People are now driving to Hamilton for these Insta-worthy pancakes

Ever driven out of town just to get pancakes? A place in Hamilton is now making flapjacks that are blowing up on Instagram, and people are coming from Toronto and all over to get them.

To paraphrase Leslie Knope, somewhere, in some town, there really are the best pancakes. Why can’t it be here?

Motel in Hamilton is a breakfast and brunch restaurant currently serving up $20 “Champagne Pancakes” topped with Devonshire cream, raspberry and pink champagne coulis and gold flakes in a picturesque environment with lots of pink, plants and a chandelier.

The spot also serves strawberries and cream flapjacks, chicken and waffles, loaded breakfast nacho fries and cheesy French toast. That’s enough to rival even some of the most over-the-top breakfast places within Toronto city limits.

“We wanted to celebrate over the top indulgence. Champagne and gold are obvious choices,” Motel owner Christopher Hewlett tells blogTO. “They are for sure our most popular menu item.”

He says he find almost 50 per cent of Motel visitors are traveling to get to them, not only from Toronto but also Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and Markham. Pre-COVID, he says they even had visitors from across the border.

“We were very flattered,” says Hewlett. “We allow people to call on their way in to be added to the waitlist, so this is a great option for people. They’ll hit up a waterfall or two and grab some champagne pancakes or chicken and waffles.”

Also, if you love the champagne pancakes so much you wish you could somehow take them home and wake up to the smell of them every morning, Motel actually even has a souvenir champagne pancakes candle that also has gold flakes for $32.

If you’re looking for a way to scratch your itch for travel and feel like you’re brunching in a faraway motel, take the short trip to this restaurant and get some pancakes with gold on top. With Ontario just reopening after one of the world’s longest lockdowns, you deserve it.