New restaurants come and go every few months on Hillsborough Street and it’s so hard to keep track of which ones stay and which ones go. Smashed Waffles is the new restaurant on the scene and I think it is here to stay for quite a while. It’s got a unique aesthetic, flavorful coffee, and waffles that are smashed with flavour.
The Coffee
The first thing I tried when I went was the coffee. I got the most popular, which is the Troublemaker. It is full of caramel and vanilla flavours, for those of you looking for a wake-up call after finals. The coffee itself was packed with flavour, and worth the money. Smashed Waffles sells bags of coffee as well, in case you are looking for an extra pick-me-up to take home with you. I took my time drinking it, so all of the flavourings and caramel sank to the bottom, making the last few sips so good, and made me want to go back for another one.
Smashed Waffles also offer a variety of other lattes, from a Nutella one to one that tastes like a Cinnamon roll. If you are feeling super adventurous, Smashed Waffles also offers the Hot Shot Challenge. This combines an espresso shot and ghost pepper syrup for the small price of $5 and the chance for glory. They also offer Nitro brewed coffee, and just your standard cup of coffee for those of you looking for something basic
The Waffles
Smashed Waffles offers a wide variety of waffles, bound to satisfy any craving that you are having. The restaurant started with serving its sweet waffles; right now, it has 5 different sweet waffles and one speciality sweet waffle which rotates every week. It also has 5 savory waffles if you are looking for something more wholesome. Most of these are sandwiches that use waffles as bread, which already has convenient holes for your fingers. They also have 3 ice cream waffle sandwiches, which all looked delicious, but I did not try unfortunately
As for the sweet waffles, I tried the Quilted Pig, the Cereal Thriller, and the John Lemon. The Quilted Pig was glazed with a maple syrup and topped with bacon and powdered sugar. The Cereal Thriller was glazed with a sweet cream glaze and topped with Fruity Pebbles and powdered sugar. The John Lemon was topped with a cream cheese icing and lemon sugar. Unfortunately, the John Lemon was the weekly special, but they may bring John Lemon back for a comeback tour. As for the taste, all of the icings melted into your mouth when you ate them and the waffles were fluffy and soft. The waffles did not fill me up, the delicious toppings did.
For the savory waffles, I got the Happy-Go-Clucky, which had chicken, bacon and cheese on it, the Cowabunga, which had pepperoni, mozzarella, and marina sauce on it, and the Chatty Patty, which had egg, sausage, and cheese on it. The Happy-Go-Clucky also came with a sweet sauce as well as a spicy sauce, and the Cowabunga came with a garlic butter sauce and extra marina sauce. Again, the waffles were soft and airy and did not take anything away from the flavours that were sandwiched in between them. The Chatty Patty is the perfect breakfast sandwich, and the Cowabunga and Happy-Go-Clucky are great for grabbing after-class. All in all, these fill you up without leaving you stuffed and feeling gross.
Smashed Waffles is a great, little eatery on Hillsborough Street and is the perfect place for dates, brunch with the girls, or even meetups for group projects. There’s something for everyone and everything there is good. I even had some of the waffles reheated, and they were still as good as the day I walked in. If you haven’t tried it, you should find any excuse to.
