Water Street Waffle Co — Restaurant in Belton

So, I went on a day trip with my dad and the whole reason we stopped in Belton was literally because of this restaurant. It's almost impossible to find any place that serves liege waffles. The wait actually wasn't too bad. I have to agree with everyone else who said the service is terrible. It really is...the servers almost seem as though they're trained to avoid all eye contact in case a customer tries to catch them and ask for something. We rarely saw our server so we tried to catch others...got lucky a couple of times. I was about to refill my own coffee cup, but luckily there were 2 servers chatting in that area and I was able to get one to notice me before I did. The waffles were actually pretty much just like regular waffles. There WERE sugar pearls in the batter, but they were still hard and crunchy...there was no caramelization happening anywhere in or on them and they were...cool/room temp. It probably goes without saying, but I will anyway...I was SO disappointed. It then took a while to finally get our check...we had to flag the server down and ask for it. The hostess was great...she was friendly and I noticed her actually bringing things to tables and doing other things. The reason we went to Belton (the waffles) was a huge letdown...but the little downtown section of Belton and the creek were very charming and we enjoyed walking around and exploring.

Response to management's reply: The service was a huge issue, however, I was more disappointed in the waffles, as that's the whole reason we went to Belton. I am quite aware of what a liege waffle is...they're my favorite...actually, the only waffles I like. I wasn't coming there to learn what one is...I came to enjoy them, as there are few places that offer them. I don't know what your recipe is, but they were most definitely undercooked. They were soft and pale...and there was no crunchiness or caramelization. Not everyone knows how to cook...maybe you got the recipe from someone who is not very good...if that's how you believe they're supposed to be. I'm not trying to be rude here, but I did notice you have a tendency to gaslight the reviewers who don't sing your praises and I'm not here to be gaslighted. Maybe you should just apologize that people didn't love your food/service/restaurant or whatever and let it be. If it were just our server who displayed poor service, I'd think it was just one, however, we observed the same from nearly all the servers. In my experience, good/bad service comes from the top down...leading me to believe that had we been able to get the attention of someone to get the manager, it might not have mattered so much. Besides, we really just wanted to finish our food and be on our way to enjoy the rest of our day trip...not spend forever trying to get a manager for...what exactly? The experience was what it was. We didn't expect to be discounted or anything. I simply came here to share my experience. Had the food or service been better, I certainly would have put that in my review - I love to praise and give credit when it's due. I didn't mean to go on so long in this response, I just felt I needed to clarify my position because I don't appreciate your assumption that I don't know what a liege waffle is and that there was no point in "correcting" the service issue...based on other reviews, it's clearly been an issue for some time...if correcting it were a priority, we probably wouldn't have had such bad service that day, right? Instead of making customers who don't leave a stellar review fee like they've done something wrong, maybe just apologize and strive to correct the...

I must say that Water Street Waffle Co was the only reason for us stopping in Belton. I emphasize 'only' as Belton seems to be a city many just pass through. This local eatery was such a nice vibe and has the potential of becoming a Belton staple as it is unique to its surrounding areas.

Walking into the establishment took me aback as I was not expecting the space to be as vibrant on the inside because of how basic the outside looks. Our server, Nikki, provided recommendations and honestly her waitress skills are impressive. She gave reasonable time between her "check ins" for us to look at the menu and have conversation. Her service was steady, smooth and consistent.

We ordered the mimosa flights (passion fruit, cranberry, pineapple, peach, strawberry kiwi, and pomegranate). I was not too thrilled on the drinks. It did not meet my expectations -- the flavor was mid and seemed watered down and the spirit of choice in the mimosa was poor quality. The taste was blandly metallic with a douse of smut. I personally would not recommend any of the mimosas, but my friends found the strawberry kiwi ones most tolerable. When Nikki came back to the table, we chose to play it safe and stick to water.

The day that we visited, the grill was out of order which was a bummer because I really wanted a nice omelet. We decided to order separate items and share.

My order: The Great Bambino (bourbon bacon, scrambled eggs w cheese and spinach, house potatoes, and 2 signature waffles - lemon blueberry & cinnamon white chocolate banana) and a chicken sausage Friend 1's order: Strawberry & Cream waffles I don't remember Friend 2's order.

I liked the balance of the lemon blueberry waffle. The zest was not overpowering and the blueberries were sort of clunked together like caviar. The bourbon bacon was the best food item on my plate. The potatoes were not seasoned well enough. The cinnamon white chocolate banana waffle was a nicely plated sweet nothing. It had a lot going on, and the toppings were so light that it didn't fully cover the waffle. The only thing I was able to taste out of the waffle name was the banana. The waffle tasted plain. I honestly could have done without this one. I have never heard of a chicken sausage and was excited to try it; it was veryyyyyyy dry and has an acquired taste.

I tasted my friend's strawberry & cream waffle and of the waffles we shared, this one was the best.

Eating spots in the Killeen-Temple area seem to be hit or miss. While Water Street Waffle Co isn't among the best brunch spots I've been to and wouldn't be a place I would recommend as a 'must go', it did get us out of the house. I would say it best suits a 'stop DoorDashing and get out of the house' casual...

This wasn’t the experience I was expecting. We had dined on a Sunday for brunch. I knew it would be a wait because Sunday brunch so I was fine with that. The girl said it will take 45 minutes to be seated. We decided okay let’s wait. The ambience inside was very welcoming, but due to the crowd, we decided to sit on the bench outside and enjoy the view and the fresh air. True to her word, it did take just about 45 minutes to be seated. Warning. If they ask if you would like to sit on the patio outside, SAY NO. It was smelly because they take you to the back where the service entry is. Not pleasant at all. We had no idea what we were getting into. You’ll see a photo of my table view below. Before she took our order she mentioned the wait for food would be 45 minutes from placing the order. I wish they had said that when we decided to wait for a table. We were already invested time wise, so we stayed. We ordered the cinnamon toast biscuits as an appetizer, I ordered the blueberry lemon curd waffle and my friend ordered the cinnamon waffles with eggs. The waffles did not taste like waffles. They tasted like cake donuts and they were the texture of cake donuts. The blueberry lemon curd waffle is good in theory, but it was overdone in my opinion. Too much cream, not enough lemon curd. My friend seemed to be okay with his cinnamon waffle and eggs but I wasn’t. Maybe if I sat inside and ordered some meat, I would’ve had a different perspective. The waitress kept commenting that we were unusual because we didn’t order a lot of food like other patrons. What an odd comment to make. The jury is still out, I’ll try them just one more time to confirm whether this place is a no go. I’ll keep you posted.

Update: Thank you for your response of my review. The back door may not be called a service entrance/entry but it was treated as one. Staff bringing out smelly trash that reeks of sour old milk and other foul odors through the back door while patrons are trying to enjoy breakfast, was not disclosed when asked “is it okay if we seat you at the patio?” I did not mention fighting off a bee and flies while eating because we can’t control Mother Nature, however ambience was lacking either way. The view I showed in the picture was my view. I sat in that spot purposely to avoid staff passing around me with the big bags of stinky trash. I didn’t seek to give a less than stellar review. I was sorely disappointed...