Waffle Experience (Thousand Oaks)

After the Boney Mountain Trail Race, I went to the Waffle Experience in Newbury Park. There are several locations in California, including Folsom, Thousand Oaks, Elk Grove, and Sacramento. Had I known there were locations in Northern California, I would have gone when we lived there.

We decided to order online, bring it back to our hotel and eat before heading out. My last waffle restaurant was at the Waffle Kitchen in Palmdale, and it was…not great. My orange chicken and soggy waffle left me never wanting to go to another waffle restaurant.

Waffle Experience Atmosphere: A

The Waffle Experience is located in an outdoor mall. There is a large seating area indoors as well as a patio outdoors. Inside, there is a chalk wall that you can write on. You can see the entire kitchen and cooks making food. It’s a neat modern take on a diner. Is it an old retro-style diner?

No, but it’s a modern and fun take. It’s clean and open, and the patio looks nice to sit as well.

Coffee: X

I did not order any coffee this time around.

Waffle Experience Food: A

The Waffle Experience serves mainly waffles. You would think that would be a “duh” thing, but in a lot of waffle restaurants, it is not. There are a few salad options that come with waffle breadsticks but most of the items are waffle sandwiches or sweet waffles. There was so much that caught my eye on the Waffle Experience menu including:

Praise the Lard: house braised pork belly, cage-free egg, arugula, roasted tomato, ricotta, cracked pepper agave syrup on a lardon studded herb waffle
Sacramento King: house-smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg, arugula, tomato, cucumber, shaved onion, caper crème cheese, basil aioli on a cracked pepper herb waffle
Bananarama: fresh bananas, house-made vanilla pudding, fresh whipped crème, walnuts, agave syrup, liege waffle.

You can see the full Waffle Experience menu here.

Ultimately I decided to get the Sacramento King with smoked salmon. I rarely pass that down. The pork belly was calling my name so I got a side of that too. The Sacramento King was great, and I was happy with my order. The waffle was not a big belgium style waffle but more of a sandwich size. It was designed to be a waffle sandwich!

The smoked salmon was a filet of fish, and it tasted fresh. I enjoyed the pork belly and it was some of the best restaurant pork belly I’ve had. I would order both again.

Waffle Experience Service: A

I was pleasantly surprised with the Waffle Kitchen staff and experience. Despite being brunch time on a Sunday morning, the food was ready quickly, and the staff members were all friendly. It was a great experience.

Cost: $

For my Sacramento King and Pork Belly, it was $20. It was a good size and not too expensive.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?

I enjoyed the Waffle Kitchen and will definitely go back if I’m in one of the area locations. It was delicious. I want to try one of their sweet waffles next.

Atmosphere: A

Food: A

Service: A

Price: $13-20

Overall: A