Avoid Ordering A Cup Of Coffee At This Popular Breakfast Chain

We love Waffle House. Anthony Bourdain loved Waffle House. There's a good chance that you love Waffle House, too. In September 2024, your reporter traded a $5 bill for a used ceramic Waffle House mug at a restaurant location in New York. That's because, as true fans know, Waffle House adoration runs deep — even if the coffee itself isn't actually all that good. One of the final frontiers that permitted indoor smoking, many locations are still open 24 hours to facilitate late-night visits, and Waffle House remains a haven without judgement or expectations as a result. But, the breakfast chain's merely-satisfactory coffee landed on our list of 10 dishes to avoid ordering at Waffle House. 

When foodies sit down at Waffle House for scattered, covered, and smothered hash browns, or the All-Star Special with a pecan waffle (the Waffle House order that won over Bourdain and has been a fan favorite since 1955), they're going to need a hot drink to wash all that food down, right? Herein lies our point: Waffle House coffee serves its utilitarian purpose, and it's a crucial component of the fully-loaded breakfast spreads for which folks know and love the laidback chain. 

We aren't denying the coffee's essential spot on the menu. We are, however, advising foodies craving an (excuse me) d**n fine cup of coffee ("Twin Peaks" fans, rise up) to simply visit another diner. As we warned, while taste-testing several different Waffle House options, depending on location, your cup of Joe could be too watered-down, too bitter, or taste weirdly burnt. Either way, there's going to be an issue, so you're simply better off getting your caffeine fix elsewhere.

Some fans (somehow) seem to dig Waffle House's brew. In fact, one Reddit poster lamented not being able to "make coffee as good as IHOP or Waffle House at home." Maybe they were referencing Jim Jarmusch's 2003 anthology film "Coffee and Cigarettes," in which Tom Waits and Iggy Pop agree, "Coffee's good, though, at IHOP [...] Classy brew." Another Reddit post in r/wafflehouse inquired, "What brand coffee do they serve? It's great."

At the Waffle House in Akron, Ohio, a large coffee runs for $2.85. But, at Tasting Table, its low price is the most glowing accolade we can offer. One Redditor described a dining experience with dirty digs and rude staff, asking, "Is waffle house bad in general or did I just go to a bad location?" The top comment (with over 1.4K upvotes) succinctly notes, "Waffle House isn't supposed to be good, it's supposed to be cheap and convenient." 

Plenty of viral social media posts agree that the point of Waffle House is not serving high-quality fare, or even being clean. The point is that it's typically always open. Waffle House is slimy, and we love it, and yeah, the coffee is bad, but we know by now what to expect. Swinging by your local for a 1:30 a.m. coffee and waffle is a deeply spiritual experience — but it's about the experience, not the quality of the (bitter, burnt, and watery) coffee.