Dual-location shop and stand in Gatlinburg serves up decadent waffles all day
It’s a bold choice, I would think, to open a pair of waffle shops in the shadow of the iconic Gatlinburg institution the Pancake Pantry. But, in the Smoky Mountains, where there are pancake palaces stacked on top of each other – see what I did there? – maybe it’s not so odd after all. Welcome my friends, to Waffle De Lys, the dual Davids to the Pancake Pantry’s Goliath on the Parkway in Gatlinburg.
A New York-based purveyor of Belgian waffles has opened a stand and a shop on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, flanking either side of the iconic Pancake Pantry. In addition to dozens of build-your-own options, they sell a handful of specific dessert waffles as well as coffee, lemonade and shakes and smoothies. They’re decadent and delicious. If you don’t want to mess around with the line at the Pancake Pantry, it may be your best option on the strip.
IN THIS ARTICLE
About the store(s)
Waffle De Lys in Gatlinburg is an interesting business concept. There are two locations a couple hundred yards from each other. In between is the Pancake Pantry, a Ben and Jerry’s, the Chocolate Monkey and who knows how many shops selling sweet treats.
Let’s start with the stand, which is built into the outer corner of the Branded by CW store right across the street from the Mountain Mall. It’s essentially the satellite branch for the shop located up the street. The stand is like someone took a food truck concept, removed the wheels and stuck it into a foundational support of a larger building. The stand juts out into the sidewalk. It has an order window and a pickup window. There’s absolutely no seating. What do they do when things get busy? They just deal with it. It’s a small space. I have a hard time imagining more than a couple of people working there at a time.
Are delightfully thick and fluffy dessert waffles slathered in chocolate sauce or Nutella and topped with whipped cream a good walking-around treat? Reasonable minds can differ. But the shop also has a walk-up window, so I imagine people make it work. We did find a spot on the city benches just outside the store, but I felt a little seen. The waffle-envy amongst the passersby was strong. But when considering the perfect street food, I wouldn’t have put waffles topped with mountains of fruit, caramel and whipped cream near the top of the list.
The shop does have some limited seating and a type of bar on which you can rest your waffle. If you’re trying to decide which is the better Waffle De Lys location, that may seal it.
What’s on the menu?
The menus are the same at both locations. And, strangely, the choices are both varied and limited. You have a lot of options but little variation.
Within the realm of whipped cream, caramel chocolate and fruit, the combinations are quite a few. But really no matter the road you choose, the result is fairly similar. You’re getting a Belgian waffle that is crispy on the outside and thick and fluffy on the inside. The various options are heavy in bananas, strawberries, chocolate sauce or caramel.
Which is the best?
My wife has a fondness for hazelnuts that goes back to the French creperies of Paris, so La Nutty is her go-to with Nutella, banana, whipped cream and caramelized hazelnuts.
I prefer the Oh La! La! even though I find it semi-embarrassing to order. There aren’t a lot of ways a grown man – even one who used to speak French pretty well – can say give me the Oh La! La! on the streets of Gatlinburg and still feels good about himself. And, if you try to give a little oomph of the French accent, it’s giving Pepe Le Pew vibes.
Still, the Oh La! La! with French caramel – none of this domestic caramel for your boy – raspberry coulis, bananas, whipped cream and caramelized hazelnuts. They were out of bananas on our last visit, and I have to say, while they doubled up on strawberries, it does lessen the experience. The most exotic option on the board is the appropriately named L’Exotic with mango and raspberry coulis, banana, shredded coconut and whipped cream.
Other menu items include smoothies, sundaes, milkshakes and coffees. I can vouch that both the frozen lemonade and the milkshakes are quite good. The other question, I suppose, is are they authentic Belgian waffles? Not to humblebrag, but having been to Belgium and having had several Belgian waffles there, I can definitively say I have no idea. I think probably so, but it’s been a long time and while I remember the waffles being good. My waffle-specific memory isn’t THAT strong.
Hours and location
Before we go down this way-too-complicated rabbit hole, let’s address since there are two of them within a couple of hundred yards, why aren’t they called Waffle Des Lys? It’s a good question as “des” is the plural form of “de”. However, in this example, de does not take the plural. The plural goes with the noun, not the adjective. So, the correct plural version of Waffle De Lys would be Waffles De Lys? I think it’s a play on fleur-de-lis – the French symbol you see on the helmets for the New Orleans Saints.
Anyhoo, the shop is located at 716 Gatlinburg Parkway and hours vary – opening at 10 am on weekdays and 9 am on the weekends and closing at 10 pm Sunday through Thursday and 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. The stand – located at 616 Parkway, Gatlinburg opens daily at 9:30 am and closes at 11 pm each night, at the time of this writing.
We’ve found that Waffles-De-Lys in Gatlinburg is a mighty Franco-Belgium enigma. Why is that the name? Why are there two of them so close together? Where is the plural? Wouldn’t it be better to get one shop with more seating? Are they going to eventually crush the Pancake Pantry in a pincer movement? How do you run out of bananas when you’re so close to the Chocolate Monkey?
The only real answer we have to any of this is the Waffle De Lys in Gatlinburg serves up delicious – probably authentic – Belgian waffles right on the Gatlinburg strip.
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