The Waffle Den — Restaurant in Killeen

2019 I revisited and it's better. I'm changing the one star to a 4 star. The chicken and waffles are fresh and hot but those eggs need work. It's a little cleaner as well. Good improvement.

I tried this place for the 1st time this morning. FAIL! The guy and his one earring, took my order with an attitude. I asked for three of the $7 specials. I asked, "What pieces of chicken comes with that?" He responded with, "What pieces do you want?" Then he asked me was that for here or to go? SERIOUSLY?!?!?! I'm a thick woman but did he think I was going to sit there and eat 3 orders? Lol smh. Anywho, As I waited on the food, I noticed the filth, filth FILTH from the floor to the ceiling. I can NOT be the only one seeing this. The floors were littered with trash, stains and dirt like they hadn't cleaned in a week. A girl came out with a mop bucket and spot cleaned the floor at the 1st table near the door and she was done. Smh. The tables, chairs and baby seats ALL had stains and spots on them like they had not been wiped or even sanitized. I could imagine the microscopic germs dancing all over that stuff... it made me itch by thinking about it. A little sanitizer or bleach water is all they needed. The same girl came out and cleaned a bottle at the 1st table and that was it. I just watched in shock lol. The walls, baseboards, counter is so filthy I do NOT want to imaging the back where the food is prepared. Either they need to scrub or repaint but I believe the parking lot is cleaner than the inside of that place. I looked at the filthy windows which I originally thought were tinted but now I am not so sure. They are dirty and worst under the front door air vent. Dust and dirt is hanging off the vents in the ceiling in the dining area which means millions of dust mites and fecal matter which causes respiratory and asthma symptoms as well as making people just plain old sick. There were at least 5 or 6 people there behind the counter, but one seemed to be doing anything except the older lady showing a tall young man how to cook on the grill. There was one customer when I came in and then there was only me. When the guy and his one earring behind the counter was bagging the plates he fussed at the young girl that made the waffles because she stacked the plates and melted the top of one. She laughed, said something and went back to the back of the house but not before running into a table and almost knocking herself to the ground. The guy bagged the warped plate instead of giving me a new one and said, "Here you go." I said, "Thank you" and quickly left. Upon arriving home to feed my family of this questionable food, I noticed that they had given each plate a teaspoon of hot sauce for the chicken and a tsp of syrup for the soggy waffles. I am use to MY waffles, IHOP, Waffle House, etc. being crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. These waffles had the consistency of white sandwich bread dipped in water. The flavor was ok, much like the kind you mix from a box. The chicken had a good flavor as far as seasoning goes and it was hot, BUT the breast was so dry.Needless to say, this is my 1st and LAST time visiting this establishment. I LOVE patronizing black businesses or places that employ black people BUT this is one place I can not. I imagine the people that like or love this place either can NOT cook, are late night clubbers, drunks and drug addicts. This is NOT good food and the service I experienced this morning is worst. I have owned restaurants and other businesses before I retired. I have managed other establishments before I retired. I was in food service for over 30 years from Texas to Georgia and I can not imagine that this place has been properly inspected by legal agency. There were so many violations I mentally noted, just sitting there, without ever seeing the back of the house. Did I mention I will NOT be eating here again. As filthy as the front is and the food was not great, I am not going to run the risk of getting sick with this...

I pulled up to a door connected to the side of a gas station and initially I questioned my decision. I soon realized that there were two lanes leading to the SIDE of the building WAITING to place drive thru orders and people standing and waiting INSIDE. Surely there couldn't be this many people at one time, in one location, ALL with faulty tastebuds!!! I stepped inside to see a menu on the wall with SO MANY DIFFERENT waffle options!!! Now, I was hesitant to feel real excitement as we had just been to a "popular" breakfast joint in Austin that had a full restaurant setup and a 40 min wait to deliver an apple waffle that consisted of a plain waffle with diced apples toppled on top. The Waffle Den has a mom and pop diner setup which is ACTUALLY FITTING!!! I felt at home!!! You walk in and you see faces popping up and around the corner to see you and greet. The lady taking our order was professional but PERSONABLE!!! She handled me and my multiple questions and order changes with a smile and grace. As we sat and waited for our food, I honestly didn't keep track of our 20 minute wait...THEY did!!! Watching them interact with the regulars that they new on first name basis and them interacting with new faces like myself,...time wasn't a concern. One the gentleman told us we had been waiting for a while and asked our name on the order. He goes to check on it for us and let us know that it was almost finished.. .when they brought out our waffles, they had smiles making me feel like a birthday slice was being brought my way....they knew the gifts they were bringing, we did not.....I ordered a BlackBerry waffle that came to me in its purple, fluffy splendor SMH Its perfectly crisp exterior was laced with cream cheese drizzle and two golden fried wings accompanied with a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce....I am new to the chicken and waffle culture so I didn't dive straight in, I pulled my wings to the side to enjoy separately....my fork broke the crisp exterior to find a fluffy, moist interior (queue the happy food dance). The wait of so many was understood and justified in that one bite and every bite after...the waffles were the star but the chicken was not an amateur act. Think of home fried chicken....got in your mind??? Great!!! That's what they're serving!!! An older gentleman was walking through talking to everyone and picking up their finished plates. He came by our table and told us to let him take some things off the table and out of our way...made me feel like we were amongst family. They aren't simply selling varieties of waffles and chicken....it's SOUL food!!! Don't...

This place is by far my family's favorite restaurant in the greater Killeen area.  I got it, they only serve chicken and waffles (false, they serve other basic bfast foods, eggs, bacon, sausage etc), but they also make a MEAN CFS (chicken fried steak), and a MEANER panini (spoilers, the bread is waffles!!!).  We tend to move a lot since that's the name of the game these days, and we LOVE finding local restaurants wherever we go, because we can always find a chain restaurants.  This place is nothing short of awesome!  We Love the food, the people (very friendly), the atmosphere (reminds me of a favorite restaurant back home before they got big), the location, literally everything about this place, we want nothing to change.  Except for maybe more choices, we've been so many times lately we've blown through nearly half the menu (we're just fatties taking out two waffles a piece [we save room up when we know we're going to the Waffle Den], it's a VERY robust menu).  I've started planning my next menu choice before leaving so I'm ready the next time I come in.  Even the original waffles are awesome.  If you enjoy local foods with awesome people, this is the place to come.  If you're a health nut, why would you be reading a review about a waffle place?  I'm sure there is a kale bar out there for you, and thank you for choosing to go there, smaller line for me, which I appreciate, because I'm going again as soon as I can.  Only complaint is they close at 5pm, which I also understand, there arent too many people who want waffles for dinner, although I only learned of their closing time when I checked online on the way home from work the other day...  Waffles are literally the best I've EVER had.  Chicken is awesomely spiced to perfection.  CFS is delicious.  Here's a tip to sound like a pro when you go in.  First off, call it the CFS, dont sound each word out.  Also, have your waffles stacked if you're getting multiple.  And you can get whatever awesome waffle you can come up with under the CFS OR as the bread for your panini.  I recommend the jalapeno with cheese waffle with either; the only way you'll regret it is if you dont like jalapenos,...