buttermilk fine waffles

buttermilk fine waffles, the highly anticipated waffle restaurant owned by sam friley opened at the end of last week. a couple of months ago, when sam was in the middle of construction we ran into each other atvillageice cream.

he explained his vision to me; to have consistency with how the waffles are made, and to have a simple menu of toppings that would compliment traditional buttermilk waffles. i've been watching the restaurant unfold on social media, catching glimpses of what was in store. one of the things that piqued my interest the most was the fact that delicious waffles would be available both day, and night.

buttermilk opened last thursday, and i went for dinner on friday. the place looks great, with fun little decor pieces. waffles are available as singles, or in pairs, with a selection of preset options like; blueberry with crème fraîche, lemon curd with goat cheese (which is what i had), and waffles topped withvillageice cream, keeping things in the friley family. there's also an à la cart option, so you can build your own.

the waffles are golden perfection. i need to go back as soon as possible. turns out calgary already loves buttermilk, they were so busy over the weekend, they had to close to regroup for a few days. fret not, they reopen this thursday, may 21st. directly from their instagram this is what they've gone through in mere days:

1200 oranges (for freeze squeezed orange juice)
960 eggs
30 kg of pecans
240 l of buttermilk
125 l of phil and sebastian coffee
and almost every single ounce of our staff of thirteen's human strength!

a few days to regroup sounds like a great idea!

just heard that there was a new waffle place that opened up at 17th and wanted to give it a try. waffles are good, a little crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. i ordered thevillage(ice cream, toffee and pecans) and it was just perfectly paired with a cup of p&s on the side. yum. i wanted to try their orange juice but unfortunately they ran out that day.

however, i do find the prices just a little bit over, considering the plating (which is just a tray and a wax paper on top) and the size. i guess just more work on the plating can make this better. it's just that everytime i take a slice out of my waffle, the wax paper slides off the tray and i kinda want more waffles for that amount of money.

anyways, buttermilk is also a good place for catching up. a waffle and coffee on the side while chit-chatting is quite a nice setting. i'll come back for the orange juice and probably try out the fruit waffle.

little to be desired.... i was initially excited about this place, but once i tried it (twice), i quickly became very disappointed. there was little left to be desired. the rundown: little value (not much bang for your buck), waffles were not crispy on the outside (but was fluffy on the inside), and poor presentation/plating. i really was hoping for something more decadent. please see nero (vancouver-based waffle shop) to see what i was imagining buttermilk would be like.

my recommendation to management: buff up your all your waffles (not a la carte) with a half-scoop ofvillageice cream, topped with freshly whipped cream and sprinkled with some light icing sugar, and served with complimentary real maple syrup on the side for anyone interested. we won't mind the prices for as long as if we feel like we're getting value out our order.

will return in few months for a re-review.

overpriced for quality of the food. i like obd, phil & sebastian,villageice cream, but the difference is that the quality of their ingredients/end product is evident. i don*t mind paying a few more dollars for a higher quality -- and often healthier -- product. buttermilk, however, appears to charge high prices for cheap ingredients, which is frustrating to say the least.

a meal consisting of two waffles and a drink will run you a minimum of $15-$20, excluding tip. the fresh squeezed orange juice was good, and it was neat that it was essentially made-to-order. the waffles themselves appear to be made of plain, grocery store quality ingredients with assorted toppings, all of which appeared pretty basic -- the exclusion being the waffle which included a scoop ofvillageice cream. for $8 a waffle, i would expect to see some higher quality flours and recipes - for example, having the blueberries mixed into the batter for the blueberry waffle, or a gluten-free waffle. given that this is supposed to be a restaurant that is all about waffles, i also expected to see more than 5 different waffle variations, that all use an identical flour/base. (4 if you exclude the plain waffle).

overall, it seems like a lot of money was poured into graphic design and restaurant decor at the expense of food quality and kitchen equipment. the blueberry waffle i had was good, but either the price needs to be lowered, or the quality of the food raised for me to return. if anyone from the bfw reads this, i would recommend a to-go option in the future to keep up with the high demand and limited seating.

below average. steeply priced..(17th ave). had two savory and one sweet waffle. the sweet was the best, because it had a scoop ofvillageice-cream! on its own, nothing great. wouldn't recommend going on the weekend at brunch time... super busy!

what a lovely little indulgence my first trip to buttermilk was this weekend!  looking for a central place for a brunch with some girlfriends, someone suggested we give this place a try.  we lucked out and snagged a table right before a huge morning rush, as many of already started, the place is small so table space is a premium.  seating sorted, we got in line to order, i got the green eggs & ham minus the ham (still can't eat pork, still bummed about it), my friends each got the waffle benedict and we all went with the feature cocktail - a pomegranate mimosa.  

i really enjoyed my waffle choice, obviously was missing the salt from the ham but with all the sriracha mayo and aged cheddar it was far from bland.  even the egg was nicely soft poached!  my friends really enjoyed their bennie's too and of course, we all enjoyed the mimosa's.  the staff here were all great - counter staff were friendly, helpful and engaging, the manager (well,  i assumed he was anyway) was walking around checking on everyone, chatting with customers.  the only off putting thing was our table was close to the entrance, so there are times that you literally have people standing over you waiting in line to order... we were debating our second round of waffles, because we had to try at least a sweet one to share, and a group was hovering over us waiting for us to leave the table so they could take it.  not buttermilk's fault, just a flaw in the setup and i guess a draw back of it being so popular!  

the 3 of us decided on two sweet waffles to split to try - the fruit one, which we added a scoop of ice cream too because it'svillagecreamery *insert drool face* and the cinnamon bun.  both were great, but i preferred the fruit one, ice cream or not.  our eyes were way bigger than our stomachs, we could not finish them, but we just had to give them a try before leaving.

we really enjoyed our visit to buttermilk, and i would certainly return again in the future.  though, as it is a bit on the expensive side, it won't be an every weekend thing, i can really see how some do make this a weekly (or more) stop.  thanks buttermilk!

this is the best waffle place in calgary, hands down. they only do waffles, so come with your appetite prepared. you can even getvillageice cream on your waffles 😍

the staff are great and always go the extra mile, and thr atmosphere is cozy and welcoming. love this place

i like it. bit pricey for me for a small waffle. might go back again when craving for waffles. try thevillageand banana waffle. the ham looks good but not my favourite, taste so simple.

overpriced and disappointing overall. i would rather get eggos from the grocery store. the only thing that saves this place is thevillageice cream.

i loved this place. good atmosphere and decor and the food was delicious. you get loads of toppings like pecans and berries. i had thevillagewaffle with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce as well as the cinnamon roll waffle and bother were delicious. the person i was with had a blueberry waffle and they loaded on the blueberries.

the waffles are quite overpriced for the amount of toppings you get on it. the cinnamon bun claims to have cream cheese frosting but it was in fact a glaze to my disappointment. the only saving grace for thevillagewas the ice cream on it. the waffles were on the soggy side too.

great late night chill spot! and really great quality ingredients. will be going back for sure :)

thevillagewas great with the in season special of cardamom ice cream

the decor of the place is pretty cute and the staff were nice. the price was a little pricy for a waffles. i tried the "fruit" waffle but was a little disappointed that there was only raspberry on it. thevillageicecream was very tasty. will go back to try the savoury waffles.

alright. i must admit i tried buttermilk mainly because everyone was. and my experience was okay. the atmosphere is chill, music and all. i had the fruits waffle, thevillagewaffle (which had candy cane ice cream to celebrate the festive season) and ordered a savory waffle for my friend. the fruits waffle is my favorite. i liked the sweet and sour flavor over the sweet flavor. thus, thevillagewaffle was a tad too sweet for my liking. thevillagewaffle is better for those who enjoy ice cream and pecans, as well as chocolate or toffee sauce. in my opinion, the prices are okay but slightly pricy for the amount of waffle you get (and thus -0.5). service was quick. overall, a good experience. would i come back? probably not; unless i get an uncontrollable craving for waffles.

i had a waffle with one of the selections fromvillageice cream and i absolutely loved it! very happy to see places like this in calgary. good variety of waffles and great artworks in the hallway to the washroom. great service as well!