Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker review: Makes fuss-free, fluffy waffles in minutes

The Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker offers a quick and simple way to make breakfast treats, desserts and some interesting savoury snacks. It can produce up to four waffles at a time, making it a great option for families, shared houses or anyone looking to cook in batches without upending their kitchen.

As well as a generous capacity, this model also comes with batter overflow channels, ensuring there really is no mess when whipping up some tasty waffles. With a couple of stand-out features and a reasonable price tag, the Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker is an excellent addition to any kitchen.

Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker review: What do you get for the money?

This model has a smart-looking silver and black plastic exterior, with two indicator lights on its outer casing, a red light to show the maker is on and a green one to signal that it has reached the correct temperature. Its clamshell design opens up to reveal four 9 x 10cm non-stick aluminium plates both on the top and bottom. Along the bottom, you’ll also find two overflow channels, which look like moats, running alongside. These are designed to catch excess batter and prevent it from spilling onto your countertop or gunking up the maker itself. The appliance measures 32 x 29 x 12cm (WDH), which is fairly large, though its light weight of 3kg means it’s easily popped into a cupboard or on a shelf when not in use.

While the sturdiness and efficacy of the Lakeland No Mess helps to justify its mid-range £60 price tag, if you simply don’t want to spend over £50 on a waffle maker there are some solid alternatives available. In terms of four-plate waffle makers, Vonhaus’s Vonshef Quad Waffle Maker can be picked up for just £30 and does the job well. However, its slow cook times and lack of overflow channels means it doesn’t quite match the speedy, simple experience provided by the Lakeland model.

If you can deal with something more compact, Salter’s Deep Fill Waffle Maker is a great two-plate option, costing just £24 and producing thicker, Belgian-style waffles, as opposed to the thinner, crispier American-style ones you get with Lakeland’s and Vonhaus’s models. If money isn’t a concern and you’re willing to part with around £100, you can pick up the Sage No Mess Waffle Maker, which boasts a stainless steel finish, an overflow channel similar to the one on the Lakeland and a temperature control dial with seven settings.

Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker review: What’s good about it?

The Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker has a simple, handsome design and a sturdy, solid feel. Its non-slip feet mean it sits securely on your countertop, so you don’t have to worry about knocking hot batter all over your kitchen. What’s more, its robust hinge opens and closes quickly smoothly, making it supremely easy to use.

It also heats up quickly, taking around three minutes to reach temperature. After placing the recommended 1.5 cups (roughly 350ml) of batter onto the plates the mixture spread evenly across them, and just three-and-a-half minutes later I opened the waffle maker back up to find four golden brown waffles. I was able to remove these swiftly and simply with silicone tongs, thanks to the effective non-stick coating of the plates. After two minutes, it was ready to go again. In the end, preparing three batches, for 12 waffles in total, took about 15 minutes, excluding the time it took to make the waffle mixture.

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Proving to be as good as they looked, the waffles had a crisp exterior and a warm fluffy interior, with this texture remaining consistent across all the batches. While I followed my own recipe for these waffles, the manual does have a selection of recipes at the back to give you an idea of the range of options you have. It includes instructions for standard waffles, a chocolate variation and some interesting savoury ideas such as courgette and parmesan waffles, and cheesy hash brown waffles.

Thankfully, cleaning up is as easy as eating with this waffle maker. Simply wiping the plates down with a damp, soapy cloth followed by a clean, damp cloth did the trick. The effective nature of the non-stick coating meant that, even after cooking three batches, nothing more than a cursory wipedown was necessary. Things were also simplified by the efficacy of the overflow channels, which caught any excess batter that spilled out of the plates during cooking, helping minimise mess and cut down on clean-up times.

Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker review: What could be better?

While the overall experience of using the Lakeland No Mess is largely hassle-free and enjoyable, there is still a little room for improvement. Design-wise, I found that the front handle for opening the waffle maker could use a rubber grip or simply be larger and easier to get a hold of, as a cloud of hot steam tends to escape when you open it up, forcing to you to pinch the handle at an awkward angle to avoid the heat. Another small design niggle is that while the non-stick plates are easily cleaned with a wipe of damp cloth, models with removable plates that can be popped into the dishwasher or sink are preferable, in case they need a more thorough clean.

Outside of these minor quibbles, the only things I could wish for are some additional features such as temperature control, self-turning and peripherals for cooking things such as sandwiches and deeper-fill waffles. However, given the Lakeland No Mess’s relatively reasonable cost, these aren’t entirely fair asks for a mid-range appliance.

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Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker review: Should you buy it?

With its solid build quality, ability to quickly produce four well-cooked waffles at once and clever design, which effectively eschews mess and hassle, the Lakeland No Mess Waffle Maker is an excellent piece of kit. It provides plenty of value to justify its mid-range price, making it ideal for busy family kitchens or for waffle-loving couples.