Grid Iron Waffle Shop
3 Stars
12 South Orange Ave
South Orange, NJ 07079
973-821-5264
Mama Foodie and I went to Grid Iron Waffle Shop and ordered a shakshuka omelette, plain grits, a side salad, French toast and two orders of turkey bacon. Mama Foodie also ordered coffee. The restaurant’s website says, “All our menu items are born from the highest quality ingredients. From our superior fair trade specialty coffee to our made to order breakfasts, lunches and brunches you’ll taste the difference!”. The menu has changed since the last time we were there, so we’ll have fresh thoughts about it. And without further ado: the review.
Big Baby says:
Atmosphere: 6 Cleanliness: 6 Food: 9 Service: 4
Average Score: 6
The atmosphere wasn’t bad. It wasn’t too loud, but it wasn’t too fancy. It’s hard to discuss atmosphere because I can’t think of any words besides plain and quiet.
The cleanliness wasn’t bad. It wasn’t extremely dirty or extremely clean. Pretty plain. Nothing disgusting, nothing spotless. It was kind of in the middle.
The food was the real winner. It tasted so good that I would have eaten six helpings of food even though I was full. The French toast was sweet and had powdered sugar on the top. The syrup that we put on gave it the perfect boost. The turkey bacon was not too crispy and extremely savory, just the way I like my turkey bacon. However, it could have been a bit crispier. The water that I drank was good too. Some restaurant water isn’t good quality, but this water was good quality.
The service was really slow, and I was really hungry. There weren’t many tables, so I don’t get why it took them so long to get to us; we were even parked kind of in the middle of the restaurant. However, all the food was arranged nicely on the plates and the service was accurate.
Overall, I think that Grid Iron Waffle Shop would make a good place for brunch. I suggest having the same thing I had. Be forewarned, they are almost always packed.
Mama Foodie says:
Atmosphere: 6 Cleanliness: 5 Food: 7 Service: 6
Average Score: 6
The Grid Iron Waffle Shop is a cute little place right in the heart of the main drag in South Orange, NJ. They are only open for breakfast and lunch, and they always seem to be busy. The menu is quite large for such a small place. You can have waffles just about any way you want them: plain, with chicken and gravy, or topped with ice cream or whipped cream and fruit. The menu also includes a nice selection of eggs, salads, crepes and other breakfast items.
I was in a savory mood, so I ordered the shakshuka omelette. I selected the side salad, and added a side of grits. I love grits. I was a little skeptical about ordering them this far north, but I was not disappointed. I am fairly certain they were made with heavy cream and possibly butter. Delicious. I would say these were the highlight of my meal. The omelette was okay. The shakshuka “sauce” was very flavorful, but some of the peppers were undercooked and overpowered the flavor quite a bit. My omelette was served without the feta cheese that was supposed to be inside, but when we mentioned it, our server brought some over in a ramekin. Not the same as cooked inside the eggs, but better than nothing. My salad looked a little tired. The spinach was starting to have that dark green wet look, as if it had been sitting in the dressing all day, which it may have. We were there in the afternoon. The coffee was decent but nothing special. It was bottomless, which is always a plus in my book.
It was obvious when we arrived that we had come at the tail end of the lunch rush. There was food and torn pieces of paper and straw wrappers on the floor under the tables and in the aisles. I could see that the servers were working hard to clean up in between tables, but they were not entirely successful. The tables and the dishes were clean when we sat down. The bathroom was not bad, but the grout in between the tiles was black from about 3 inches above the floor on down.
Do not go to the Grid Iron Waffle Shop if you are in a rush. This is a place for a leisurely brunch. When you get there, be sure to sign in. There is almost always a wait for a table on weekends. Once seated, keep in mind that almost everything is made to order (with the possible exception of the aforementioned side salad), so your food may take longer than expected. The service was friendly and efficient. I do plan to keep going back. Next time, I think I will try the crepes. Or maybe I will just splurge and have cheese grits.
Sounds like the food was the shining star here. That’s what I like in a restaurant!
We agree with you. We like atmosphere, but if we have to choose one over the other, good food wins every time.