Waffle House — Restaurant in Virginia

I've never been to Waffle House, so I chose this location based on its 4+star rating. I also rarely go to any chain breakfast spot; I'm much more likely to spend upwards of $25 at an independent cafe with fancy espresso drinks, real maple syrup, and free range organic eggs.

All that said, I was surprised. If you can tolerate cheap chain restaurant food, this place wasn't bad. I ordered the All-Star breakfast with coffee. The eggs were hot and scrambled with (what tasted like) American cheese, which made them more delicious. The waffle was better than most hotel waffles, thin and slightly crispy, with decent whipped butter and plain syrup. I was pleasantly surprised by the raisin bread, which I probably haven't had since I was a kid, and which went well with ample butter. The bacon was neither too crispy nor too thin. And with a pat of butter, the grits were tasty and had the perfect consistency. I was pleased to find the coffee quite palatable black, although I preferred it with half and half. Overall, the food was hardly gourmet but quite good for its genre, and served hot and in sufficient quantity. Eating after noon on an empty stomach probably helped, but I was expecting an interior product.

I also was quite impressed with the service. I was directed to pick any table as soon as I entered. The place is small (only 7 tables and a few counter chairs), but seemed clean and the empty tables were ready with menus. The waitress was laid back but very polite, calling me "sir" (I don't hear that much even at nicer restaurants), and being prompt and attentive to my needs without constantly buzzing around. She even offered me more coffee when she brought the check and told me to take my time.

It's clear from a couple of the regulars who were there that the employees are well known and liked, and evidently some have been there for many years, which is a positive sign. The place seemed to run simply but well, and while the staff might strike you as decent but unimpressive folk, they certainly knew their stuff and did their work well and politely.

My meal was filling and came out to $12.75, plus tip, which seemed eminently fair, if not cheap.

It isn't a craft breakfast, but for what it is, they did a great job and I commend their execution...

Me and my husband stopped by to have dinner Saturday night at around 10pm I want to say… it wasn’t busy at all. I ordered an All Star breakfast with a pecan waffle and Ham and my husband got a bacon egg and cheese hash brown bowl with mushroom and onion. Our waitress was not attentive at all, but I put some blame on the cook also, he was angry about something and kept shouting so she couldn’t even get our order all the way out and kept asking if she could repeat it and he would yell back “* got it bruh I got it” he in fact did not have it as my husbands hash browns came plan, she brought my ham out I finished it then she brought the eggs grits and toast I finished it and she brings our check, no waffle, no refills. I nicely asked her since I didn’t get the waffle and he received his order plain if she could take those off of the bill and she just kept saying “I’m getting off and trying to leave so…. I need to go so…. I’m trying to give the rest of my work to her so can you pay the bill?” The only other waitress in there was an older woman, Katie, and I know her name because the younger waitress and the cook were putting her through it and making this woman go crazy. She never took the items off the bill, rather she brought him a side of all the toppings missing, after he had already eaten, and brought me a waffle that wasn’t even a full waffle, they obviously rushed it because it was like a waffle that didn’t have enough batter to fill the iron and no pecans. We paid the bill anyways because it seemed to be a fight to get our waitress to pay attention at all, and when we paid and tipped her we asked for to go boxes and cups she said “sure” and immediately after cashing us out grabbed her purse and phone and walked out the door…. I myself am an experienced server and this is never ever how you treat a table even if you’re itching to leave and you especially don’t talk to the cook about where you can go score your next high directly next to your table either. I always thought the waffle house chaos was from customers…. Not...

This was my first time, ever, at a Waffle House, so bear with this in depth review.

First, food: there's a pretty good selection of food to go on, and quite a bit is very heavy, breakfast style fare. Keep that in mind before you enter. The famous hashbrowns were excellent! I personally ordered mine as a triple order, smothered, covered, and chunked. They were amazing. I also had their Texas Toasted Burger, it was also amazing!

Second, the staff: my server wasn't normally from this store, but she still went out of her way to constantly check up on me and the friend I was eating with. She did everything to make us feel amazingly well kept from constantly checking our drinks, thanking us for our patronage, joking with us, and even indulging my question on her name tag. Fantastic service with a smile!

Third, the venue. Now, this particular location is rather small, and most of the time [to my knowledge], a Waffle House has you in and fed within mere moments. I never felt overwhelmed with too many surrounding customers even with there being at least five groups other than my own eating and arriving with us. There does need to be a little more cleanup at the tables between guests, however. One table we were originally going to sit at obviously needed a wipe down, but it's not glaring cockroaches or the like.

Fourth, timing. Literally, when we arrived and ordered to the time we received our food was maybe 8 minutes, at absolute worst. I will GLADLY take eight minutes to most sit down restaurants where it's maybe 20 to 30 minutes until I eat.

Overall, I'm giving the visit four stars! Not for any heavy negative, not for bad customer relationships... just needed a few more tables wiped down. Other than that, go see Akira, Kristy, and everyone else!...