The Florida Restaurant That Lets You Cook Pancakes Hibachi-Style

State parks are known for a lot of things — fresh air, majestic scenery, wildlife, campfires — but hibachi-style pancakes? Not so much, unless you happen to get hungry when traipsing the terrain of Florida's De Leon Springs State Park. That's when you'll discover a bit of tabletop theatrics with your history lessons and pancakes. It all takes place at the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House, about an hour north of Orlando. 

This 100-year-old rustic restaurant sits inside a replica of the site's original sugar mill from the 1830s, injecting nostalgia and plenty of lore into your meal. Like early settlers of yesteryear, the building has no heat in the winter, just a cozy fireplace for warming hearts and bellies, all while cooking your own pancakes right at the table. At ordinary eateries, the last thing you'd imagine is paying to cook your own food — but here, inside the natural wonder of De Leon Springs, subtropical forests and towering old-growth trees, it just seems right to roll up your sleeves and heat up the griddle. 

Every table at the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House features a built-in griddle, making it easy to pour, flip, and finish your own pancakes, just the way you like them. It's an all-you-can-eat situation, with options for buttermilk, multigrain, buckwheat, vegetarian, and gluten-free batters, accompanied by maple syrup, old-fashioned molasses, and sweet honey. Toppings include things like chocolate chips, peanut butter, pecans, granola, and plenty of fresh fruits, all of which will make pancakes that take you straight back to childhood. The menu expands beyond pancakes, if you can resist the flat-top hibachi fun. 

At Old Sugar Mill Pancake House, the namesake pancakes reign supreme, but guests are welcome to fry or scramble eggs on their personal griddles. Kitchen chefs sizzle up bacon, ham, and sausage (including a vegan option), and the menu also includes a Mill Breakfast, French toast, biscuits and sausage gravy, corned beef hash, and breakfast sandwiches. Stone-ground grains form the base of all pancake batters and natural-grain baked goods. Stone milling, rather than roller milling, affects taste, texture, and nutrition. 

The restaurant stays open until 4 p.m. daily, shifting into lunch time with simple fare such as sandwiches, salads, paninis, pretzels, nachos, cookies, smoothies, desserts, beer, wine, mimosas, and Bloody Marys. There's also a kids' menu, with little ones under age five eating free griddled pancakes with an adult order. A take-out window offers light fare for picnickers. 

This pancake house rests beside the renowned De Leon Springs, from which the state park gets its name, making sure you have a birds-eye view of Mother Nature in all its glory. Those same waters served the 1830s-era sugar mill, and later a grist mill processing corn for flour during America's Civil War. It's certainly no surprise this restaurant landed on our Tasting Table list of the absolute best pancakes in every state.