https://www.originalwaffleshop.net/
One of the restaurants that I noticed is the most popular in State College is this small Eatery in 364 East College Avenue known as The Waffle Shop. Apparently, this restaurant is only in State College in which the original one is actually in North Atherton Street. Personally, I’ve never heard of this restaurant before yet I’ve always seen this humongous line every Saturday as both College families and students desperately wait in line to grab a bite. With 462 Google reviews and a 4.2 star rating, I found it somewhat intriguing of this place as I’ve never had food from the waffle shop in my entire life. Conveniently enough, I was able to snag a seat during game day last Saturday. While everyone was cheering for Penn State to beat UMichigan in the stadium, my friends and I were trying to find a place to eat after a fun Friday night. We noticed that the waffle shop was open and did not hold their usual amount of many customers. This was clearly a perfect opportunity and we immediately went inside to try out the popular restaurant. What I found out is that they offer a variety of breakfast food, obviously including waffles, such as pancakes, Benedict eggs, omelettes, etc. One of my friends ordered the strawberry waffles while I ordered the chocolate chip pancakes and Benedict eggs. Our server was super casual and nice to us as we took our time choosing what to get. Additionally, the food came in at a reasonable time as the pink lemonade was really sweet (which I liked) and the chocolate chip pancakes were to die for. I also took a bite out of the strawberry waffles which were also really soft and sweet from the maple syrup added. Based on the ambience of the restaurant, it is a perfect place to eat with families and friends on a Sunday or Saturday morning. As the waffle shop is incredibly popular, it only opens from Friday to Sunday from 7am to 2pm with only takeout and delivery. One of the biggest things I should mention about the restaurant however is that they only accepted cash. A funny incident that occurred after we ate was that the server notified us that they only accept cash and credit cards or debit cards were not allowed. I believe this was due to the result of the pandemic which led to many businesses declining in profit. Unfortunately for us, my friends and I typically use credit cards and had to go to the ATM that the waffle shop provided. Another unfortunate incident was that the ATM had a $3.25 fee to withdraw cash. As a result, the tax along with the fee costed us $50 in total. As expected, the waffle shop is a popular restaurant but it is both funny and a little frustrating how much they charge for the food. Personally, I still think Sower’s harvest café is a better breakfast option with reasonable prices but The Waffle Shop is a close second. I would overall give a rating of 7/10 as the food was delicious but not the best breakfast I’ve had.
I’ve been to the waffle shop a few times, once to the one on college and twice to the northern location. I much preferred the north location because it has nicer decor, and they take card. I also found the cash annoying. Too expensive for a mediocre breakfast.
I got the chance to try the waffle shop during move-in week. I thought it was delicious and it was the first waffle I thoroughly enjoyed, (I’m a huge advocate for pancakes over waffles). Hopefully, I get the chance to try Sower’s if it is better than the waffle shop!