While Denver may be well known for its craft brews, loyal Broncos fans and the legalization of marijuana, its expertise on waffle-making might be its best-kept secret.
With two locations in Denver, in lower Capitol Hill on 393 Corona St. and Uptown at 1707 Lafayette St., Waffle Brothers almost covers all of Denver breakfast lover’s carb-filled cravings.
The majority of wide-eyed patrons walk in and stare at the double-sided menu debating between local favorites like The Nutty Professor—a waffle topped with Nutella, peanut butter, walnuts and whipped cream—or the BreakMest—a waffle topped with egg, meat and melted cheese—all before getting guidance from the staff who testify that it is an equal 50/50 between the waffle lovers who choose sweet over savory.
The hip(pie) staff donning T-shirts saying “the whip cream is free but the nuts will cost ya” are almost as unique as the waffles themselves. A mix of ecelectic twenty-somethings, they will put you at ease when they offer input of the menu.
Order at the front of the restaurant and grab a number (a large playing card held in an even larger paperclip) before choosing a table. Colorful beach umbrellas line patio tables outside where some patrons choose to withstand the winter weather, while others sit inside at wooden tables.
The open-air casual atmosphere on a Sunday morning brings neighborhood dwellers in from the surrounding Cap Hill and Wash Park neighborhoods to ease their hangovers or catch up for a no-fuss weekend brunch date, but be prepared for the wait. After ordering, waffles are freshly pressed and prepared in the small kitchen and take around 30 minutes to get, which seems even longer when screaming children are yelling at the back tables. Once the food arrives though, the surrounding chatter dissipates as people dive into their long-awaited meals.
Normally a savory breakfast admirer, this grinder stepped out of her comfort zone to get the best of both worlds. The Waffle Breakfast plate (the most expensive item on the menu at $8.75—nothing on the menu is above $10) comes with two poached eggs, bacon, a waffle and fruit. Customize the waffle by adding various toppings like powdered sugar and cinnamon (included), fresh fruit, Nutella or peanut butter. The Original Waffle that comes with most of the dishes is filled with pockets of nib sugar, hitting quite the sweet spot every other bite, but the simplicity of the poached eggs and bacon complements the sugar rush.
For the gluten intolerant, the Waffle Brothers tries to satisfy everyone’s needs by offering vegan, gluten-free and whole-wheat waffles, so don’t write this place off just because it is carb-heavy.
Taking a twist on the traditional breakfast sandwich, Waffle Brothers replaces the bread with two waffles, melted cheese, meat and eggs. While this sounds like a delectable rendition of the original, it is in fact much blander.
Open 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Waffle Brothers serves lunch, including soups and sandwiches and even includes Moe’s bagels on their menu (which one server admits is their most popular item during the week), but their specialty is their sweet waffles.
Finding something low calorie will be difficult at this neighborhood joint, but who eats waffles every week anyway? This is a special-occasion type of restaurant. The perfect place to grab some friends for a weekend binge (without the mimosas and Bloody Mary’s) to enjoy the delectable sweet waffle that has come to make Waffle Brothers so popular.
