Bonte Wafflerie & Cafe

Not great. Waffle was doughie and the coffee was bland. The waffles have a unique taste and would probably be good if properly cooked properly. Marathon would have been better.

Haven’t been in Philly for 2 years now, but I sure do miss Bonte’! The coffee shop with a delightful waffle surprise!
Heavenly waffles and a quality cup of coffee. Good customer service, too.
A place like this would do great in Atlanta… heck, anywhere! I remember them having good soups, too.
If you haven’t been here, keep in mind that the waffles are no «Waffle House» or «IHOP» belgian waffle. No sir, folks. These waffles are caramelly crunchy on the outside with little specks of sugar (the consistency of the salt you’ll find on a philly pretzel)…and can have strawberries, chocolate, etc. added in.
You just have to go check it out for yourself.

My boy and I stepped into Bonte for a quick breakfast before we had to deal with wedding festivities of my best friend. The goal of the outing was to find decent coffee and a bite of something relatively quick and tasty. Check and check. However, despite the coffee and waffle being scrumptious and soul-​pleasing, albeit NOT cheap (don’t go if you’re starving, or it will cost you a bunch for the little tasty waffles), the service was wretched. There was one dude who was seriously so awful, his negativity was filling the whole space and fouling it up. No joke, we ate and ran because we couldn’t stand to be near him, and we were amazed at the way one person can take a dump on your beautiful morning meal. The other ladies behind the counter were sweet enough, but god bless them for having to share their small space with that douchebag. If I lived near here and wanted to grab a waffle again, I would first check to see if that guy was working… and if he was, I am sure I would have «words» with either him or his manager, or both. Shame!

My friend and I arrived to Bonte on a Saturday night around 7 pm. There were many seats available and approximately 5 other patrons in this café.
We ordered a waffle to share; the «mix in» of peanut butter in the waffle was suggested to us by the man working at the counter. It was served with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup on the plate. The waffle was served hot, but was heavy in taste. This could be because of the peanut butter that was added to the waffle batter.
My friend had a cup of hot tea that was served in nice sized ceramic mug. I ordered a cappuccino, which was disappointing in taste.
The bathroom is another story to be told — it was dirty with toliet paper all over the floor. There was no bathroom knob on the door and the hole where the knob is supposed to be was filled with paper towels. There were no paper towels in the bathroom to dry your hands. My friend and I took turns «waching the door» of the bathroom while we each went in since there was no knob/​lock.
The total cost for both hot drinks and one waffle was a total of $ 12.

Needed something sweet while I was walking around. A Bonte waffle was perefectly portably… piping hot… chewy and doughy on the inside, crispy and crackly on the outside. MMMMMMMM!

One thing I’m sure to miss when I’m away from Philly long enough is my banana/​chocolate Bonte waffle. For those of you reading this review wondering, «what’s a Bonte waffle?» You’re way late in the game. Simply put, it’s a warm, chewy goodie served with your choice of filling (bananas and chocolate) and comes sprinkled with small sugar crystals.
Bonte’s disguised as a coffee shop, but anyone who says they’re just going for the coffee is just looking for an excuse to succumb to the waffle. Since each waffle is made to order, you’ll likely wait a good 8 – 15 minutes, maybe even 20 if there’s a line. That’s the only downside. Upside is you can grab the Citypaper or PW to pass the time.

Hhhhhmmm… back in the day I only dropped one review for Bonte, and it was the location that I didn’t like by comparison. Considering the fact that this is my favorite Bonte out of the three, and that I haven’t hit up a another coffeehouse in about a week, reviewing this one sounds pretty ingenious.
There was a time that this Bonte officially knew me as «Large Coffee Guy» because I went there so much during one of the jobs that I held down. But that’s also testament to how much I fell in love with their coffee bringing me back to life. Their chocolate croissants also made for a decadent breakfast. And every time that I’ve been here over the past couple of years I have never once encountered bad service. This Bonte is also perfect for kicking back since it has a relaxing setup in the back.
As far as their fabled waffles go if your looking for traditional Belgian Waffles then you’re instantly going to hate them. But they never claim to be traditional either. But if you mix it around with Chocolate and Bananas (my favorite), or plenty of fresh berries then your bound to find one delicious confectionery treat.

One of the first treats I had here in Philadelphia! I got a waffle with strawberries and white chocolate. To die for. Literally. Melts in your mouth and is just so sweet and delicate. Wonderful. At first I saw it and was like awwww it’s small. But! That little sucker filled me up the whole day!
I highly recommend this place for a cozy breakfast/​brunch date before a stroll around the city. It’s romantic to me for some reason. I just love this place!

Of all the Bonte’s in Philadelpha, (all of them being near/​on Walnut Street) this location is the best!
My office used to have this thing we called «Bonte Waffle Friday» where we’d each get our own customized waffle. Well our office at the time was closest to the 17^th street location, but we decided that those waffles typically came out undercooked.
So then we began trying the other locations and determined that the one on 9^th and Walnut was overcooked…
So as it goes in fairy tale, we were looking for ones that were «juuuuuuuuust right»!
And the 13^th & Walnut location made the best waffles!
Overall, the concept of these waffles is amazing because you can choose what gets baked into your waffle: nuts, chocolate, fruit
Then those ingredients get mashed into the center of a glob of dough, rolled in sugar and then stuck on the waffle iron! Yum! I used to eat at least 3 of these a week but now with our office further away from Walnut Street, I don’t go there as often. And we no longer have «Bonte Waffle Friday» :-(
But I love these waffles as a snack or dessert because they are sweet treats, but I looked up the nutrition information and they aren’t that bad for you fat and calorie-​wise.
A few other things to note:
— they have sandwiches for lunch time
— great coffee
— other bakery items
— free Wifi
— and this location is the nicest to hang out with a book or laptop because it has couches in the back