Waffle House — Restaurant in Petersburg

The worst restaurant experience I've had in a while, or possibly ever.

The first thing I noticed upon entry was that there was literally an armed security guard hanging around. After a few minutes, I realized she was WORKING there as security, going table to table, checking on everyone, including us. It did not make me feel safe.

The waitress was nice, but clearly tiptoeing around an angry cook, a man in his mid 50s, who was complaining loudly (not quite yelling) about every ticket handed to him.

Waitress: "How long on that bacon?" Cook: "You didn't tell me there was a bacon, now we've got to redo the whole thing."

Another instance:

"Ask them if they mind if I mix in the ham, it's better that way"

It took a while to get out food, maybe 20 min, and they weren't busy.

I made the mistake of ordering the grilled cheese and chili. I got a grilled cheese with way undercooked bacon on it and what looked like dog food from a can. It has one bean in it, well, a shell of a half bean. This tells me it's from the bottom of whatever they scraped it from.

Now, I admit it's been some years since I ordered the chili, so maybe they've changed recipes...but I knew things really weren't going well when I heard the cook say "we offer chili?". Maybe it was his first day. I didn't even take a bite.

My son got a blueberry waffle, which the waitress microwaved. He was happy.

As we paid out, a large group about 6-8 came in and were scoping out a place to sit, clearly trying to see if a server would put tables together for their group or if there was already a large, empty table.

The security guard decided it was time for them to move on or line up along the wall in an orderly fashion.

The whole experience just felt like something you'd experience in a jail, which is a stark contrast to the "grandma's kitchen" experience my son and I have been having on our trip all week.

PS I love Waffle House. It's one of the only places you can get eggs, toast, and bacon that's generally...

It sad that I have to leave this kind of review but I was very irritated by witnessing a bit of discrimination by an employee who goes by the name of Crystal. My husband and I were on our way to a wedding in a different state and on the way we decided to stop to get breakfast. When we walked in, we sat at the bar like area. While we sat, we were waiting to be given menus and some form of recognition. The waiters were a bit busy but this Crystal person just finished at the register and gave the cooks an order, she looked at my husband and I and never acknowledged us nor gave us menus. So another one of her coworkers (I wish I knew her name) was so nice and sweet and gave us menus and greeted us after she was busy dealing with multiple tables. So at this point I was irritated and we just decided to take our food to go. So once we ordered and sat in the waiting area, two white guys just came in right after and sat at the bar like area after we sat to wait for our food and Crystal rushes to get menus and go straight to acknowledge them. Then an elder black man came in and sat right by the two a few chairs down and of course he sits there waiting and waiting and no acknowledgement from Crystal and gets greeted by the waiter who greeted my husband and I...I was livid and ready to go...I know people don't have to greet you or talk to you at all but I feel like if you work in an establishment where its diverse it should be equal amongst everybody so that said I definitely won't be back to this spot...

It may seem excessive to give a chain restaurant with simple food 5 stars, but the reasons add up to even more than 5. The pecan waffles are terrific; that’s a star. The service is very friendly and extremely fast, food on the table in minutes, even if a little crowded; it takes a packed restaurant before the service is merely normal speed, and even then it’s not slow; that’s another star. The entire menu is very inexpensive; it’s easy for two people to be done with ordering and still be under $20; that’s a third star. I’ve liked everything I’ve ordered, from breakfast food to a steak dinner, not elegant but excellent, always very tasty, simple food; that’s 4 stars already. The restaurants, restrooms, and even the parking lot are almost always completely clean, which a lot of fancier restaurants can’t manage to do so consistently; 5th star. Open 24 hours and unlike many competitors that only serve breakfast in the morning, Waffle House serves the entire menu all 24, so if you want a pecan waffle for dinner (I have) or a steak for breakfast (that too), you can have it; star number 6. I have more stars to write , but you get the idea by now why an inexpensive very informal chain restaurant can earn a 5 star review. Enjoy it for what it is, which is easy on the southern interstates because you can count on a Waffle House within just a few exits,...