we visited ellen's danish pancake house on our way home from santa ynez on father's day. it was packed, but there was only a 10 minute wait for 3. our waitress took a very(!) long time to take our order, and another waitress, ana, came by and assisted us when she realized we were waiting and provided great service. i ordered lunch, i tried the tlta sandwich which is like a club minus the bacon. it was huge and the perfect meal before getting on the road. my friends ordered two different omelettes, a crepe and biscuits + gravy, and they enjoyed their meals. the coffee is your typical diner quality. my sandwich was really delicious, and i loved their potato salad! i wish it came with another scoop or two, just equal to the same size the fries option would be. TLTA SANDWICH 9/10 POTATO SALAD 9/10 ellen's is a great old school brunch cafe if you're visiting the santa ynez area. ambiance: 3/5 food: 4.5/5 service: 4/5 ellen's: 4/5

Samantha was a great waitress this morning. The food portions are huge might want to split the meal. I'll show mine as I got it with biscuits and gravy. The food here is original recipe I believe not can type style. Like so many bland food for the masses. Prepared with flavor and served with love. If Andersons split pea soup hadn't closed we would have never found this hidden gem

We have been eating at Ellen's for at least 40 years and for good reason. Best breakfast anywhere! It's like going back in time to the 50s, where you have a large cup of strong coffee, large biscuits and gravy and the best hash browns on earth. They are golden crispy brown on the outside and almost mashed on the inside with perfect seasoning. This is the benchmark to all other breakfast joints around. We have moved to Arizona and always stop at Ellen's when we are staying in Santa Barbara. Well worth the drive. Same staff for years and the waitresses are awesome.

Different but delicious pan cake Really enjoyed the pancakes and hospitality. I will visit again when I go to Solbang.

Excellent service, friendly ambience! Great food. Love eating here for the last 4 years

Another in a series of "why haven't I reviewed this before" places, Ellen's delivers in food quality, service, comfortable pleasant setting and deliciousness. The thin Danish pancakes were cooked perfectly, as were the nicely crisped hash browns and my favorite "lightly" (slightly runny) scrambled eggs (so many places won't cook them the way I like them). Also, both the Danish sausage and the kielbasa were quite flavorful. Coffee was freshly brewed and hot. It was really a prefect breakfast!

This is such a cute little cafe and the waitress are on first name basis with a lot of the customers. The food was all delicious and service was quick. We tried the danish pancakes that my boyfriend really enjoyed. The biscuits were a little dry but with the gravy they were better. Great place to go to avoid the crowds.

Ellen's is still a great place to get the traditional Danish pancakes or sausages for which Solvang is known. The servers at Ellen's are consistently nicer than those at Paul's, although Paul's are polite enough. Ellen's is typically less crowded than Paula's as it is not on the main strip in Solvang and rather is across the freeway. If you go early in the morning Ellen's is typically quiet up average noise level ambiance. It has red and white checkered vinyl table cloths for the country diner feel. On this visit we got the eggs, toast, and hash browns breakfast and the strawberry Danish pancakes. Contrary to popular thought, egg preparation does impact quality and Ellen's consistently has fluffy buttery eggs that are most likely made with cream--they are most definitely bad for you but taste awesome. The hash browns were fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside and buttery all like they are supposed to be when made well. The Danish pancakes tend to be dry, but with the generous amount of strawberries both on the plate and rolled in the pancakes and the whipped cream, the strawberry Danish pancakes are probably the best Danish pancakes we have had in Solvang. We definitely recommend getting them if strawberries are in season during your visit. Overall, 4 stars is about right due to rising prices vs. quantity of the items you get and because quality does vary at Ellen's (also at Paula's too). However, Ellen's is still a great place and preferable to Paula's for the Danish pancake and sausage Solvang experience. We definitely recommend giving them a try.