JOHNS CREEK, GEORGIA — Yellow and black checker print welcomes late night diners, road trippers and more to a Southern institution.
With hundreds of locations across the southeast, Waffle House is the go-to for 24-hour dining and iconic breakfast food, known for fluffy waffles and food cooked just feet away from classic-style booths.
But after seven decades, even institutions have to try something new.
Waffle House is testing the addition of tacos to their menu at 45 locations around the Atlanta metro area for the first time this week.
So, we gave them a try.
Tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Waffle House is testing out four breakfast tacos and three lunch/dinner tacos on their menus in Atlanta.
Breakfast tacos:
- Bacon, egg and cheese
- Sausage, egg and cheese
- Chicken sausage, egg and cheese
- Ham, egg and cheese
Lunch/dinner tacos:
- Patty melt tacos
- Chicken melt tacos
- Cheesesteak melt tacos
The tacos are just a temporary addition, the company
told USA TODAY, with no set plans so far to make them permanent menu items.
The staff at a Waffle House location in Johns Creek, Georgia, said they were chosen for the test because they are one of the busier spots on Atlanta's north side.
Juquell Triplett is the unit manager at location #1150, and he has been speaking with management of other test locations to hone the perfect taco. Customers have liked the tacos so far, but it's hard for some who have been coming to Waffle House for decades to suddenly change their order, Triplett said. The staff has not been given a specific end date for the tacos but hope it continues long enough for more people to give them a try around Atlanta.
"It has only been a week, but the early feedback has been positive," the company told USA TODAY via email.
What we tried and how we ranked them
When we sat down at Waffle House, the tacos were advertised with a window sign, but they had not been added to the laminated menus found at each booth.
An order typically includes two tacos with hashbrowns, though you can swap out the side for one of their other classic items.
We tried five different tacos, and here's what we thought about each.
- Chicken, egg and cheese
- This was the best-tasting breakfast taco. The chicken was seasoned well and stood out in the eggs and slice of cheese melted onto a tortilla. As a melt, this taco would skip the eggs, but not the flavor.
- Bacon, egg and cheese
- This taco was the classic flavors found on any Waffle House breakfast plate. The eggs were good, the bacon was crispy and the cheese brought it all together. If you want a stereotypical breakfast that is easier to eat on the go, this is the taco for you.
- Ham, egg and cheese
- This taco had good flavor, earning our third spot on the list. The taco brings classic breakfast flavors together, but the ham is a single slab of meat as opposed to chunks or strips, so it didn't mix in with the eggs as well as the chicken or bacon.
- Steak, egg and cheese
- Let's be honest, no one goes to Waffle House for the steak. But this was still cooked well, and would probably be better as a cheesesteak melt taco. Nothing special, but good enough.
- Beef patty, egg and cheese
- The patty meat landed in the bottom spot for us. All the pieces were fine, but if you want a good breakfast taco, pick the chicken, bacon or ham. It could use some more seasoning in the patty meat. This taco is available as the patty melt but is probably not as good as a standard burger from Waffle House.
So, was this a win or a flop? Overall, we would call the tacos a win! The breakfast tacos in particular bring together items that were already classic menu items, and you can't go wrong with eggs, meat and cheese. Do they surpass a chocolate chip waffle or over easy eggs on top of hash browns? Only time will tell if the new item makes its way to the permanent menu.
Where can you try Waffle House tacos?
Waffle House is only testing out the tacos at select Atlanta area locations. Here is the full list:
- Alpharetta
- 571 South Main Street
- 3319 Old Milton Parkway
- 2850 Holcomb Bridge Road
- Atlanta
- 4532 Chamblee Dunwoody Road
- Auburn
- 20 Auburn Park Drive
- Bethlehem
- 213 Exchange Boulevard
- Buford
- 3270 Buford Drive
- 4770 Friendship Road
- 3310 Hamilton Mill Road
- 4115 Buford Drive
- 2916 Buford Drive
- 1935 Braselton Highway
- Dacula
- 772 Dacula Road
- 3585 Braselton Highway
- Doraville
- 4375 Tilly Mill Road
- Duluth
- 1825 Pleasant Hill Road
- 3335 Steve Reynolds Boulevard
- 2320 Satellite Boulevard
- 1100 Old Peachtree Road
- 2250 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
- Flowery Branch
- 7415 Spout Springs Road
- 5536 McEver Road
- Johns Creek
- 10792 Jones Bridge Road
- 9650 Medlock Bridge Road
- Lawrenceville
- 1205 Lakes Parkway
- 926 Pleasant Hill Road
- 932 Buford Drive
- 455 Bethesda School Road
- Lilburn
- 3915 Lawrenceville Highway
- 484 Indian Trail Road
- Marietta
- 621 Johnson Ferry Road
- Norcross
- 6079 Goshen Springs Road
- 5365 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
- 1586 Indian Trail Road
- 7044 Jimmy Carter Boulevard
- 5565 Buford Highway
- Roswell
- 1470 Holcomb Bridge Road
- Sandy Springs
- 250 Northridge Road
- 6445 Roswell Road
- 8604 Roswell Road
- Statham
- 1917 Atlanta Highway
- Suwanne
- 2915 Lawrenceville Suwanee Road
- 545 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
- Tucker
- 5996 Lawrenceville Highway
- Winder
- 19 West May Street
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: We gave the new Waffle House tacos a try. Here's what we thought
