IF you think pancakes are a dish best served only once a year on Shrove Tuesday then think again.

One quirky cafe in the centre of York has turned the delicacy in to a year-round event celebrated in the Dutch-style, which means that, unlike their American, or English counterparts they are very large and very thin.

At Double Dutch Pancake House in Church Street these kind of pancakes are the house speciality.

When you walk in the place itself has something of old Amsterdam about it, situated as it is in a characterful heritage terrace spread over several floors.

The decor is blue and white, the colours of the famous Delft pottery, and tulips and windmills abound on every shelf and alcove.

We'd gone in for brunch on a Saturday and the place was bustling.

We didn't have to wait long to be seated and were shown upstairs to a small, light, bright room overlooking the street below.

Feeling pretty hungry we decided to opt for savoury pancakes.

Jordan chose the Full Dutch Vegetarian loaded with sweetcorn, peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato and Edam cheese (£8.95) while I opted for the Amsterdammer (£7.95), a cracking combination of bacon with thinly sliced apple and stroop - which is somewhere between Maple syrup and treacle.

It's worth saying at this point that the other key difference with Dutch pancakes is that ingredients that we would normally consider as toppings are often cooked in to the batter - that is the Dutch difference.

This meant that the apple was cooked into my batter sealing in the moisture and making for a mouthwatering combination with the crispy bacon and, when blended with the sticky stroop, it was a taste sensation.

Jordan said he wasn't sure how authentically Dutch his topping combination was but it was authentically delicious. The veg had retained a little of its crunch and the pancake was how he likes them - crisp on the outside and soft and yielding toward the centre. No one skimped on the Edam cheese either - which is always a bonus.

One pancake is probably a sensible amount given the generosity of the toppings and extra ingredients, however in the name of a thorough review we manfully had too much pancake, sampling as we did from both the sweet and the savoury menus.

There was a small amount of debate over what to have for afters and the compromise we reached was the Chocolate Conference (£7.95) - sliced pear with Nutella and chopped walnuts which we shared.

The cooking had brought out the flavour of the pear and the pancake came with a heroic amount of Nutella and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts along with a tiny white chocolate mouse (no clogs).

The traditional choice between an accompaniment of whipped cream or ice-cream was a no brainer. Ice-cream. Obviously.

It’s a good thing that this pancake was as tasty as it was because we were both approaching stuffed and it was only because it was so good we were able to polish it off.

If a double helping of pancake is not what you desire then you can always enjoy one of the selection of Dutch open sandwiches or even choose from a small menu of non-pancake sweets should you be so inclined.

There is a separate vegan menu with a selection that is almost the match of non-vegan options.

Since it was a cold morning for drinks we started off with a hot chocolate apiece (£2.40 each) and washed down our pancakes with a ginger beer (£2.50) and a sparkling water (£1.75). There are alcoholic options, but it was a bit early for us. As an aside, fans of Harry Potter can enjoy a butter beer (£2.95), should they want.

We came out feeling entirely stuffed, and welcomed the walk home, but we'd had an indulgent time, watching the world go by whiled away in a cosy and friendly little nook.

Another nice thing about Double Dutch is that they are an independent business run by a husband and wife team, offering something a bit different to locals and visitors alike. On our visit the staff were very helpful and attentive throughout and service was reasonably quick, doubly impressive when you consider how busy the place was.

The cafe is open seven days a week, but only during the day with Saturday being the latest finish at 6pm.

All in the bill came to £33.90 and we didn't need to eat again until teatime!

Double Dutch Pancake House, 7 Church St, York YO1 8BG

T: 01904 658728

W: doubledutchpancakehouse.com

Food: Delicious 4/5

Ambience: Cosy 4/5

Service: Good 4/5

Value: Worth it 4/5

Reviews are independent and meals paid for by The Press