Waffle House Diner — Restaurant in Surrey

In an unexpected twist, Surrey, BC has become home to a diner that marries Americana kitsch with Canadian culinary flair. The Waffle House Diner (no relation to the Southern U.S. chain) serves up nostalgia with a side of innovation.

The star of the show is their breakfast poutine, a morning riff on the Quebec classic. Crispy potato cubes replace the traditional fries, while a silky hollandaise stands in for gravy. Soft-boiled eggs crown this indulgent mess, their yolks mingling with squeaky melted cheese curds to create a sauce that's equal parts comforting and luxurious. It's the kind of dish that makes you question why you'd ever settle for plain old hash browns again, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

The coffee ($3, bottomless) is mercifully robust, a far cry from the watery swill often masquerading as diner java. It's the perfect foil to the rich poutine, cutting through the richness and providing that much-needed caffeine kick and diner’s strength. I no longer eat Whitespot for breakfast do to the fact that their pale watery bottomless coffee is $7! So $3 for a very decent cup of diner coffee.

Service comes with a smile, courtesy of a young staff that seems genuinely pleased to be there. The vibe is pure Vancouver—effortlessly friendly without being cloying.

The space itself is a clever blend of retro and modern. Chrome and Formica abound, but there's breathing room between tables—a luxury in diner terms. It's as if a 1950s greasy spoon got a makeover from a minimalist Scandinavian designer.

While it may not reach the heights of culinary greatness, Waffle House Diner offers an above average solid breakfast experience with a uniquely West Coast Canadian twist. It's comfort food that doesn't take itself too seriously—much like...

Had two really poor service experiences here lately.

1.) Asked one of the staff how that day's service was going and was told that it was pretty busy that afternoon, but quiet in the morning. I asked if that was normal for a breakfast place and she told me it was because people in "Surrey are just lazy and don't want to get up early".

Which... is a pretty bizzare thing to say to a customer. I don't think there was a need there to slag me or the folks who come to the place.

2.) I was in a rush and popped in for some take out. I budgeted out 20 minutes to get my food (a sandwich). 15 minutes came and went, and when I asked to follow up, it was relayed that my food was just about to come out. 10 minutes later, it appeared and while I'm guessing someone forgot to punch my order in (or something went wrong); I just found the experience pretty poor especially after establishing that I needed to run.

(Also worth noting, the place was deserted when I made my order).

I do like the cheap breakfast when they run their special, but my last two trips have left a fairly poor taste in my mouth. Add to that the number of times I've had to ask for new cutlery or new cups because they clearly haven't been washed; and... I think there are better places to have a cheap,...

The coffee was delicious!

I’m very glad to see a place like this exist is Surrey when all you normally see are chain restaurants. The Waffle House Diner has a bit of a classic diner vibe going on without going too retro on the design. They specialize in breakfast, brunch, and lunch. The location here in the King George Hub is pretty nice as well with 1 hour of free parking underground which was nice.

The service here in my experience was excellent, no problems at all for me. All the staff were great! I got seated quick (9 am) and I didn’t see anything that wasn’t up to par. I did notice that the place was starting to get very busy around 10 am so you might want to book a table or at least expect to wait for a table.

The food was fairly typical and the portions were fair. I got the Chorizo Bacon and Cheese Omelette with sour dough toast. Everything was delicious and I left feeling full enough. I say the food was typical because it’s pretty difficult to mess up breakfast foods and most places do well here.

The highlight for me was definitely the coffee! Hot, refills, and no disgusting sour taste!

I’ll be here pretty often for breakfast I think. My only criticism is that they open at 8 am which I think is pretty late for a diner. Aside from that, go...