This food was amazing and the portions are plenty, the service is frequent and very friendly. The atmosphere is relaxed family environment. The chicken fried steak was delicious, breading was almost perfect. Gravy was delicious not too peppery and wasn't runny at all. I will definitely go again! read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - Waffle with strawberries and whip cream - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Breakfast was great, service was wonderful! Restaurant was older, but very clean. There was something on the menu for everyone!

I haven't been to Harold Waite's in over 20 years and it's just the way I remember it! Breakfast is a generous portion of homemade goodness. the atmosphere is a quiet little diner. The service is like coming home to a family that loves you. Def stop by this little hidden gem in the heart of Waco read more

Such a cute little diner! It definitely has old school, small town vibes in the best way possible. It's got a lot of western decor and the walls are wooden, looking like they've been the same since the 1960s. Our server was so sweet! And we were very happy because they had a delicious VEGGIE omelette - which was quite shocking considering how old school the place was. We thoroughly enjoyed our brunch here and we'll be back again next time we're in town! read more

Husband and I go there quite a lot. Service is great and food is delicious! Hashbrowns can be really crispy and good if you let them know you want them crispy! Plenty of food and great coffee! Love the atmosphere all the waitressess are really nice and sweet! read more

Food was great. Staff was nice and made kids laugh. Classic breakfast spot. The bacon omelette is delicious.

2.5/5 Came here with some friends for some breakfast while we were in town. Service was fast and nice, but the food... was bland and left a lot to be desired. I came here after seeing the french pancakes with a hepping amount of whipped cream topped, but they were dry and nothing to write home about. The chicken fried steak was chewy, and steaks were over cooked. Honestly you're better off getting your breakfast fix at Denny's or IHOP. The interior was clean and still has a very old timey feel, but that's about it. If you're coming for food look elsewhere. read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - French Crepes (with blueberries instead of strawberries) - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

Looks like not one thing has changed since they opened in the early 60s, even the waitstaff, and I'm not complaining. Food was great, staff was friendly. Not much else to say. It's probably not going to be on Trip Advisor for a visit while in Waco, but it's going to be our new breakfast place. read more

Cute little diner. My husband absolutely loved it and food was so good but I didn't take any pictures of our food. Service was so great!

So the lady at the front desk of our hotel recommended this place since we were looking for standard breakfast fare. She mentioned it was a hole in the wall but really good. We thought, cool! I love hole in the wall type of places if they're good. It's like getting to enjoy the REAL local places. Harold's was moderately clean, packed with tables, not very friendly staff, furniture needed serious updating and just basic upkeep, and the food was not good. We sat in a booth and could feel every spring inside the seats (super difficult to get comfortable) and the back of my side was not secure so every time the very "not sitting still" people behind me moved or got up/sat down, it jerked me forward. The coffee was fine, not terrible, but the eggs were flavorless, the sausage was nothing special, and the pancakes were blah. Didn't have good taste or texture. The syrup tased like the most generic, cheapest syrup substitute. Overall, wasn't satisfying. read more

Update below I was coming in a bit concerned as the reviews were somewhat negative here. The server was very polite and brought my wife out extra creamer for her coffee. My mom wanted to try out here. I ordered the unsweetened ice tea and the server brought out two glasses at once w water. I had ordered the chicken fried steak w salad and fries. They gave me a big bowl of gravy. Next time I will ask for less. I was good but a bit too much. The salad was decent. I ordered Italian and it was a bit plain w just lettuce and tomatoes but it was fresh and good. The chicken fried steak was good and I liked the fries. They were fresh and not too greasy. My wife liked her eggs sausage and toast. My mom enjoyed her pancakes. I tried a piece of pancake and they reminded me a bit of ihop which I like. My mom liked that they had sugar free syrup. The pancakes were about 5 inches in diameter. It is a good place with good prices. It is a local place. It was far cleaner than I expected based on older reviews just perhaps a bit cluttered. We plan on going back soon. It was really enjoyable today. If you want to go there they open at 5 still but close at 12:30 and on Sunday they don't open till 7 A.M. It was a nice cozy Update Came back late February 18. Want as good as our first impression. Food and service wasn't as good as before. Was still adequate but I can see what people were saying about hit or miss. If you get a soda just know it will be in a can served warm w a glass of ice. The salsa was a bit different and my father wasn't very happy w velveeta shreds on top of his omelet. The first time was pretty decent and today more average. Was passable I guess. There is quite a lot of food for the price. Decent price for a the amount of food. Had better and had worse. Been about 2 days and upon reflection I believe I won't be back. Changing the ranking to two stars. read more

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Had a very enjoyable experience and breakfast here. Lots of seating and service was good. Pretty decent parking and easy to find. read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - menu - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Had a rough day at work last night and really wanted pancakes, Google led me here. I'm new to Texas so I had no idea about it. Went this morning for breakfast, kept it simple with blueberry pancakes, bacon, and coffee. Took one sip of the coffee with cream and sugar and almost spit it out, it just... was so bitter and rough tasting. Whatever, moving on. Got a stack of 5 blueberry pancakes and a side of bacon. Pancakes were SO dry, just... think insulation for a house, but with blueberries in them. I ate them all because I was starving and don't like wasting food, but they were not good. The bacon was ok, it's bacon, you can't really mess that up. It was like 4 pieces stuck together and been sitting clearly for a bit, but bad bacon is still good bacon. It was like $21 for my meal in total minus the tip. Waitress was an older woman, sweet as can be, so I have no issues there. Place looks like it's stuck in a time loop in 1987. Pretty disappointing that the place with pancake in its name puts out worse pancakes than McDonald's. read more

Waitress was great, food was fabulous and the portions are huge! It was my first time being there and I'll definitely be back! read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - breakfast - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

Bottom Line: Generous portions of American diner classics in dated, but clean, interior. Very conscientious & hospitable staff. Top Line: Breakfast of 3 very substantial biscuits and cereal bowl of gravy $5.79, along with cup of coffee to wash it down $2.29, got my morning off to a well filled start. Coffee was strong and stiff flavored. Just the way I want a straight ahead cuppa Joe. Uncomplicated. No pretention, no fussiness. Just a mug of caffeine madness with extreme strength in the flavor department and enough jack-me-up crank to boot me into next week. Biscuits and gravy were a bit of hit and miss. Gravy was pretty ordinary with a middlin' of pepper flavor and, more egregiously, no sausage. Portion arrived in good size cereal/soup bowl, so was generous in size. The three biscuits on the other hand were spectacular. Three of them amounted to a good sized meal. They were substantial without being cloyingly dense. Moist and tender on the inside, "just right" crustiness on the outside. These were biscuits so good they needed nothing (no butter, no jam, no gravy, no nothing) to improve their taste & texture. They were wonderful all by themselves. While the building interior shows its age and propensity for western art decor, it was clean and serviceable on my visit. The staff was efficient & friendly in getting me seated, watered, and menu'ed. Renee, my waitress, was super conscientious in keeping my coffee topped up and insuring that all remained well taken care of. Easy ten stars for her service. So if you're looking for a generous breakfast at a reasonable price, check out Harold Waite's Pancakes & Steak House at 941 Lake Air Drive in Waco TX. read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - 3 biscuits, bowl o' gravy, and a cuppa Joe. Sturdy & substantial. - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Overall this is a very nice place to eat and enjoy a great start to your morning. Approaching the establishment you might miss it the sign is small. And upon entering one is not quite sure if you seat yourself or wait to be seated. This place has a small homelike feel to it as customers enter you can tell the come on the regular and as you enter are not left too long without a greeting. They have music playing in the background but it it barley noticeable so one can hear what is going on around them. The food is very well put together and made with a since of pride. Although not all the food is made to it's best you can tell they try making things from scratch. I had the chicken fried steak and was a lil leery to try it. The steak was great a good piece of meat and the batter they made was done right. The gravy was good it did not have the flour taste to it and was not lumpy. Eggs we're cook right. I went with scrambled next time I'll see if they really know eggs and challenge them. Nothing special about the hash browns typical restaurant style(not like home). The pancakes were bad as this is listed as a pancake place I expected more. Pancakes were flat and undercooked. I like mine fluffy with crisp edges and done. No red to flatten them with a spatula. And the coffee was a little weak. Service was nice no complaints Overall a very nice place to eat read more

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The food was not good. The hash browns were way over cooked, completely crispy and they had been sitting for while. I ordered eggs over medium and they were hard. The biscuits are not made in-house. They are like hotel buffet biscuits. They are very sketchy with prices. My ticket was literally a post it note with just numbers written in on it. When I questioned why 1 meal and biscuits and gravy were 30 bucks I was met with rudeness. I was charged a price for biscuits and gravy. Then an additional charge for gravy even tho I didn't order more. Everything was over priced and over cooked. Then I was charged another Card service fee. I highly don't recommend. read more

A week later I returned still in complete disbelief. The owner greeted us kindly, served impeccably, fed an again wonderful & tasteful breakfast in an above time & temperature fashion. Everything could not have been hotter or any more flavorful. Then it hit me as I poured my warm syrup on my pancakes.....the pancakes alone brought me back. They are so damn delicious, fluffy, best in Waco. In my opinion, Harold Waites, now has the best pancakes in Waco. I wish I had been here the day all these improvements happened because I have missed out on some truly wonderful breakfast's. If you are not looking for a newly built, trucked in a box breakfast, I Highly recommend, Harold Waites now....... read more

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Love coming here! Been coming here for 40 + years. Food is usually always wonderful. When they are extremely busy the service might be a little slow. Worth the wait for a home cooked breakfast. Chicken fried steak is a huge portion. Always tasty. read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - strawberries and whipped cream - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

We pulled up on a Saturday morning around 11am starving after running errands all morning. As we were walking in, this older lady comes out and basically shoos me and hubby away saying that they are far to busy, no staff and they are completely out of dishes. We asked how long the wait was and she said "hours". Disappointed, we got back in the car, got on our phones looking for somewhere close by to get breakfast. While we were searching two other cars pulled in. One was an SUV full of people, 6 or 7. The other had 3. They went right in. No one stopped them. It was quite confusing. I mean, did she not like the car we were driving, the way we were dressed? Whatever it was, it was our first and last time to try this place. read more

Tom, I'm begging you, just sell. You're done. You've BEEN done. You're angry and irritable. It shows. Please sell your restaurant to someone that actually enjoys serving the community. You don't. And everyone knows. We visited on Sunday and we saw you turn away SO many customers because you now close at 11am on Sundays. Why? And don't say Covid, because you have staff. Staff that, I can't figure out why, are loyal to you?? How can they make any $$ if you're always closing early and adjusting the hours of operation? Speaking of staff, they're the only positive thing you got going. Your restaurant is so dirty and falling apart. Your booths are NOT comfortable, your floors are so gross, the walls need to be scrubbed and there's stuff just piled everywhere. The quality of the food has gone way down over the years. What a shame. I really don't know how the health dept hasn't shut you down. It's obvious you don't care anymore. Please, sell it to someone that will serve this community, a community that has been so loyal all these years and has put up with your attitude. You're done. Please let it go. read more

I have eaten breakfast here several times and I enjoy it each time. There portions are large. I always have food left over. The servers are very attentive. To me the prices are a little high but it's worth it for the excellent service. Try it you won't be disappointed. read more

Ya ever wanted a nice country fried steak with gravy? Take that, and take out all the flavor with no seasoning at all. Just absolutely tasteless on both gravy and country friend steak Folk were nice at least, and the place was decent in hygiene and environment. read more

The eggs bacon sausage and muffin were good. Hash browns were bad. A little pricey for breakfast. Service was awesome!

wanted a good place to go eat after church. Their website said they were open until noon. we showed up at 11:05. the sign on the door said Sunday- 7am-close, and the other days open to noon. We walked in and we're immediately "greeted" by a very angry old man saying "we're closed. We close every Sunday at 11." as the rest of our party of six started walking in he literally yelled "shut that door, shut the dang door." To which we just all walked out. We checked the door on the way out, it said nothing About them being closed. worse customer service I have ever experienced. read more

Well the very old man with the khakis would not seat me because I was a party of 1 although you have no seating for 1 then he stated the two tables are for families .. I pointed out there was no one waiting and he sat me.. ordered pork chops NO seasoning they would have been delicious, hash browns old and way too soft, no black tea just earl grey, grits way too stiff they stood up by themselves. Service was great! read more

Honestly, I don't understand the fascination with this place. Decor - I felt like I was walking back into the stone ages. There has been no updating at all done to this restaurant which pretty much sets the tone for the experience that I had. The wood paneling on the walls had pictures hanging up that appeared to not have been dusted in years. The walls added to the drab feel of the restaurant that seemed devoid of life. I felt like I had just walked into a dark cave. I was expecting Flo from Mel's Diner to walk into the restaurant at any second. Service - When I and my mother walked into the restaurant we were immediately ushered to sit at one of the booths. (I guess the middle section was reserved for the super-elite as there were no guests allowed to set there). No, they did not speak to us or welcome us to the restaurant or give us a choice of sitting in one of those hard wooden antique chairs or a booth. When we got ready to leave this old guy who appeared to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed got up from reading his paper and processed the sale. (I guess he was the owner). He did not ask how we enjoyed the meal. He did not thank us for stopping by or welcome us back. I felt like he wished we had come and left through the back door. I will say our waitress was very accommodating and did a great job of waiting on us. I just can't figure out how she continues to work for an owner that has forgotten how to smile and be nice. Food - My mom ordered pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Her pancakes looked like a child's first attempt at making pancakes. Fluffy they were not and did not look appetizing at all. Her sausage patty was cooked too well done and the eggs scrambled too hard. I ordered two eggs over easy, bacon, and toast (something told me to stay clear of those pancakes and I was right). My toast was laced with butter. It tasted like they had soaked the bread in butter all night and then popped in a toaster. The bacon had this weird taste and smell and the eggs were just okay. I mean if I'm going to spend $23.00 on breakfast (this includes the tip) there are much better choices in Waco. I will never go back to this place again. This was my first and last time. They say that the fish rots from the head down meaning that if the owner/manager is that rude and mean it has to filter down to the employees. Whoever says this place serves good food hasn't set the bar very high. As Flo would say this place can "Kiss My Grits." read more

what a gem! we love traditional breakfast diners! i can't believe this was our first time! the steak and eggs are awesome

I would give zero stars if I could. Food was nasty and over cooked. There were roaches the size of a golf ball. My family and I were just trying to have a nice breakfast. Instead we were left feeling sick to our stomach and creeped out. We will never be going back. Very disappointed! read more

One of the best places in Waco!! Harold is there most of the time. Service is really good, and the food reminds me of an old greasy spoon diner. There's not much else to say, other then: if you want a damn good breakfast at one of better and most historical places in Waco, look no further. Enjoy! read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - Harold's is the bomb. Boom. - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

My wife and I had never been here before so we stopped to give it a try. As soon as we walked in, we were able to be seated. We decided on a pecan waffle, the bacon waffle, ham, and biscuits and gravy. The portions were perfect and we left very full. Everything tasted great and the place definitely has a small town feel to it. I would recommend it! read more

I just had a really great breakfast! It's been a while since I've been here and I will definitely be coming back again! My eggs were cooked exactly the way I ordered them, over medium. The pancakes were fantastic and the center was not raw the way some pancakes can be. I had the bacon, sausage and hash browns-cooked right and good quality. The cost was comparable to IHOP, so why not support a local business and get a great meal! They're open til 12:30 and I would come here for an early lunch too. read more

Yikes. Awful food here. Service wasn't that good either. I figure a place with pancakes in the name should have good pancakes. Not so here. Tasteless pancakes. I kept the leftovers for 3 days. Couldn't eat them. Butter didn't even melt. Check my pics. Breakfast meats were forgettable. I waited quite a while to get a box. No one asked how my meal was. Just go on over to Broncs. Fresh food n good service read more

Harold Waite Pancake and Steak House - Pancake breakfast. Cheese not melted on hashbrowns - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

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We love this place! Decor has not changed since it opened in 1961!!! They play my favorite music from 1960's and 1970's. Best cheeseburger and fries in Texas!!! Everything is excellent!!! Excellent food. Excellent service!!! Excellent experience!!! It's like going back in time!!! read more

This is my kind of place. When the special is chicken fried steak and biscuits and gravy. Will recommend

Horrible. I have read the reviews here and other places, gave it a try- mostly because there is really nowhere to get breakfast on a Sunday in Waco. Took 40 minutes to get our food. Hash browns were obviously cooked earlier and scooped onto the plate. One of our party found a hair in his. (yuck). Chicken Fried steak- while it had a really good crust and was tender, had zero seasoning. Pancakes and eggs were cold. White gravy, again under seasoned. Coffee was good and plentiful during the 40 minute wait. To all that left great reviews, you really need to get out more. read more

I love this Waco landmark. I went back today after about an 8 year hiatus and wasn't disappointed. Attentive service, family friendly, and super delicious food. I was a regular about ten years ago and had forgotten how good it really was. Today was my daughter's first visit since she was a baby and she agreed that we have to go back! Missed y'all! Glad to have rediscovered you! read more

Great value, good breakfast, down home setting, friendly staff. Good location. I shall return!

Got the #3. Over easy eggs were way over cooked. As were my wife's. Sausage was almost totally burnt. Got canned Dr.Pepper and a glass of ice. Nothing good about it. read more

Food was bland not correct and wait staff always blaming cooks and providing lip service. Not like it used to be and appears that no one cares. Bad choice for us. read more