International House of Pancakes (IHOP) Review

Recently I visited IHOP, located at Building 1, Block R, Gulberg 2, Lahore, and the following is my experience.

We will categorize this review into 4 major categories because those are the really important point whenever we go to a restaurant for dine in.

• Taste of Food
• Presentation of Food
• The ambiance of the place
• Quality of the service provided

Taste of Food

First of all, IHOP is serving the best pancakes in Lahore, hands down. The cakes are well made, soft, tender, fresh, and delicious. There is no question in that. I have tried pancakes from many places and IHOP has one of the best ones. Though their selection is limited, but they are worth it.

Similarly, their milkshakes, hot coffee and smoothies are the best I have ever tasted, chilled, savory, adequately sweet, and frothy. If you ever happen to go there, DO NOT FORGET TO ORDER THEIR SHAKES. 🙂

Presentation of Food

Now the presentation is equally important as the taste of the food. Because what is the point of dining out if you are not posting food pictures on Instagram right?

Well, let me tell you that IHOP brings out the photogenic drinks and pancakes. Just click the pictures are they are ready to be posted out there.

Ambiance of the Place

Okay, this is where things started to go down the hill.

First, the place is usually crowded and noisy, but that is the point of the place when they serve the best pancakes in town, so don’t go there if you want a quiet environment. When I visited, there was renovation going on and the place had bashing sounds of hammers, drills, and whatnot. So for the ambiance, this is not the place you are looking for.

Food Gallery

Service Quality

Okay, this is something I want to address to the unaware public.

I went here twice, first time I saw their Instagram post saying that they have a 20% off for students. I went there happily with my student card to get off but they told me the offer is till 12 pm. This was nowhere to be told on the Instagram post. I felt the urge to yell but I held my composure.

Now the second time, there was a buy one get one free offer. I called them. Asked them if the offer is still available, and they said YES, I asked until when it is available. They said you can avail the offer at any time of the day, before November 20, 2022. I went there, with my friends, only to get embarrassed when I was told that the offer is only valid until 12 pm.

I stood up this time telling them that the person on the phone call told me that it can be availed at any time of the day. We asked for the manager, Mr. Shoaib was a nice person, listened to us and then gave us buy one, get one free offer.

But the thing is that misleading information on Instagram and over-the-phone calls in unacceptable.

Another thing is that their service is very slow, probably they are understaffed, if you call for a waiter, 15-20 minutes pass by and no one comes. If you ask for the bill, no one comes. If you want to pay by card, suddenly their machine stops working.

Verdict

Overall I would give IHOP a 3 out of 5 because of their slow service, miscommunication and providing misinformation. However, their pancakes and shakes are super tasty. If you are going their, go for the pancakes and their shakes only. For the service, I really hope that you will not get disappointed.