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For more than 20 years, Socrates Yakoumatos has been satisfying families with his classic comfort food at the no-frills Pancake House in New Carrollton.

It's the kind of place populated with regulars — people who not only come often, but have been coming often for years, and there are enough of them to keep the Pancake House very, very busy.

"We don't mind standing in line," said customer Martha Standifer. Her dining companion, Robert Vest, added, "We never use a menu."

Standifer and Vest praised the restaurant's food quality, prices, atmosphere and service — in short, everything. They dine here regularly three or four times a week, Standifer said.

Yakoumatos said his restaurant, open for breakfast and lunch daily, is busy all the time. Lunch lines are frequently out the door, he added. Inside, the Pancake House has a spacious dining area crowded with people and tables, enclosed by bright blue walls hung with framed photos of racecars and sports cars. The menu is similarly comfortable and satisfying: burgers, subs, comfort-food entrees, fried seafood and, of course, breakfast all day — pancakes, waffles, eggs every way, grits, scrapple and more.

"There's no pretentiousness here," Yakoumatos said. "You want to eat healthy, don't come here. You can try, it's not impossible. [But] people come because they want to enjoy themselves."

The signature meal is the Pancake House Square Deal, with sixteen different breakfast combinations served with bottomless cups of coffee or tea: from two pancakes with two eggs ($5.25) to the same combination with fried fish ($8.49) or even a large-cut porterhouse steak with three extra-large eggs ($14.95). 

Pancake stacks (three large, fluffy rounds) range from $4.50 to $6.50 and include fruit variations like blueberry, strawberry, peach, banana, apple and raisin. A Belgian waffle runs for $4.95, or $5.95 with any topping; the "Snowball Waffle" with cherry or strawberry topping, one scoop of ice cream and whipped cream goes for $7.49. And omelettes (starting at $5.95) include options with various breakfast meats, vegetables and cheeses, served with home fries and toast.

Diners can round out their breakfasts with a range of sides, including savory home fries ($1.95), oatmeal ($3.25), bacon or sausage ($2.10 each) and more.

Non-breakfast menu items include comfort-food entrees like grilled beef liver and onions ($6.49), country fried steak ($7.49), the "Fried Fisherman Special" ($12.95) with shrimp, filet of fish and a crab cake, all served with salad and a side vegetable.  Hamburger options range from $3.25 to $6.50, and include everything from a simple cheeseburger to an eight-ounce "extra super burger" on a Kaiser roll. Other sandwiches include breakfast ones — fried egg with bacon, ham or sausage ($3.25) — and classic lunch ones, like bacon, lettuce and tomato ($3.50) or steak and cheese ($4.95).

With such satisfying fare at such reasonable prices, the temptation and the value are equally great at the Pancake House.

"I've been coming ever since they opened... [for] breakfast five days a week," said Charlina Williams of Landover. She loves everything on the menu, she said, but particularly favors Pancake House Square Deal #11 ($6.95), an omelette made with three extra large eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, onion, green pepper and cheese.

"This place is great," she added. "Food-wise, it can't be beat."

Pancake House

7701 Annapolis Rd., New Carrollton

Phone: 301-459-1200

Hours: 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.