A relatively new addition to the South Loop, Waffles is a welcome addition filling a need for an easy, neighborhood breakfast place. The atmosphere is modern and open, despite it being a relatively small restaurant. The menu is simple and straightforward, offering classics like an omelet or a Belgian waffle, or more adventurous fare like a brisket waffle or a red velvet waffle. I've eaten here on a number of occasions. I like that I can have a gluten free waffle. But I'm often disappointed with the necessary basics: the food and service. First, the service. The wait staff is friendly, and often unnecessarily apologetic. The support staff are somewhat clumsy. It's not uncommon for a timing disconnect to emerge between the kitchen and the waffle station. Parts of your meal arrive hot, others do not. When there's a good expo, food flows out of the kitchen quickly, when there's not, the system struggles to keep pace. Some basics like creamer for coffee or jelly for toast aren't refilled after the former guests. I think the main problem is the way the space has been laid out. There's only one entrance to the kitchen and waffle station and things get jammed up there. The food is average at best and even inconsistent. It depends who's cooking and who's working the waffle station. The omelets are uninspired, which is strange since the waffles are unique and creative. Eggs should be fluffy, not flat. The hash is bland. The brisket is a good concept, but not all that flavorful. These complements to the waffles have got to be spot-on for a $20 meal price tag with tip. Most like the waffles, since that's the draw, and I think they're pretty good. But the other elements are lacking. Overall, it's just an okay restaurant and needs to work on better execution. read more

I took my family here on a late Friday morning and we all really liked our breakfast. I had the nutella and banana waffles and they were awesome. Everyone loved what they had, including the more savory options. I'd definitely go back. read more

Came here for brunch with a bunch of friends on a Tuesday. I've heard nothing but good things, so I was excited to check it out, and all in all, the meal was pretty decent. There are a plethora of options on the menu; many of which I have never thought were waffle-able. I went with a Chicago standby: chicken, bacon, and waffles. The components complemented one another nicely, but I was not blown away; the crust on the chicken was a tad sparse, and the waffle was great but not drastically better than other waffles I've had. Plus, the bacon on the inside was sparse. The most irritating thing about Waffles is the pricing; plain waffles are $8, and if you want real syrup, you have to pay $1 extra. I'm sorry, but when I shell out for breakfast at a restaurant, I want real syrup as a part of my meal. Ain't too much to ask. Also, our food took forever (around 30 minutes) to come out, which is definitely a problem. I normally don't complain about food taking awhile, as I'll sacrifice expedience if it means the dishes are done right; however, these are waffles, which I know from experience take all of 5 minutes to make. All in all, this was a solid but unremarkable experience which is knocked to two star land because of the pricing and slowness. I'll probably be back though, as it's conveniently located, tasty, and large group friendly. read more

Waffles has a great staff and even better breakfast potatoes. The cucumber infused water is refreshing and they have a bunch of creative different waffles to choose from. It's gets really busy on the weekends though so call ahead to see what the wait time is. read more

Not great. I stood in front of the red-haired hostess for a few minutes while she drew circles and lines on her wait list. I literally stood right in front of her while she completely ignored me. Finally, I said loudly, how long is the wait for two? She told me 15-20 minutes. The bar was open, however. I went back outside to grab my husband, and when we returned a second later there was someone else at the hostess stand (thankfully). He directed us to a table for two, which had been open. Not a great start, Waffles. I ordered the huevos rancheros, which were listed as one of their Waffles specialties. I would NOT recommend them. My plate included eggs in green sauce (good), tortillas (fine), refried black beans (not good -- they arrived with crusty lumps in them, indicating that they had sat out for who knows how long), and rice. The rice was awful. It was mixed in with what looked like canned "mixed vegges." The mixed veggies included very wrinkled, definitely not fresh peas, carrots, corn, and little half-pieces of green beans. I would have put my money on them being canned mixed veggies....they had that type of preserved loss of color to them. I did not touch the rice or the beans. I should also note that my plate arrived with a "bonus" single, whole mushroom on top of my eggs that I could only conclude had randomly fallen off of some shelf or someone else's plate on its journey to my table. I set the random mushroom aside, and mixed the tortillas up with some of the green sauce and eggs. Ended up eating about a 1/3 of the eggs/sauce mixture. The rest of my plate remained untouched. I also had one piece of (not really toasted, cold) white toast. The extra side of bacon I ordered never arrived. When the server finally checked in to ask how my meal was going, I said "okay I guess." She did not ask for further detail. I did not mention the missing bacon since by now we were ready for the check. The only good thing about the experience was that I barely ate anything on my plate, so the reduced calorie intake helped me to keep to my diet, I guess.... Anyways, next time I will definitely be walking down the block to try somewhere else. read more

Good byob breakfast place with a lot of options. I like yolk better but these guys hit the spot and are consistent for a simple breakfast. I've had their skillets and their waffle flight. Side potatoes are good. In the summer they have an outdoor patio as well. read more

this was my go to breakfast place during our stay in chicago!! Great waffles with the most delish whipped butter!! Their breakfast specials ..WORTH IT!! Jovanna, you are amazing! read more

Chicago Waffles - Cheddar Short Ribs and Waffles! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great addition to the South Loop. Best breakfast potatoes I've had. Unique menu. My favorite waffles were surprisingly the Cheddar Waffles with Short Rib. I usually like sweet waffles but these were so tasty I liked them the best. It was fun for us to each get a different waffle and share them to try a few. read more

Was very excited to try this place with a group of friends. Unfortunately, very disappointed. The only thing that was decent was the waffle egg sandwich. We ordered the waffle flight and I can honestly say not ONE waffle was tasty. Ironic for a restaurant named waffles.. Will never return. read more

Clean and contemporary feel. Good service. Not really into sweets, so was very impressed with the savory options. Highly recommend the Cheddar & Short-rib Waffle, or Waffle Benedict read more

Waffles is a great addition to the South Loop! One of the downsides of the SL is that if you want brunch on the weekends and wait too long, you'll end up on long waiting lists at Bongo Room & Yolk. The location of this place is great for those of us who live south of Roosevelt. I was pleasantly impressed with the quality of food and service during both of my trips there. There are a couple of hiccups with the place being new, but you can definitely tell that they are trying to great a great experience for the patrons. read more

Excellent service and excellent food. We had to wait about 25 minutes for a table but it was a beautiful day out so we waited in front of the restaurant and one of the servers brought us all coffee to sip on as we waited. We also got a text when our table is ready, which makes it easier to roam around when you do have to wiat because the waiting area inside is very small. I was there with 6 other friends who all ordered different items off the menu and everyone was more than satisfied. I tried several of them and all were fantastic. I had the Green Tea Waffles and they were delicious! I will definitely be going back to Waffles. FYI, I spoke with the manager as I was leaving and he mentioned that they are getting their liquor license soon (Mimosas!) and will be opening a patio just in time for summer. read more

The food was incredible! Tried the Green Tea and Benedict waffles. Quality ingredients. Very tasty! We went on weekday morning - service was perfect. I am sure this place is slammed every weekend. We were so happy to enjoy it not crowded! Worth going out of your way for! read more

Chicago Waffles - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

AMAZING. Make you wake up saying, "Mmmmmm, I want waffles." The people are sweet, the line gets long, but the waffles rock. We have tried almost all of them. I keep saying I want to try the chicken and waffles, I keep wanting to try the chicken and waffles, but I cannot get my head around fried chicken for breakfast. I always fall back on teh light and airy and super yummy waffles with nutella and bananas. Same thing every time. And I always order an egg breakfast to share to round out the breakfast, cause the waffles alone are not enough. Three breakfasts for two people with coffee still comes out to less than $40 with the tip. Well worth the price. Fantastic new place. read more

Sweet staff. Quick food . I'm not a sweets person! But their omelettes and skillets are delish! I wish I knew our waiter name she was so sweet! read more

I'm actually surprised by some of the reviews on this page. Yes, Waffles is new and I'm sure there are still some kinks to work out (particularly during their first weekend rush), but we went last Friday so one week after they were open. There were people in there about half full. But since I did read reviews saying the food took a long time to come out, I actually timed it. It took 9 minutes from the time we ordered until the time the food came out. So I definitely did not experience any delays. My husband ordered the Mexican chocolate waffle, which he was obsessed with and I got the waffles Benedict. It was awesome!!! I could eat the hollandaise and pork shoulder by itself all day long. The waffles themselves are a bit sweet, so if they used some savory ingredients, maybe a black pepper waffle, or something, it may be slightly better. That totally won't stop me from getting it again! I'm all over the choice of lemon, cucumber, or plain water. Might not sound like much, but I love me some cucumber water! Oh and they have old school coke fountain glasses with fountain coke... need I say more? read more

I've eaten from Waffles a few times. I've been in to their location once for breakfast (a waffle of course!). I mean, it's really hard to go wrong with waffles. They all sound delicious and they taste delicious as well. I've also ordered from Waffles for lunch delivery at work. I usually go for something lighter for lunch because a waffle could put me to sleep in the afternoon. Their chopped salad is pretty good and hits the spot. Lots of yummy protein and vegetables together. I stick to that to get me through the rest of the work day. Someday I want to go back for more waffles though! read more

Ate here for the first time. I ordered regular waffles-unfortunately they tasted like cardboard. My friend ordered huevos ranchero something. They put something in her eggs that she didn't like so she had to drown them in hot sauce. Not believing that you could mess up a waffle, I made her taste them. Her comment was "they actually taste worse the more you chew." Good service, horrible tasting food. read more

Horrible service. We went there on Sat brunch and things were chaotic but that's to be expected at most places. The hostess seated us at a table that was dirty and not serviced, and we had to ask her to have it cleaned before seating us (isn't that something that should be intuitive?) Then we sat at the table for 20 minutes without being acknowledged, no water, no hello, no "ill be with you in a minute." At that point we had given up and decided to leave. To be honest the food being served around us didn't look worth the wait to begin with. read more

I must say I was a bit disappointed in my breakfast but I will admit I did not have and of the waffles due to my weight loss challenge so I will be back to try one of their signature waffles. What I did have was an omelet that came with potatoes and toast( would've live the option to substitute fruit for the potatoes) but the potatoes were AMAZING the omelet was a best a step above a truck stops omelet and the toast was just toast. I did also have the hot chocolate flight and that was AMAZING as well. who knew caramel and mint hot chocolate could be soo good. My food wasn't great and its not a place I would recommend to anyone but I will give it another chance so I can try their signature item. read more

bf and i went there because he brought a groupon deal.i would say it is a mediocre brunch place. one thing I want to mention is the wait because it took like 40 mins just to get the two plates of waffles! are you kidding me? not worth the price and the time and the money read more

It was pretty good...not great...just pretty good. If I was in the neighborhood I would come back but I wouldn't go out of my way. I had the Chicken and waffles. The menu said you get a leg and a thigh....but what I got was a very dry unseasoned chicken strip. The waffle needed some salt in the batter (just a pinch). The service was awesome and our waiter was attentive. read more

Quick breakfast with hubby then back to work. I love having a good breakfast restaurant in my neighborhood. This place never lets me down.

Decided to try this place for brunch as it was new and had a nice adventurous menu for me and a safe menu for my girlfriend. We were seated immediately on a Saturday and promptly served, so no complaints about service from me. On the other hand the food disappointed. The Eggs Benedict were a strange but pleasant combination of sweet and yolky but the pork shoulder added unneeded flavor that muddled the combination. The salad had some horrid dressing that started with a smooth creamy flavor and then overwhelmed with onions. The Ham and Cheese was fine though it was hardly worth the trip to the South Loop. Completely underwhelming to me. read more

Disappointing and mediocre. My friend's pancake had a random red pepper buried in the middle (did some cook drop a pepper in the batter?), her steak was dry and chewy, and the potatoes were completely flavorless. I ordered the waffle sampler plate. One of the waffles was hard and black on the bottom. The others were okay, but didn't taste particularly good. We're not coming back. read more

Welcome to the South Loop Waffles! Delicious food, great atmosphere and fast friendly service. I just found my new Sunday breakfast spot.

Highly overrated. Overpriced and there's a 45 minute wait on the weekends. I would never go back to this place again. By the way I think im sick from the food. read more

Saw this restaurant on Chicago's Best and decided to give it a try. My husband and I both got their chicken and waffles which was featured on the show. The waffles were great as was the syrup which had a "kick" to it that I liked. The chicken however was dry even though the menu said it was thigh and leg meat which is usually moist (IMO). Hash House a Go Go even though it is a chain has a MUCH MUCH better waffle and chicken breakfast. However there were some other waffle entrees which sounded interesting so may have to go back and try something else. I am not fond of the"diner" atmosphere either but I know lots of folks do like it. The place was clean, service was good and people were friendly. read more

Probably one of the worst experiences ever. I'm actually sitting in the restaurant as I type this review out. Had coffee, and I had to chase down the server to refill my coffee and water. Halfway into our meal the creamers were picked up and I wasn't done with my coffee(which had been empty for at least 15 mins). I ordered the ham steak and egg special and the potatoes were spoiled, when I brought it to the attention of a server, all that I was told was, "oh, ok." I asked the second server to at least bring the potatoes to the attention of the kitchen. The server was nowhere to be found for the duration of our meal and we basically had to chase our servers to get anything done. Horrible horrible experience, and the fact that I had enough time to write this review while waiting on your server to pick up the check is saying more than enough. read more

Came here on a Thursday late morning and it was pretty slow. Sat down with my friend and saw the special menu had crab cake benedict and we both decide to order it. Few key points: 1) Glass cups are turned over with the rim touching table. I believe this is a sanitary concern even though I am sure they wipe the tables and glasses clean. 2) They have lemons in their water. Definitely one of the few places that do this. This is a plus in my book. 3) Reasonable priced. Came with potatoes. Came with a small serving of sliced fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, pineapple). 4) Crab cake benedicts were delicious. Hands down a 5/5 crab cake benedict with a done correctly poached egg, creamy avocado and delicious crab meat. 5) My stomach is super sensitive to bacteria so if there is any major bacteria, I will go to the bathroom almost immediately. And yes, I did indeed go within 2 hours after finishing my meal. My friend did not have any problems so maybe I was just unlucky? Overall, it was delicious. I will definitely come again and order the crab cake benedict. Just hope I don't get unlucky next time. read more

I was driving to my car dealership and saw Waffles on the way. So, on the route back, I stopped in and had - you guessed it - a waffle. It was crisp, chewy and home to deep pockets perfect for syrup to reside within. It was everything I wanted and expected out of a waffle. My gf's regular breakfast was just that - regular. Nothing spectacular. Service was slow and the place packed, but.... I enjoyed my waffle, which is all I needed. read more

Went for a 2 mile run to eat here on a Saturday morning. Luckily, a tabled immediately opened up for us and we decided on waffle benedict, fresh fruit, and waffle fries. SO GOOD. The waffle benedict was pretty amazing; it obviously uses a waffle instead of muffins, however, instead of ham, pork shoulder! This combined with perfectly poached eggs and a rich hollandaise made for a perfect breakfast for two to share. The waffles fries are basically criscut fries, but they were still good with the hot sauce at the table! read more

As a self-proclaimed waffle connoisseur, I was pretty stoked about Waffles opening right down the street from me. Their menu is fun and I think pretty well executed. I had the heart-healthy, which was pretty fantastic. My sister had the liege, which is orgasmic. So very, very tasty. Wish I had gone back to try more, but my one experience here was great. The service was sub-par, but it usually is in these settings. read more

Good food and I got the chocolate chip pancakes and eggs also there is good service and everybody is nice

Mediocre food at best. If I never went back I would never think twice about this place. It is indeed overrated. The reason it is so packed is the constant groupons that are available. The only good thing was checking in for a table and not having to stand and wait, we were alerted by text message. The waffle was WEIRD, thin airy and flavorless. And the syrup was nonexistent, thin natural and no taste at all. MEh read more

We went there with a groupon, and the fact that I really wanted Waffles!! I tried the Mexican Chocolate waffles. There was some excellent bites, but the flavor wasn't really dispersed through all of the waffles. The waffles them selves were soft but not too crispy. Overall the price would have been more than I'd want to pay without the Groupon. The atmosphere was fun though. I loved the tall ceilings and modern feel to it. read more

I'm confused why this place gets ripped apart all the time. Granted I've only been twice and never on the weekend, but each time has been pleasant and the last time borderline perfect. I go on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, I'm in the service industry so that's my weekend. Each time they've had great coffee, intellegensia, I think. It's important for a breakfast place to have good coffee...Except for diners, they can shit coffee. But I digress, I remember the second time better than they first time...and the entrees were the steak torta and the waffle benedict. I had the Benedict, it was amazing. First of all it was made with a chewy, delicious leige waffle and topped with slow roasted pork, a perfectly poached egg and hollandaise. There were two and I was stuffed afterwards. I even made my boyfriend eat some of mine, and believe me-- I can throw down. I didn't try the torta because I was having difficulties conquering my own breakfast but I did sample the potatoes and they were great, almost like they were baked and then fried...super crispy but fluffy on the inside (2nd best breakfast potato in the city, first goes to m. Henry). I used a groupon the second time, I mean, they are 3 blocks from my house. It was a breeze. The service was AMAZING. Our server gave us suggestions, chatted, was friendly and warm...so I'm confused with disparaging remarks on service. And our food was hot. People seem to mention there food being cold and tasteless. Ours was hot and exploded with flavor. It's a tad pricey (I had a groupon, so it wasnt so bad but Chicago is apparently a brunch city where $20/person is kind of the norm) and parking is ridiculous, you have to call them from an alley and they will come around and they will open the door for you, then walk through the kitchen to get to the restaurant. But overall I love waffles, I'll stay away on the weekend and enjoy the best kept secret of the south loop. read more

I am a giant waffle fan in general. Waffles has a few types of waffles, Belgian and Liege styles. While I love a good Liege waffle, I ended up getting the Abondigas: spicy pork and lamb meatballs with a savory asiago mint waffle. While I didn't find the meatballs spicy, I thought the balance of flavors and textures between the tomato sauce, the tenderness of the meatballs and the crispness of the waffle were on par. I sat at the counter on a weekday at lunch, so I didn't have any issues with service. read more

We went there to use our groupon. Food was decent. Service was good. But I would never pay $35.00 for what we ate! The waffles are small. My husband had an omelete he said was just "ok" They gave him ONE piece of toast but cut it to make it look like 2. I think because its in the city people justify the prices but here in the burbs we can do better. Again food is ok - nothing to rush over and eat. read more

Delicious! A great spot if you love waffles because everything is based off waffles. Recommend the green tea waffle, sounds gross but is actually very flavorful and delicious. read more