Wonder Waffel Melbourne — Restaurant in West Melbourne

Wonder Waffel 2263 W. New Haven, West Melbourne, FL 32904

3 Stars

Founded in 2011 by the Brothers Topcuoglu, the company opened its first franchise store in Dortmund, followed by openings in Berlin, Cologne, and Frankfurt. It operates over 45 locations in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, with the most recent opening in West “By Gawd” Melbourne, FL.

My server today was Serena. Serena is an excellent service pro. She is congenial and gregarious and knows the menu, “Over Under Sideways Down.” People say that you can't be in two places at once. And while, currently, this is technically true, over the past seven years of doing restaurant reviews, my companion on 90% of them has been my lovely daughter, Andrea. She knows the process and service quality. So, this time, I tried a bit of bilocation and had her place the order and take pics. Andrea placed an order for one Italian Savory and one Peanut Special Waffle. She then brought the food home to my awaiting palate.

My first taste of what Wonder Waffel had to offer was a bite of their Italian Savory Waffel. It certainly looked appetizing, consisting of Pesto sauce, Mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sun-dried tomatoes. Not to beat a dead horse here, but again, with bread/pastry/baked items as your base, it is paramount that they are properly executed. This waffel was correctly cooked; it just fell incredibly flat on the palate. I was expecting a flavorful, “savory” experience, but instead, my taste buds were greeted with neutrality. The ingredients were fresh, not frozen, but the quality wasn't high enough to compensate for the bland base.

My editor-in-chief called Wonder Waffel to inquire about the ingredients for the Peanut Special as it is not listed on the menu, and low and behold, he got a hold of Serena. It does make one wonder if she sleeps on a cot in the back. I jest! Serena was exceptionally polite on the phone and offered Brett a ton of information on the Peanut Special, the Waffel batter, and the whole Wonder Waffel experience. Based on her diction during the phone call, I surmise she may be the franchise owner. The Peanut Special comprises a thin layer of Nutella and Peanut Butter, followed by sliced strawberries and bananas. It is then topped with Peanut Butter Cups and dusted with a fresh peanut crumble. If you're into Peanut Butter, this sure looks like it would be right up your alley. Serena says the batter is made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. I have no reason to doubt her, but again, as fresh as the ingredients may have been, it fell short on my schooled palate.

The Big Boy says, “Serena is 5-star awesome sauce; the...

This is a relatively new place my husband and I have wanted to try, so we went today.

It's an order at the counter, seat yourself, they bring your food to the table type of set-up We were warmly welcomed, the place was clean, and the staff was friendly.

I gave them 3 stars for those things only.

We ordered a mexican waffle sandwich to share (I wasn't super hungry), and we each ordered a small shake.

So why did I take off 2 stars? Well, for one, their prices are ridiculous. 16oz shakes are $9.22. Each. One waffle with ice cream and toppings? (Or savory waffle toppings, like our sandwich) cost from $17.22 to $19.88! Really! Our sandwich was $19.88.

A waffle sandwich and two small shakes and our total was almost $40! Imagine how much it would be for a family with kids!

Shakes were good, but not $10 good. The pictures on the menu showed a huge dollop of whipped cream on top, with a big piece of whatever candy shake you ordered, like Kit Kat bar, on top of that. Ours had a little bit of whipped cream and no candy on top. The candy was available, a display case with the candy in bowls was right there.

(Not that big a deal, really, if it wasn't for those prices.)

Honestly, my first thought when I saw mine was, oh no, their cutting corners already.

The sandwich was just okay. We could hear and see the man making it using a microwave, and it tasted like it. Please just get rid of the savory waffle sandwiches if that's all the effort you're going to put into it, and then have the audacity to charge $19.88 for one!

Also, when we ordered at the counter, the worker turned the pad toward us, pointed at the tip screen, and just looked at us like it's mandatory. My husband was caught off guard by the boldness and tapped 15%.

FYI: Tips are given AFTER the service is over! The better the food and service, the bigger the tip. But the way you have it set up, you expect a tip before service! That's wrong, and not the way it's supposed to work.

Lower your prices. Get rid of the tip screen because you've already tipped yourselves by over pricing...

I was so excited to finally try out Wonder Waffle.I thought it would be the perfect spot to treat my friend for her birthday..we were hoping to experience the much-hyped Dubai chocolate, so we ordered the strawberry Dubai chocolate cup. To say it was a disappointment would be an understatement.

Upon entering, we noticed only one table with food, while four other tables (we learned later) had yet to be served. The staff seemed completely overwhelmed, Paul at counter had to confirm with the lady in the back preparing dishes that they had all the ingredients.The expression she made on her face was of dread like it would be labor intensive. We were told that we would be the last customers of the day to be able to order the dish and that it would be a 30 min wait. We thought we were lucky to be one of the last ones and it could only mean that it must be a special and elaborate dish to make and with all the rave reviews it must be worth the wait.

Paul kept coming over to the unserved tables to explain or complain how exhausted he felt..just making excuses for the delays. At one point he came out with a complaintmhntary tiny bowls that held 3 tortilla chips each with salsa to hold over the 4 other tables who had been waiting. What started as a 30-minute wait quickly turned into an hour. When our order finally arrived, I was in disbelief! Did we seriously wait an hour for three cut-up strawberries with a tiny dollop of pistachio cream and chocolate?! It was truly laughable and not only that we paid $20 for what looked like two child sized cups! I expected something extravagant but it was an embarrassment and left me feeling ashamed for choosing this place for my friend’s birthday.

I definitely won’t be returning, and I can't recommend Wonder Waffle to anyone looking for a...