogMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsMexican Long-nosed ArmadilloMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
16 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting map
40 sightingsCardinalMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
27 sightingsSummer TanagerMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Hot Springs. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
