Presto Flipside Belgian Waffle Maker In-depth Review

The Presto Flipside Belgian Waffle Maker (03510) design is possibly the most unique we have ever seen. Instead of having a rotating body mounted on top of a tall frame, the Presto 03510 flips from side to side. The result is a flippable waffle maker without the extra bulk.

Its compact design, combined with its affordability, makes it the darling of the sales charts.

But whether the waffle maker lives up to the marketing spread is another story. We have thoroughly tested the waffle maker in our lab, with the objective of finding the best to buy waffle makers.

Here are the results!

Key Specs

Where to Buy Price at publication $50.14

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Compared to Other Waffle Makers

6.5 Performance: More than Meets the Eyes

In our self-mixed recipe test, the Presto’s performance was lackluster at best. The waffles were disappointing, with a blackened, charred coloring and little to no flavor or texture.

The Presto performed much better with the new Birch Benders waffle mix in later test rounds. The coloration was great, and our chef judged the resulting waffles as being tasty. But it’s not perfect: the texture was deemed as needing improvement.

6.0 Self-Mixed Recipe

Scoring Components ↓

The Presto waffle maker did a mediocre job in this test. The crust was overdone, as evidenced by the dark coloring of the crust. Though there were quite a few air bubbles and cavities in the waffle’s interior, they weren’t large enough to give it the ideal consistency we were looking for. As for the taste, the bitterness of the carbonized crust carried over the tongue with each bite due to the burnt crust.

Color (35%) — 5.5/10

• Color tone: Charred black (Both)
• Color distribution: Even

The Presto has very strong heating elements. Combined with the lack of any temperature control function, the outer crust of the waffle was close to being burnt. The wells on the waffle have very dark brown coloring. Some of which were approaching the point of blackening.

The bottom of the waffle was lighter in color, but the wells were still dark brown.

Texture (25%) - 6/10

• Texture: Mediocre
• Aeration level: Low; the aeration process had begun, but the air bubbles were still too small

The intense heat cooked the batter enough to kick-start the aeration process. But, by the 5-minute mark, the air bubbles were still tiny. Excess moisture was still present inside the waffle, making the waffle very mushy.

Taste (40%) - 6.5/10

• Flavor: Sweet and buttery, but bitter from the overcooked crust
• Mouthfeel: Dry on the outside, mushy on the inside

The desired sweetness of the sugar and the buttery aftertaste of the batter was there. But unfortunately, the bitterness of the charred spots on the crust ruined the tasting experience.

The crust felt dry on the tongue, which was an off-putting contrast against the mushy core.

7.0 Birch Benders Mix

Scoring Components ↓

The Presto did a great job on this test. After 6 minutes and 30 seconds, the waffle came out with a beautiful, light brown crust. Taste-testing the waffle, our chef considered it to be very flavorful. However, the texture was a bit too spongy due to a low aeration rate.

Color (35%) — 7.25/10

• Color result: Light brown (Both)
• Color distribution: Even

The waffle’s coloration was great. Both sides sported a brown, crispy crust that was light in the middle and gradually darkened the farther it got from the center. Inside of the wells, the batter was cooked to a dark brown. Fortunately, none of the wells were charred.

Texture (25%) — 5/10

• Texture: Mediocre
• Aeration level: Low, few air bubbles

For texture, it didn’t score highly due to a low aeration rate. Air bubbles were small in size and few in number, resulting in a fairly dense-looking interior that indicated mushiness. And indeed, the waffle’s texture was quite mediocre.

Taste (40%) — 8/10

• Flavor: Savory, slightly sweet
• Mouthfeel: Mushy due to the waffle’s underdeveloped interior

Our chef rated the waffle as flavorful: savory, and pleasantly sweet. But the mushy mouthfeel detracted from the tasting experience.

6.6 Design

Our first impression of the Presto 03510 waffle maker was that it’s a luxurious waffle maker. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, many deficiencies were revealed. Its overall build quality isn’t very good, having many dents and gaps on various parts of its bodywork. This gave us the impression that its manufacture was done hastily.

The waffle plates were very well-built, but the non-stick finish could be further improved. During our cooking tests, we had to deal with several sticky waffles.

Lastly, the control panel itself does not have a browning control knob which some people may find slightly disappointing. But it’s not rare for waffle makers in this price range to lack a control function, like the BLACK+DECKER WMD200B or the DASH No-Drip.

In The Box

• Presto Flipside waffle maker
• Instruction manuals

The shipping box is simplistic. Inside, you will find the waffle maker and the user manual. No extra accessory is included.

Dimensions & Weight

Its compact size sets the Presto 03510 apart from every other flip waffle maker. Thanks to its unique design, the waffle maker measures only 4.4 inches tall (on its side). That’s less than half as tall as the more “traditional” flippable models like the Hamilton Beach 26031, which measures 8.7 inches in height.

However, while it is more compact vertically, the waffle maker takes up a lot of counter space. As you flip it back and forth, the waffle maker requires a working area two times its length (around 25 inches on both sides of the waffle maker).

When it’s time to store it away, you need to grab it by the handle and lift the body upright. Then, there is a “vertical lock” — a red piece of plastic attached to the base — that you can use to keep it standing vertically.

It brings the waffle maker’s height to 11.5 inches. In return, its length is reduced to just 4.5 inches.

6.0 Build Quality

Build quality is great, but it could be better in some respects. The body of the waffle maker is made from solid stainless steel. Its metallic gleam gives the waffle maker a beautiful, premium look.

The base is made from plastic. It looked sturdy at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, we observed many design and manufacturing flaws.

At the bottom of the handle, two big dents can be seen. They were already there when we took it out of the box, so it’s likely to be a manufacturing defect.

In addition to the damaged handle, a large gap can be seen in the joints that connect the waffle maker’s body with the base. The way that they’re unevenly set made us suspicious of bad workmanship.

8.0 Waffle Plates

The waffle maker comes with a pair of ceramic plates coated with a layer of non-stick. Each measures 7.5 inches in diameter and has a small moat running around the perimeter of the plate to catch spilled batter.

The non-stick coating works most of the time. But, every so often, a waffle would stick to the plates, and we would have to pry it out with utensils.

6.0 Control Panel

A large red light is situated on one side of the waffle. When you plug the waffle in, the light will glow red. Once the waffle plates have reached the right temperature, the light will turn off.

Underneath the light is a timer with a digital screen. You can set the countdown via the small button underneath the screen. The corresponding numbers will appear on the display. Once the countdown is completed, a small speaker will alarm you.

Note that the timer only keeps the time. It won’t shut down or control the waffle maker for you. The timer is a separate component from the waffle maker and operates on batteries. So, even if you unplug the unit, the timer will still work.

Power Cord

The power cord is very long, measuring over 36.5 inches. There’s no cable management feature. When we need to put it away and into storage, we have to wrap the cord around the waffle maker's body.

Accessories: N/A

The Presto waffle maker does not come with any accessories.

9.2 Ease of Use

The Presto waffle maker is easy to use overall. You may initially feel slightly unfamiliar with its flipping function, but you'll get a grip on it in only a few minutes. 

Safety is handled very well in the Presto waffle maker. We measured the surface temperatures of parts that the user regularly has to touch, such as the handle.

None of these parts get dangerously hot — they're uncomfortably warm at best.

It doesn't perform too impressively in our cleanability tests because its plastic exterior tends to grip dried batter.

9.5 Handling

Handling is great. The hinges – of the lid and the flipping mechanism — are built exceptionally well. The lid opens and closes without wobbling. We can flip the waffle maker back and forth fluidly, too.

The handle is made up of two halves. Each half is built into the two lids of the waffle maker. You just need to split them apart when you want to open up the lid.

When you need to flip or carry the waffle maker around, bring the two halves together to make a complete handle.

Our only issue is with the timer. Even after reading the manual, it’s still hard to use and imprecise. So, for all of our tests, we use our timer rather than the built-in one. Fortunately, this is a minor annoyance.

9.8 Safety

Safety is excellent for the Presto waffle maker.

We recorded a top-side temperature of 167°F. While the temperature is dangerous, you’re never meant to touch the top of any waffle maker. Thus, the figure here doesn’t affect scoring much.

The base and the handle are both at room temperature. They were found to have a temperature of 95°F and 94°F, respectively.

7.5 Cleanability

Cleaning the waffle maker is easy for the most part. We rarely have to clean the plates, thanks to the non-stick coating. However, as aforementioned, the coating can sometimes fail and leave sticky remains on the plates. Fortunately, the residues can be easily removed with some vigorous scrubbing.

Certain parts of the waffle maker are challenging to clean, like the inside of the handle. The dried batter can bind to the plastic here very tightly. We could not scrub droplets of dried batter off even after applying mild detergent.

10 Indicator Light Visibility

The indicator light to the side of the waffle maker was very bright. It’s easy to see even under studio lighting.