My family of 4 went to IHOP for the first time and our $70 breakfast at the chain was better than mom-and-pop restaurants in our area

Terri Peters
·5 min read
1

  • Recently, my family of four ate breakfast at IHOP in Florida for the first time.

  • Our meal, which included coffee, soft drinks, and four breakfast entreés, cost about $70.

  • IHOP's breakfast felt like a great value and the food was better than some local spots in our area.

My family loves heading out on a weekend morning to have breakfast.

Since we rarely eat at chain restaurants, it's most common for us to grab a booth at a diner or mom-and-pop restaurant and enjoy a meal together, but recently, we decided to visit IHOP for the first time.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a chain restaurant breakfast, but since we've had some pretty delicious chain dinners everywhere from Outback Steakhouse to Bahama Breeze recently, we figured breakfast at IHOP was worth a shot.

IHOP serves breakfast at any time of the day, along with lunch and dinner fare.

IHOP sign on side of ihop building
IHOP has been around for decades.Terri Peters

The first IHOP opened in 1958 in a suburb of Los Angeles, California. Originally known as International House of Pancakes, IHOP shortened its name to an acronym in 1973.

Today, there are more than 1,000 IHOP locations throughout the world from the US to Kuwait to Guatemala.

IHOP's menu includes breakfast classics like pancakes, waffles, and omelets, in addition to more lunch-and-dinner appropriate entrées like burgers, salmon, and Salisbury steak.

For our first visit, we headed to an IHOP location in West Melbourne, Florida.

We started our meal with coffee and soft drinks.

Pumpkin cold brew in glass at ihop restaurant
My daughter got an autumnal coffee drink.Terri Peters

IHOP is known for its iconic coffee mugs and for placing fresh pots of coffee on each table, so my husband ordered a cup for just over $3.

My 15-year-old son and I opted for soft drinks (about $3.50 each) and my 13-year-old daughter chose a specialty coffee drink for fall, a $4 pumpkin cold brew.

Later, she also ordered a soft drink, bringing our beverage total to around $17.

My favorite breakfast is sausage gravy and biscuits, and IHOP delivered.

hash brown, sausage, eggs, bacon, and biscuits, and gravy on two plates at IHOP
I loved the biscuits and gravy I got at IHOP.Terri Peters

I was raised by a dad who loved cooking a big Southern-style meal on weekend mornings, so sausage gravy and biscuits is one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods.

I ordered a buttermilk biscuit and gravy combo ($11) at IHOP that came with more food that I could have imagined. I got two biscuits, a bowl of gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, and hash browns.

I was pretty impressed by the flavors of what I tried, too.

I also loved that I had leftovers.

Ihop to-go cup next to plastic container of biscuits, sausage, and bacon
The portion size at IHOP was great.Terri Peters

Although I feasted on bacon, sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and gravy, I left the restaurant with plenty of leftovers.

The dish was truly my perfect breakfast, filled with all of my favorite morning foods.

My daughter ordered crepes with fresh strawberries.

cinnamon bun crepes topped with strawberries on plate next to plate of bacon strips at ihop
When we ordered, my daughter was torn between the sweet crepes and a more savory version.Terri Peters

I was pleasantly surprised by IHOP's impressive menu of sweet and savory crepes with options ranging from lemon-ricotta-blueberry to chicken and pesto.

My daughter chose cinnamon-bun crepes ($10) topped with fresh strawberries and a side of bacon ($4.50).

She really enjoyed the crepes but found the icing-like filling to be a little too sweet. Next time, she'd probably go with a savory crepe loaded with breakfast meat and scrambled eggs.

 

My son was excited to get fries at breakfast.

chicken biscuit sandwich at ihop with side of fries
My son ordered IHOP's chicken sandwich on a biscuit.Terri Peters

IHOP currently serves a chicken biscuit topped with sausage gravy, pickles, and hash browns, but my son is not that adventurous of an eater. Luckily, he was able to order the sandwich plain with a side of fries ($9).

His verdict? Eating fries at breakfast felt like a fun treat and the biscuit was on par with the fast-food versions he loves from Chick-fil-A and McDonald's.

 

My husband's meal was the most expensive, and he really enjoyed it.

Steak and eggs with side of pancakes at IHOP
My husband would order steak and eggs from IHOP again.Terri Peters

At our server's suggestion, my husband ordered the sirloin tips and eggs combo ($13), which came with a short stack of pancakes, hash browns, and eggs.

Both of us found the steak to be fork-tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious and agreed it was definitely a meal we'd order again.

 

Based on our experience, we'd return to IHOP again.

The author Terri Peters, her husband, son, and daughter smiling in front of an IHOP
We usually head to local restaurants for breakfast but IHOP seemed like a great value for our family.Terri Peters

Our $70 meal at IHOP cost about what we'd spend in mom-and-pop restaurants or local diners — and the food was more delicious.

Not only was the breakfast food simple and perfect in its presentation, but also the seasoning levels were spot on. I usually add salt to dishes when we dine out, but I didn't feel like I needed to do so at IHOP.

The atmosphere was also wonderful and felt no different than a standard booth in a typical diner. While we sipped our drinks and waited for our breakfast, my husband, our kids, and I chatted about our week and spent some quality time together.

Overall, we enjoyed our meals and left with full tummies.

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