These pancakes with maple honey syrup are a copycat of the ones people line up for at the Golden Diner in New York City's Chinatown. They are big and fluffy and topped with a fruit compote, maple honey butter, and smothered in a maple honey syrup.
These pancakes are made with a yeasted batter and are cooked in individual skillets. They are so thick that they are finished in the oven so that they are cooked all the way through. The pancakes are tall like Japanese pancakes, but a little more sturdy.
These pancakes are incredible, especially with the fruit compote and maple honey syrup. In fact, this recipe will yield extra syrup, berry compote, and butter. Be sure to save any leftover toppings for more pancakes or your favorite waffles.
The owner and chef at the Golden Diner, Sam Yoo, developed this recipe for these pancakes, and it was pretty much a well-kept secret until he shared how he makes them with Genevieve Ko of the New York Times, who then adapted the recipe for the home cook. There is even a YouTube video of Sam demonstrating his process (link after the recipe).
P.S. The wait time on the weekends can be between 2 to 4+ hours, but I just read that they now, as of a year ago (2025), take reservations. Fortunately, they serve pancakes all day every day.
Ingredients in These Pancakes and Toppings:
From the Pantry: Instant yeast, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, and neutral oil.
Maple Syrup and Honey: For both the maple honey butter and the maple honey syrup.
Unsalted Butter.
From the Fridge: Eggs and buttermilk.
Soy Sauce: It's the secret ingredient in the syrup.
Berries: I used a mix of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Strawberries will work too. Just cut them into the size of the smaller berries.
Fresh Lemon Zest.
To Make the Pancakes:
First, combine the yeast, some of the flour, warm buttermilk, and water and then let the mixture sit for one hour. In the meantime, make the compote, maple honey butter, and maple honey syrup.
For the compote, combine the berries, sugar, and cornstarch, and cook them in a hot skillet for about two minutes. Let the berries cool.
For the syrup, combine the ingredients (butter, honey, maple syrup, soy sauce, and salt) in a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until emulsified. Keep warm.
For the butter, combine softened butter with honey, syrup, salt, and a little water and keep it at room temperature if using it right away. Otherwise, you can keep it in the fridge. The Golden Diner serves the butter shaped into quenelles, which are little fancy football or rugby ball shapes. I was less than successful in forming them. I need to work on them. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the flavor!
To finish the pancakes, set up your oven with a rack-lined baking sheet on the middle rack. Whisk the rest of the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together and then whisk together the eggs and oil. Add the yeasted mixture to the egg mixture and then whisk in the dry ingredients.
After that, heat very lightly oiled (just a quick wipe) skillets and add the batter to about 1/3 inch thick and cook until the bottom is done. Flip the pancakes and then cook the other side for about two to three minutes and then transfer to the oven to finish cooking.
If you have a second oven or a good roomy toaster oven, you can keep these warm at 200 degrees F. Or, you can serve the pancakes diner-style as you continue to cook the rest.
Serve the pancakes by topping them with the compote, then the butter, and then the syrup.... or.. put the syrup on first! It's up to you.
Finish the pancakes with a few bits of lemon zest.
Notes and Tips for Success:
This recipe makes four to six pancakes, depending on the size of your pan. I bought 3 of the same 8 inch frying pans at Target on a whim. They were very inexpensive and I wanted to be able to cook three pancakes at a time. They also have them on Amazon. You could also cook one pancake at a time and keep them warm in another oven. Alternatively, if you're not worried about them all looking the same, you can cook the pancakes in several different pans or on a griddle.
Sam Yoo cooks the pancakes on only one side on the stovetop in a small skillet and then transfers them, in the pan, to a salamander, without flipping them. Most of us don't have a salamander at home, so we have to flip the pancakes. To flip them, gently tuck in the edges around the pan with your spatula right before flipping so that they will stay together.
A typical serving is two pancakes, but one was plenty for me! Especially with the compote, butter, and syrup.
You can serve these with or without the berry compote, but don't be shy with the syrup!
Leftovers:
If you have any leftover pancakes, you can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat them in a warm oven. You can also reheat them for about 20 to 30 seconds in a microwave. Serve them with the leftover toppings.
I was so sad when the last one was gone.
"G" is for Golden, Gochujang, Grits, Garlic, Gnocchi, Garlic, and More!
As part of the 2026 Alphabet Challenge, we are sharing recipes that begin with "G" or include ingredients or methods that that begin with "G”:
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Golden Diner Pancakes with Maple Honey Syrup
- A Messy Kitchen: Gochujang Sugar Cookies
- Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Cheesy Bacon Grits
- Sneha’s Recipe: Homemade Gluten Free Bread Flour
- Sizzling Tastebuds: Wholewheat Garlic Monkey Bread
- Food Lust People Love: Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle
- Blogghetti: Grilled Garlic Honey Boneless Wings
- Mayuri’s Jikoni: Kadai Aloo Gobi
- Magical Ingredients: Gochujang Garlic Flower
- A Day in the Life on the Farm: Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Packets
- Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Chunky Garlic Stuffed Olive Deviled Eggs
Last year (2025) for the letter "G," I made Stir-Fried Ginger Tomato Beef. It's one of my favorite stir-fries. For 2024 I made Gyoza Wrapper Pizza Bites. So different and so good!
Golden Diner Pancakes with Maple Honey Syrup
These Pancakes with maple honey syrup are a copycat of the ones people line up for at the Golden Diner in New York City's Chinatown. They are big and fluffy and topped with a fruit compote and smothered in a maple honey syrup.
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 cups (260 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ½ cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (one stick) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
- 14 ounces (400 grams) mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and sliced strawberries.
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- Zest of one lemon (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast with 1 cup of the flour. In a small saucepan, heat the buttermilk with ¼ cup of water over medium-low heat, stirring often, until lukewarm (about 100 degrees). Use an instant read thermometer to make sure it's not too hot. Pour the buttermilk and water mixture into the flour and whisk everyhing until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for an hour.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Set a metal rack in a half sheet pan and place on the center oven rack.
- After the one-hour proofing, stir the remaining 1 cup of flour with the sugar, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and oil. Add the yeast, flour, and buttermilk mixture to the egg mixture, then add the dry flour mixture. Gently stir until combined. It should look like typical pancake batter.
- Heat 7- to 8-inch nonstick skillets over medium heat and very, very lightly oil them. Add batter to each pan to about 1/3 inch deep. Make sure the batter reaches the edges of the pan and forms a circle. Cook until the bottom is evenly golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes, adjusting the heat if the bottom browns too quickly. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side has browned, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer the pancakes from the skillet to the rack-lined pan in the oven for the centers to cook through, 2 to 5 minutes. To check, poke a paring knife in the middle and peek to see if any wet batter remains. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve right away or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven or toaster oven.
- To serve, pour on the maple-honey syrup. Top with the berry compote, and then the maple-honey butter. Top with optiional lemon zest.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the butter, honey, syrup and salt until smooth. Keep at room temperature if using right away. Otherwise, keep in the refrigerator.
- Mix together the butter, honey, syrup, soy sauce, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, whisking often, until the butter melts completely. While whisking contantly, add the water. Whisk until everything is well mixed. Keep warm.
- In a large bowl, toss together the berries, sugar, and cornstarch. Heat a large, saucier or sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the berry mixture and cook, stirring, until the blueberries just begin to pop, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
790Fat (grams)
44 gSat. Fat (grams)
22 gCarbs (grams)
92 gFiber (grams)
4 gNet carbs
88 gSugar (grams)
54 gProtein (grams)
11 gCholesterol (grams)
149 mgAdapted from New York Times Cooking.
See Sam Yoo demonstrate making these pancakes on YouTube.
