Waffle House — Restaurant in McKinney

PAINFUL EXPERIENCE. We love our Waffle House! But this time, due to a cook ( with a mustache) who was sitting by the counters yelling from the moment we arrived about 1st shift needing to clean up...and everything THEY needed to do before 2nd shift was absolutely unbearable. I don't believe he was on shift yet. We decided as we were ordering, we just couldn't possibly enjoy a meal in that atmosphere. We had hoped he had said his peace, and it would be over but he just kept yelling. Truly crushed as this is one of our favorite locations, we were really looking forward to it. Our waitresses are always fabulous, but this guy was over the top, he had chip on his shoulders and wanted the world to know. I so badly wanted to remind him it's a small OPEN space. You could hear him from outside...OUTSIDE. As customers, we don't need to hear you scream over the music and diners what you think 1st shift needs to get done, they know ehat needs to be done. Customers come first, the rest will get done as it gets done. Screaming at the 1st shift gets you nothing, certainly not respect of staff or customers.

He clearly knew a list of things that needed to get done, why didn't he jump in and help catch them up? That place can get crazy busy, he should have jumped in, stepped up and taken care of a few things instead of berating the remaining staff continously in front of customers. I was so very tempted to record him and put him on blast. I don't feel it would have done any good. That type of man only hears himself and doesn't deserve any additional attention.

We apologized to our waitress, quietly let her know why we were leaving, and left her a tip.

That is a perfect example of a toxic work environment. No one should be spoken to like that, not from management and certainly NOT from the cook. Staff should collectively turn him into HR / Corporate immediately. It takes a great team working together to provide a great experience in an iconic place such as Waffle House.

We will try again another day as long as he is...

Update November 2025: I've added the new menu options available.

Update 5 years later: I actually love going here with my boyfriend a couple times a month. Today however, it seemed as though the staff versus customer ratio was completely out of whack. Three cooks/servers, and a full house of customers made it really hard on staff. I felt bad, but we were still able to eat. I do think they need more employees here, as it seems to be a busy area, especially before the holidays. Today I got my usual, which was also very UNusual for the server. The cook even laughed, as I ordered a cheesesteak on a biscuit, stuffed with one sunny side up egg, and hashbrowns inside. It was AMAZING. I do sort of wish the cheese was melted some, but it's still by far the most delicious thing on the menu. (I've inserted a photo for you to try!) It's definitely not on the menu but needs to be. Douse it with a little Frank's Red Hot sauce and you'll be sent to the moon! The server today seemed tired and in her words "underpaid and underappreciated". I hate that for her, but unfortunately it won't change much saying it for the customers to hear. Overall the experience was still nice, considering I was enjoying it with my partner. We'll still come back every time.

Also, if you like tea, I recommend theirs! A half and half with 3 coffee creamers is to die for! Thank me later!

Its cool they're open 2am, late at night after bar hopping. The ambience is very alive despite the darkness outside. The staff are pretty upbeat despite how late it is. A few were dancing to the speaker above their head. The food is decent, for a late night meal. Theres only a side of hash browns, tomatoes, or grits. No fries, no fried pickles, no onion rings. Nothing of the sort. Everything is strictly breakfast for every meal. The grilled chicken sandwich was awesome, and only 4 bucks. Elsewhere they'd charge 5 or 6. We're probably...

Wish I could leave zero stars. I LOVE waffle house, albeit as sketchy as the place can be most of the time. The food is usually great.

My experience at the Mckinney location last night however, was not.

The cook was bouncing around all over the place acting, let's just say "hyper" talking about slamming 5 red bulls.

He chugs one, sets it beside the other can right in the food prep area (which is of course against health regulations). Then makes a big deal about burning the two waffles he forgot about. He spoke of the burnt waffles about 8 times before he finally quit talking about them.

Regardless of this overlookable health concern, I was considered entertained up to this point.

Then he started working on our food. One everything was working. Be then grabbed the nasty sprayer and started hosing down the floor (In a manner you'd do during a cleaning phase when food isn't actively being cooked).

He then proceeded to pickup cardboard from the floor directly, grabbed and moved the dirty mop bucket... then went straight to our toast. Grab it when the same hands/gloves and cut and smashed our toast down on a plate.

That was the final straw. I told our waitress we had to leave and she made a big deal about our departure so I kindly told them why.

The cook got very defensive and lied about what he had done, as if I wasn't sitting right in front of him during the entire ordeal.

I did 15 years in the food service industry and ran an establishment myself, whole holding a food managers permit. What I witnessed is not sanitary or anywhere within the health department's rules.

The cook was the acting shift lead, so since he wouldn't accept accountability there was no one else to talk to.

When I called this morning their phone line doesn't get you to a person at the store.

Clearly not a very...