The Waffle House in St Albans is an institution in Herts county. It's been around since I was a kid and was the location of many a first date when I lived in herts during my teens and early twenties. For J, today was his first Waffle House experience.
The Waffle House has been around since 1978 and one thing that always struck me about them over the years is how contemporary they have always been. Yes, everything is always on or served with a waffle as the name suggests (duh!), but the toppings and dishes are always relevant and modern. Another sign of the times is also how they have pivoted in this Covid era. The benefit to having a generous parking lot, is that they have turned it into a drive-thru of sorts during Covid lockdowns. Like a well-oiled machine, you can order ahead and collect on foot or in car, or you can order from your car window and wait in your car to collect. All of this is incredibly impressive and also worth being aware of should we have a lockdown #4 in the future (* rolls eyes *). But for now, let's focus on the food.
The menu is simple and classic (bacon & eggs, soup of the day, hummus & avocado, chilli con carne) but the specials are where it's at. These are always fresh, exciting and mouthwateringly enticing! In the past things like Chat Masala on an Onion Bahjee Waffle, Spring Pea Fritta, Buttermilk Chicken Burger and Waffle S'mores have all graced the menu. The ever changing list honestly makes us want to visit every week just so we don't miss out.
Today we went for roast pepper harissa spiced cauliflower on a watercress waffle served with black tahini, home-made hummus and dressed rocket & fennel, and BBQ slow-cooked pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce, slaw & pickles. Phew!
We ordered in person and waited for about 10 minutes in the brisk sunshine for our order to be made freshly for us. We then took our parcels of Waffley goodies the short walk up the hill to Verulamium park to have a lovely picnic. The waffle dishes were all packed in cardboard containers with some of the more "wet" toppings packaged separately to avoid a soggy waffle! They also provide compostable cutlery and napkins-picnic ready!
The waffles themselves are light and crisp, with a luscious golden crust and fluffy insides. The toppings are generous and well presented. The Cauliflower and Roast Pepper waffle was so vibrant and exciting. From the charred, yellow turmeric cauliflower to the creamy hummus, soft, tangy harissa peppers and the jewels of pomegranate as garnish; it was well thought our for both taste and texture as well as looking stunning. J's Slow-Cooked BBQ Pork was soft, tender and succulent with a fruity BBQ sauce which has a mild kick to it and was perfectly offset by the fresh slaw and pickles.
You can tell all the ingredients have not only been well sourced, but also expertly prepared. The Waffle House use organic flours and source organic milk, meats, sustainable fish, Fair Trade chocolate & coffee and free-range eggs. This attention to the quality of the ingredients sings out through each dish, and the innovation of each changing menu showcases somewhere which is rightfully an institution in the local food scene and far beyond that too!
Service:
Super slick setup during Covid lockdowns. In normal times, there's usually a bit of a queue for a table, but #1 it's worth it and #2 the service is efficient and attentive when you do get a table. Geat attention to allergies too as we visited with our friends whose child has a peanut allergy and it was all nmoted at the point of ordering and on the receipt and take away bag.
Quality:
High quality ingredients create high quality dishes. They look and taste fab and are well considered and executed. No complaints here!
Value & Price:
You're looking at about £10-£12 per waffle main dish and £7.50-£10 for a sweet waffle. Decent value considering they are all generously portioned and high quality ingredients.
Overall:
EXCELLENT: This place's ever changing specials and high-quality dishes inspires serious FOMO. can we go every week please?
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