Customer Reviews

VillaWare V6150 4-Square Belgian Waffler/Multi-Baker, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

My kids call this product the "all day" machine. We make waffles or pancakes for breakfast, grilled cheese or paninni for lunch and grill chicken or burgers for dinner. We love the waffles because they are as thick as any sunday brunch belgian we have ever had. I no longer need my any other grill because this one "squeeze the fat out" and makes us feel good about what we are eating. We also appreciate the ability to adjust the temperature.

I bought this lovely waffle iron in a pinch, needing a second iron for a brunch party - and its crisp modular design wooed me away from purchasing a second Hoffritz.

This machine makes a great panini grill with the optional grill plates, does a good job with keeping bacon mess to a roar with the griddle plates, and makes a fair grilled cheese. It does not, however, make good waffles.

"The Best" team of chefs, the ones famous for testing all sorts of equipment and then choosing the best one, HATED this machine for all the same reasons I am luke warm about it:
- Lousy heat recovery. The iron recovers slowly after adding batter.
- Uneven heat. The top is consistantly lighter than the bottom.
- Low overall temp. Waffles don't get cooked fast enough so they get cakey.
- The top edges of the iron never fill with batter because of the lower temp.

Since none of these issues are present in my Hoffritz quad waffle machine, nor my 2 waffle Villaware, I have to assume that this multipurpose model was designed to do too many things and the quality of the waffles was sacrificed.

As a general purpose hot sandwich machine, it does pretty well. It is very good looking, is easy to use, easy to clean, and easy to store - but for waffles, the Hoffritz is better.

The red light never worked, the label was pealing off the front of the waffle iron. The waffle on the bottom never cooked, it was more like a rubber tire in texture and was half cooked after 5 minutes.

One (1) star is an over rating for this waffle iron..., I've already tried the Krups Waffle Baker (to hard to clean), my next waffle iron to try will be a Chef's Choice Belgian Waffle Iron.

I wore out my old waffle maker and was excited about the versatility of this machine. While the non-stick surfaces are easy to clean, the baking time is incredibly slow and the cooking is uneven (one side will be very brown while the other side is barely golden). I chose a waffle maker that would make four waffles because I want to make enough for the whole family to eat at the same time; but by the time the second four are ready, the first batch is cold. This is with the machine set on high and if you try to rush you end up with the waffles separating in the middle and waffle in both of the baking grates. This is a pain to get out. The machine body is also rather bulky. This waffle maker is the reason I am shopping for a new waffle maker.

This is one of the three waffle irons I own, and it is my least favourite. It's a great idea - an appliance that does several things - if it did them well. A temperature control is important, but I always have to have the waffle maker on the highest setting so it's not very useful. My biggest complaint is the quality of the "non-stick coating" - everything sticks from waffles to pancakes (on the griddle) to cheese (from sandwiches on the grill). Then it is impossible to clean - the hardened grease is just going to get thicker over the years. Maybe it will end up "seasoned" like a cast iron pan and then the waffles will come out.

I'm happier with my Chef's Choice and Grinch (Salton) novelty waffle irons.

The main problem with this waffle iron is that the heating is extremely uneven between the top and bottom plates: the waffles often end up being soft on the bottom plate. Worst of all, the majority of the time we've used it, the waffle splits into two, with the two halves completely stuck to either side. When this happens, be ready for an annoying clean up. It's bulky, and without a good control over the temperature settings, I would strongly avoid this iron.

I've owned this alleged waffle maker for years now. About once a year I break it out to make waffles. The one I have heats fine but the non-stick surface it terrible. I've tried the spray-on vegetable coating and even brushing the hot plates with vegetable oil and nothing works. I have tried different type of waffle batter and still nothing works.

After I get frustrated and clean the waffle maker up I usually put it away until the next year. But not any more, off to the trash it went. It may be good for some other uses, but a waffle iron that won't make waffles in my opinion is useless.

Even though I've shopped on Amazon since the beginning this is the first review that I've written. I've checked the past review of this product and found a "Top 10" reviewer that gave it 5 stars. Of the more then 1600 reviews that she gave, all where 5 stars. She is either extremely lucky or full of the stuff that my ex-waffle maker made.

I've had this waffle maker for almost 5 years, and it does make decent waffles but I am sure there is something better out there. This waffle maker has 2 main problems (and it seems as if many others agree): 1) poor nonstick coating and 2)low temperature. The nonstick coating on this waffle maker is a joke. Even when I add more oil to my recipes than called for the waffles will stick unless I coat the grids in oil before making each waffle. You have to coat the grids very quickly, too, so as not to allow the grids to cool to much. The temperature must be on the highest setting to make waffles, and it usually takes 10-12 minutes (depending on how much batter I pour in) to get the waffle to the appropriate doneness. If the grids are well coated in oil and the grids are hot when you pour in your batter, this waffler does make a decent waffle. I think it just requires more effort than it should. The griddle works better than the waffler, but just be careful again with the not-so-nonstick coating.

I had no problems with the waffles sticking. I'm not sure if the other reviewers followed the directions...but if you oil the surface before you put the batter in and let it thoroughly cook, the waffles won't stick. I used canola oil, and the let is do it's job. after ~3minutes I tested opening the iron. Meeting resisantance, I let it cook longer. Around 5 minutes the waffle iron opened without any reistance or sticking.

I used the recipe that came in the booklet. Next time I'll add a little more vanilla to the batter.

I've also used the panini/grill. I love the fact that this is a dual purpose machine.

I have only 2 gripes:
- the machine seems a little flimsy, but i think that is a function of the hinge (which is necessary to have the variable height)
- the metal surface has no insulation and gets very hot. I can forsee the potential for burning my fingers.

Overall, definitely a must-have for it's versatility (and the fact that no other machines are multi-purpose)

***update: I have burnt myself on the metal surface by just incidental contact when reaching for a spatula. The burn was actually pretty large and blistered. If you have children, I would recommend constant supervision when using this machine.

We ordered prior to Christmas from Amazon, as they were one a few places that had it "in stock". It arrived Jan 17, with the handle broke.BAD They did get a new one to us by the 20th GOOD.
The new one does not seem to be getting hot enough to cook the waffle, and I have not had much luck with VillaWare resolving, other than send in at my expense.
What would you do?