Lincoln's Waffle Shop — Restaurant in Washington

Just a lousy, start the day off with a bad experience kind of place.

I'm not sure why this is considered a D.C. institution and a hot tourist stop. The real reason I wanted to stop in is because I'm a fan of Parks and Recreation (Leslie has a bite to eat here with Madeline Albright in one scene), but I really wish I had taken a picture of the exterior and left. Long lines outside would suggest the food is really worth waiting for, but I suspect it has more to do with its proximity to Ford's Theatre and other touristy spots in the neighborhood.

After a long wait, our party of 3 gets seated at the tiniest table in the middle of the room, even though there were bigger tables in the back that were empty. Even if they still needed to clean them, logic would suggest that 3 full grown men would need a tad more space to eat, especially since the waffles come on a separate plate. They definitely don't care, and just want to get people out of the doorway as fast as they can. The waiter/owner seemed annoyed that we were even there to begin with, and barely registered us as humans while rushing through our orders. Forget asking any kind of follow-up questions, like getting cream or sugar for your coffee.

The food was incredibly mediocre. Maybe one step above edible. This place is renowned for their waffles, but they're gross. They were really too crunchy, have a burned after taste, and need to be drowned in syrup from a bottle that looks like it's been reused hundreds of times. The grilled cheese that one of us ordered was the saddest, most pathetic grilled cheese sandwiches in the entire universe, probably. Coffee tastes like it's been filtered through the original filter when they first opened.

I can't say much about the ambience either. The place feels extremely dingy/dirty, and hopefully I didn't walk away with herpes from the unclean silverware. The less said about the bathroom, the better.

Finally, I'm not entirely sure we didn't get screwed over on the bill. What they do is give you the slip they wrote everything down on initially, but you can't read a word of it. For what we ordered, it should have come to $45.00, but the bill was $59.00. I think they may have added an automatic tip? And if they do add automatic tips, they really need to let customers know that beforehand. We sure weren't told, or saw any signage mentioning it. I felt so bad about suggesting this place to my family members, that I paid the...

I had a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. The food was good (plenty of bacon on the sandwich) and reasonably priced, but that’s about the only positive feedback I have. The experience of going here was stressful to me. As soon as I walked in (voluntarily wearing a mask, so I was clearly Covid-conscious) and indicated a party of 1, someone gestured for me to sit down at the (dirty) counter where others were sitting as well. I looked around and there were plenty of tables that no one was sitting in, but I guess because I was alone I had to sit there. With Covid situation, I was uncomfortable at the counter near other people. It had also clearly not been cleaned, so I never used the napkin that they set down for me on the dirty counter. The employees were sitting or standing around doing nothing despite lots of dirty tables around. It would be easier to social distance if they had all the tables ready for use and allowed single people to sit at them. Not to mention it just gives a bad vibe having lots of tables with dirty dishes around. It was also stressful being at the counter facing all the employees who were sitting or standing around; I have some social anxiety especially when eating, and it was not the relaxing meal that I wanted. I ate my food as quickly as I could to get out of there (they did not seem to have a takeout option, which would have been preferable). They also do not serve tap water — supposedly because of Covid, but that makes no sense since they serve coffee from mugs. Needless to say, I will not...

On Sunday, February 18, 2024, I dined at Lincoln's Waffle Shop with a guest, located at 504 10th St NW, Washington, DC 20004. Situated next to the house where former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln died and directly across from Ford's Theater where he was shot, the restaurant holds historical significance. However, our experience was marred by several issues.

Firstly, we waited outside for 30 minutes before being seated, during which food was dropped and left on the ground, creating an unhygienic environment. Inside, despite requesting a table, we were seated at the crowded counter and the owner declined to relocate us. This lack of accommodation warranted a 2-star rating.

The food itself was disappointing. My order of a western omelet and banana pancakes arrived, accompanied by a sticky syrup bottle. The omelet was overcooked, and the banana pancakes simply had bananas placed on top rather than mixed into the batter. These shortcomings led to another 2-star rating.

Furthermore, the cramped seating arrangement resulted in frequent contact with other guests, making for an uncomfortable dining experience. This inconvenience also contributed to the low rating.

While the restaurant's proximity to historical landmarks is noteworthy, the health and safety issues we encountered cannot be overlooked. As such, I cannot recommend this location to others, as its popularity seems to stem more from its historical surroundings than the quality of...