The World's Best Breakfast, Ranked
The first meal, taken seriously: the breakfast and brunch rooms the critics and guides have put on the record, ranked.
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Rank 1. République
French
The brick-and-skylight nave of a former bakery on La Brea sets the stage for one of those all-day operations that actually pulls off both halves. Mornings belong to the pastry counter, where the team's James Beard Award-winning work draws lines before the doors open. By evening the open kitchen is running a Southern European Mediterranean menu for a full dining room that never quite empties.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Margarita Manzke
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Brunch Venue
- Time Out The best bakeries in America
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Rank 2. Cullum's Attaboy
French
A chalkboard outside suggests a Champagne breakfast, and inside this little bungalow on the St. Mary's strip, that feels like the most sensible advice you'll get all week. Cullum's Attaboy is a walk-in, counter-service brunch spot doing affordable French luxury, think proper omelets, hollandaise, and caviar appearing with suspicious regularity. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and a James Beard nomination followed.
- Food & Wine Ham & Cheese · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Texas · Christopher Cullum
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 2. Hilda & Jesse
Fine dining
You don't see a menu at this Michelin-starred brunch tasting room in the Castro, which is either thrilling or mildly terrifying depending on your personality. The cooking is bold and a little chaotic in the best way, built on serious fine dining technique but with zero fussiness about it. Blue-and-white checkered floors and a big mural set the tone: this is not a quiet eggs-and-mimosas situation.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle #32 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 4. Superiority Burger
Vegetarian
The quinoa-chickpea-walnut burger that made Brooks Headley famous is still on the menu at this vegetarian burger shop in the East Village, now in a bigger room with vintage diner bones. Nothing here pretends to be meat, which turns out to be the whole point. The Michelin Bib Gourmand and a New York Times top-100 spot follow naturally from cooking that treats bold seasoning and smart texture as the actual job. Save room for dessert; Headley came up as a pastry chef.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 4. Valentine
American, Regional Cuisine
A churro waffle with a cult following and a soft pretzel served with butter blended from guinea hen fat says about everything you need to know about Valentine's priorities. This all-day cafe and restaurant in the Melrose District does wood-fired Sonoran cooking with Arizona ingredients treated like the whole point, not a talking point. The chef is a James Beard semifinalist, and the elote pasta has its own fan club. The vintage furniture store in the back is not a joke.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Crystal Kass
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Crystal Kass
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 4. Zak The Baker
Bakery
The color-splashed facade in Wynwood is hard to miss, and the line of regulars out front means you won't either. This all-day kosher bakery and cafe runs on naturally leavened breads and pastries, with sandwiches, soups, and salads filling out the menu. The seasonal concha tends to disappear fast. A James Beard nominee for Outstanding Baker, Zak Stern trained on organic farms across Europe before bringing the whole project back home to Miami.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Baker · Zak Stern
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Rank 7. Casaema
Mexican/Tex-Mex
The horchata cream doughnut sells out early, which tells you everything about the pace of a morning here. Casaema is a daytime cafe in Houston Heights rooted in Mexican foodways, with a pastry case full of conchas and guava-queso empanadas alongside a coffee menu running café de olla lattes and piloncillo chai. The chilaquiles are built on housemade chips with brisket. A James Beard nominee for Best New Restaurant, and a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Texas Monthly #6 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 7. Reem’s
Middle Eastern
The mana'eesh come off a dome-shaped saj grill, thin and crisp, topped with za'atar or wrapped around sumac-marinated chicken. Reem's is a counter-service Arab bakery and café in the Mission, bright and casual, with fatayer pastries and mezze rounding out a menu that works equally well for breakfast or lunch. A James Beard nominee and a fixture on the L.A. Times' California restaurant list, it's the kind of neighborhood spot that travels without losing itself.
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Reem Assil
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 9. Caracas Bakery
Venezuelan Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Jesus Brazon and Manuel Brazon
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best Bakery · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater Where to Drink the Best Coffee in Miami
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- VineRoutes Award of Distinction · Restaurant Awards
- Golden Owl Awards Nominee · Best Brunch Experience
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Vancouver
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Rank 9. Foreign Cinema
Californian New American
Past the vintage movie posters and through the double doors is an interior courtyard with a back wall that doubles as a 35mm projection screen, metal drive-in speakers lining the walls. It's a Californian restaurant where you can turn the sound up for dinner-and-a-movie or down to coo over anchovy-stuffed olives. Outdoor heaters handle the Mission fog. A James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best seafood restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
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Rank 9. Gage & Tollner
Steakhouse
Vintage mirrors, cherry wood, and brass gas chandeliers give this Downtown Brooklyn steakhouse an amber glow that makes every Tuesday feel like an occasion. The kitchen draws on the legacy of Edna Lewis, who ran it in the late eighties, so fried chicken and crab cakes share the menu with dry-aged prime beef. Dessert gets taken seriously, which a baked Alaska deserves. It has a spot on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list.
- World's 101 Best #84 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Esquire Turf Club · The Best Martinis in America
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef · Caroline Schiff
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Rank 9. Tacos Oscar
Mexican
Bright-painted shipping containers, string lights, heat lamps, and a chalk-scrawled menu on the door: Tacos Oscar is a taco shop that treats the format as a suggestion. About half the menu goes vegetarian, leaning hard into California produce, and the rotating selection means whatever you order this visit may be gone the next. Weekend brunch pulls its own crowd. The Michelin Bib Gourmand and a spot on the L.A. Times' best California restaurants list give you a sense of where things stand.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 19 Best Pizza Places In San Francisco
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Rank 9. Thai Diner
Thai
The corrugated metal-and-wood façade on Mott Street is hard to miss, and the inside delivers: a Thai-accented diner with rattan screens, woven bamboo, and counter seats worn smooth by regulars. Ann Redding and Matt Danzer run the kitchen, and Thai tea French toast is available all day because breakfast should not have a curfew. The Michelin Guide gives it a Bib Gourmand, and the New York Times puts it at number 52 on its NYC list.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation #2 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Eater Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
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Rank 16. Abacá
Filipino
Pork belly adobo with pineapple is the kind of dish that explains what this Filipino restaurant inside the Kimpton Alton Hotel is trying to do, which is honor traditional flavors and then quietly push past them. The kitchen came up through a pop-up circuit, and the ambition carried over. The family-style "paubaya" option hands the whole meal to the chef, a move that tends to reward the trusting. The New York Times put it on their restaurant list in 2022.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Vince Bugtong
- Esquire #28 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
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Rank 16. Aziza
Moroccan, New American
A colorful bar anchors the pale, airy room on Geary, where Mourad Lahlou's Moroccan-California restaurant has been back and quietly owning the Richmond for a few years now. The menu folds California ingredients into North African tradition, and the basteeya, golden phyllo packed with chicken and spiced almonds, has made the trip back too. Service runs warm and knowing. The New York Times named it among the top restaurants in San Francisco.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now
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Rank 16. Cochinita & co
Mexican
Slow-roasted cochinita pibil is the anchor here, available as a plate with rice and beans or folded into tacos at this Mexican cafe and market in Houston's East End. Weekend brunch draws a crowd for chilaquiles and a loaded breakfast platter, while the daily agua frescas change with whatever fruit is in season. The chef behind it is a two-time James Beard semifinalist. Before you leave, the market sells frozen tamales and her cookbook.
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Houston Restaurants
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Rank 16. Cocina Consuelo
Mexican
There's a piano near the door, and on weekends kids actually play it while their families work through lazy breakfasts nearby. Cocina Consuelo is a supper club in Harlem built from a pandemic-era Mexican pop-up, and the home-cooking warmth masks some real kitchen ambition: masa pancakes from heirloom corn, birria over bone marrow. The New York Times named it one of the city's best new restaurants in 2025, and also called out the masa pancake among the top dishes of 2024.
- The Infatuation #9 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC
- Eater Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
- Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
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Rank 16. Hugo's
Regional Mexican
Chef Hugo Ortega's flagship is a dressy, sit-down Mexican restaurant on Westheimer that's been the city's go-to for regional cooking for what feels like forever. Brunch pulls a crowd on both days, Saturday à la carte and Sunday buffet with live music. Dinner runs deeper, with dishes like cabrito roasted and pulled from the bone. A James Beard nominee for Outstanding Hospitality.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught - H-Town Restaurant Group
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Hospitality
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
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Rank 16. Le Diplomate
French
- The Rammys Finalist · Best Brunch of the Year
- Time Out #14 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
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Rank 16. Tanzie's
Thai
A mint-green Thai brunch cafe in Berkeley where the food leans toward Chiang Mai, not the usual pad thai circuit. The kitchen draws from northern Thailand and neighboring Laos, so flavors run sour and spicy rather than sweet. The New York Times called out the khanom krok specifically, and the Chronicle put it among the Bay Area's top 100 restaurants. The room is small and greenhouse-warm, the kind of place where nobody's trying to impress you.
- Eater Restaurant Where We'd Want to Be Regulars
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Thai restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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A glassed-in butchery room off the dining floor sets the tone at this polished American restaurant from Hosea Rosenberg, a James Beard semifinalist. Seats at the counter face the open kitchen, and the bar is well-stocked for lingering. The charcuterie comes from in-house, the pasta is inventive, and the donuts have a way of becoming the whole point of the meal.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- 5280 The 25 Best Restaurants in Denver
- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
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Rank 23. Bludorn
American/New American
Royal blue booths, an open kitchen you can pull a counter seat at, and a baked Alaska that arrives on fire make the room feel like it has something to prove, in a good way. Bludorn is a New American restaurant and bar where the menu swings wide, from oysters (some Texan) to cioppino to seafood towers. The chef is a James Beard semifinalist, and the hospitality is the kind that makes you notice it without being able to say why.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
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Rank 23. Homer St. Cafe
Contemporary American
The rotisserie chicken here gets an overnight brine before it even sees heat, which tells you something about how seriously this neighborhood restaurant takes comfort food. Chairs hung as wall art and a lively patio give the room an easygoing, slightly offbeat feel. The Michelin Guide has it selected, and Vancouver Magazine named the crew among its premier picks. Order the chicken, add a biscuit, and leave room for the cheesecake.
- Vancouver Magazine 2026 · Restaurant Awards: Premier Crew · Nick Bertoia
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Vancouver Magazine 2024 · Editors’ Choice · Restaurant Awards: Best Private Room
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Rank 23. Odell's Bagel
Kaiseki Japanese
By day, a bagel shop where the hand-rolled, kettle-boiled rings get topped with things like hamachi, fresh wasabi, and shiso. By night, the Counter flips to a hyperseasonal kaiseki tasting menu, the kind of multicourse journey that shifts entirely with what's good that week. The chef trained in Japan under serious mentors, and it shows. A James Beard semifinalist in 2026, it's also landed on Eater's best Denver restaurants list.
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Rank 23. Outerlands
American
The levain here has its own following, and regulars make the trek out to the Outer Sunset specifically for a thick slice with house-cultured butter. This cozy, salvaged-wood neighborhood restaurant keeps a short seasonal menu: roasted chicken, a slow-cooked Bolognese, honest food that doesn't overthink itself. Weekend brunch adds pastries worth the foggy commute. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which the bread alone might justify.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 28. Bon Délire
French
Butter shows up in the cocktails here, which tells you most of what you need to know. Bon Délire is a French bistro on the Embarcadero with a horseshoe bar, a minimalist room, and a hip-hop soundtrack that would confuse your grandmother in the best possible way. The menu runs classic, croque madame and steak frites, with madeleines baked to order for dessert. Sunday brunch brings a DJ, which is either absurd or perfect depending on your mood.
- Sunset Fabulous French · Where to Eat and Drink
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best French restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 28. JL Patisserie
French Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- Phoenix New Times The 10 best breakfast spots in Phoenix
- AZ Central The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
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- AAA Four Diamonds
- Foodist Awards 2023 · Finalist · Brunch With a Punch
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Scottsdale
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Rank 28. Ollie Vaughn's
Bakery
Specials scrawled on brown paper rolls and a pastry case worth a long look set the tone at this low-key bakery and brunch cafe on McDowell Road. The kitchen leans on local ingredients, and the menu changes with what's good, so regulars learn to check the case before committing. Patio seating in the Phoenix sunshine makes the wait easier. Easy to miss from the street, which keeps it mercifully manageable on a weekend morning.
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Restaurants In Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times The 10 best breakfast spots in Phoenix
- AZ Central The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
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Rank 32. FOB Kitchen
Filipino
Pandan piña coladas and crackling pork belly set the tone at this contemporary Filipino restaurant in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood, where aquatic blue tiles and trailing vines give the room a loose, coastal ease. The menu swings between dinner and weekend brunch, and both hold up well. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, it draws a crowd happy to wait at the bar, cocktail in hand, for a table that's worth the patience.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Oakland
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Rank 32. JL Patisserie
French Bakery
The laminated dough at this French patisserie takes the kind of patience most kitchens quietly skip. Croissants, kouign-amann, pain au chocolat, and thick slices of quiche fill the cases, alongside macarons and fresh-baked loaves worth tucking under your arm on the way out. Seasonally flavored coffees keep the morning crowd happy while they deliberate. A James Beard Outstanding Bakery semifinalist, this uptown Phoenix spot makes a convincing case for the detour.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Pastries · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Pastries · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 32. Odie B's
Mexican Coffee Shop
Tequila-spiked Gatorade on the patio is a real menu choice, and somehow it makes complete sense once you're here. Odie B's is a boisterous Mexican-leaning coffee shop and sandwich counter in Sunnyside where the morning bleeds into afternoon without anyone particularly minding. Focaccia sandwiches, griddled banana bread, and spiced bloody marys keep the regulars cycling back. A second location sits in RiNo for when you're on the wrong side of town.
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Rank 32. Pondicheri
Modern Indian
A fermented chickpea crepe with green pea masala sits next to French toast on the same menu, which tells you most of what you need to know about Pondicheri. It's a modern Indian restaurant and all-day breakfast spot with a bakery upstairs called the Bake Lab, where the chili chocolate chip cookie has its own devoted following. The patio was made for lingering over masala chai, and the thali format rewards anyone who can't commit to one thing.
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
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A smoked rabbit and pecan pie with sharp cheddar and mustard gelato will tell you everything you need to know about this LoHi all-day cafe. The chef behind it has cooked her way through Italy, Israel, and Mexico, and the menu shows every mile, running from posole verde at lunch to butterflied branzino at dinner without ever feeling scattered. Come morning for the bakery case, stay because the room earns it.
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Rank 32. the breakfast klub
Cajun & Creole
The line outside this Houston breakfast and brunch spot is so reliable that they've worked out a whole system: heaters in winter, water in summer, and occasionally a bouncy castle, which is a sentence you don't type about many restaurants. Southern and Creole comfort food is the draw, wings and waffles being the dish everyone mentions first, with catfish and grits not far behind. Show up when the doors open or plan around the wait.
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Eater The 38 Essential Houston Restaurants
- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
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Rank 38. Chug's Diner
Cuban
Dangling greenery and cozy booths set the mood at this Cuban diner in Coconut Grove, where the kitchen opens early, closes late, and never seems to slow down. Chef Michael Beltran runs the room with something close to organized chaos, and the menu swings from oxtail ajiaco to towering sandwiches on fluffy Cuban bread. The guava and cream cheese pastelitos alone tend to decide the next visit before you've finished this one. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Breakfast · Best of Miami New Times
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best Inexpensive Restaurant · Best of Miami New Times
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- Vancouver Magazine 2026 · Restaurant Awards: Premier Crew · Nick Bertoia
- Golden Owl Awards Winner · Best Brunch Experience
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Vancouver
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Rank 40. Cafe Sabarsky
Austrian Bakery
Inside the Neue Galerie on Museum Mile, this Viennese kaffeehaus occupies a dark-paneled room upholstered in Otto Wagner fabric, which sets the tone quickly. The cafe serves schnitzel and goulash, but the cakes are the real argument for coming: Sachertorte, Linzer torte, and a chocolate mousse number with far more going on than the name suggests. The crowd tends toward the museum-going and the unhurried, which fits the pace of the place perfectly.
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Rank 40. Call Your Mother
NY-Style Bakery
- Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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- Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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Rank 40. Copper Star Coffee
Coffee
A converted gas station in the Melrose District that starts pulling shots at six in the morning, Copper Star is a coffee shop where the bagels are made in-house and take the menu seriously. Jalapeño cheddar, sun-dried tomato, blueberry, all built into breakfast sandwiches that come out hot. Drive-thru, shaded patio, eclectic interior, the whole spectrum of Phoenix mornings covered.
- Phoenix New Times The 10 best breakfast spots in Phoenix
- AZ Central Best Midtown Phoenix coffee shops for meeting friends or making new ones · The ultimate guide to the best Phoenix cafes
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Rank 40. Early to Rise
Southern
Antique stained glass windows filter whatever light San Francisco's summer fog is willing to spare, and the room is cheerful anyway. Early to Rise is a brunch spot in NoPa where the daily doughnut arrives warm while you wait, the French toast comes loaded with seasonal fruit and a few things creamy and crunchy, and the ambrosia salad quietly signals the chef's Southern roots. The owner does his own table rounds, coffee pot in hand, which keeps things easy.
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation The 18 Best Restaurants In NoPa
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Rank 40. El Mil Amores
Mexico City-style
Chilaquiles made with dark, thick mole rather than salsa are the reason El Mil Amores draws a line on weekend mornings in the Mission. It's a brunch spot doing Mexico City-style cooking, the kind of place where the tortilla chips stay crunchy long enough to matter and the mole carries real bitterness alongside the heat. The San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the Bay Area's best brunch restaurants, which the regulars already knew.
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- The Infatuation #21 · The 25 Best Restaurants In SF
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A coffee shop and cocktail bar where the menu refuses to pick a lane, and that's the whole point. Weekend brunch runs from oysters with aguachile granita to chilaquiles and lobster rolls, while the drinks column blurs the line with carajillos and cold-brew shakерatos. The Caesar cups, eaten by hand, are a specific kind of commitment. A Rex Hospitality project in the Sawyer Yards neighborhood.
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Rank 40. Plow
American
The lemon-ricotta silver dollar pancakes here have a following that generates a line down the block most weekend mornings, which tells you everything about what kind of brunch spot Plow is. It's a casual, easygoing neighborhood place in Potrero Hill with a tight, unfussy menu built around a few things done carefully. The combination plate covers all the bases at once: crispy potatoes, eggs, meat, and those pancakes, with lemon curd on the side if you want to commit.
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 40. Welton Street Cafe
Southern
- Westword 2025 · Best New Digs · Best of Denver
- Westword The Top 50 Restaurants in Denver Right Now
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
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- Eater Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
- Grub Street The 40 Best Restaurants for Kids (and Parents!)
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- Phoenix New Times The 10 best breakfast spots in Phoenix
- AZ Central The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
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- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Brunch Venue
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · United States' Best Hotel Restaurant
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Rank 53. Jewel's Bakery And Cafe
Gluten-Free Bakery
The entire menu is gluten-free, which sounds like a warning but reads more like a dare. Jewel's is a breakfast and brunch cafe on the east side of Phoenix where the doughnut holes are light, the tortillas stretch properly, and the waffles hold up under chicken and spicy bacon without apology. Dairy-free, vegan, and vegetarian options run alongside bottomless mimosas and locally roasted coffee. Nothing on the plate telegraphs its constraints.
- Phoenix New Times The 10 best brunch restaurants in Phoenix
- Eater The Best Bakeries in Phoenix, Arizona
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Rank 53. Otro Cafe
Mexico City-Style
Cajeta pancakes topped with banana, crème fraîche, caramel, and candied peanuts are doing a lot of the heavy lifting at this colorful, homey Mexico City-style brunch spot in uptown Phoenix. The chef behind Gallo Blanco brings the same seriousness to chilaquiles and thick, crackling papas fritas. Weekend waits get real, so the attached coffee bar next door exists to make the line bearable. The salsas are not messing around.
- Phoenix New Times The 10 best brunch restaurants in Phoenix
- Eater Chilaquiles · The Most Iconic Dishes in Phoenix
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- New England Best Breakfast in Maine · Best Breakfast in Every New England State
- Portland Press Herald Best 75 places to eat and drink in Greater Portland
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Rank 53. Piglet & Co
Taiwanese
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in San Francisco
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Rank 53. Star Kitchen
Dim sum Chinese
The carts are back, loaded with dumplings, chicken feet, shrimp balls, and sticky rice, and on weekend mornings a line forms outside before the doors open. Star Kitchen is a dim sum parlor tucked into a strip mall on Mississippi, the kind of room that rewards a large, hungry group with a working knowledge of chile oil. Dinner happens too, but the morning rush is the whole point.
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Chinese Restaurant · Best of Denver
- Eater The Best Chinese Restaurants in Denver
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Rank 53. Ulu Kitchen
Hawaiian
- ʻAipono Awards 2025 · Honorable Mention · Best New Restaurant
- ʻAipono Awards 2025 · Honorable Mention · Best Breakfast
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Peter Merriman
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Rank 59. Le French
French
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mountain · Aminata “Ami” Dia and Rougui Dia
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Rank 60. Smōk
Barbecue
The smoke here is the point, not the backdrop. This fast-casual BBQ counter inside the Source Hotel takes an Austin-leaning approach to brisket and jalapeño cheddar sausage, where the smoke reads as seasoning rather than spectacle. The Nashville hot chicken sandwich has its loyalists too. Sides like slaw and mac and cheese are present and accounted for, though nobody's lining up for them. The Michelin Guide has it on their list, if that helps calibrate expectations.
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Rank 61. Kellogg's Diner
Retro American
- Eater The Best Breakfasts in New York
- Eater Where to Eat Brunch in New York City
- The New York Times 2024 · Passion Fruit Tajín Icebox Pie · Hungry for the Best? Here Are Our Top New York Dishes of 2024.
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Rank 62. El Bagel
Bakery
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in Miami
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Bagels (Miami-Dade) · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater Miami’s 13 Best Breakfast Restaurants
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Rank 62. Il San Corrado di Noto
Italian
The wine cellar doubles as the breakfast room each morning, which tells you something about how this Sicilian countryside restaurant orders its priorities. Surrounded by olive groves outside Noto, it serves a spread of house-baked pastries and local products, with eggs and fresh juices available to order. 50 Top Italy named it the country's top breakfast, and sitting in the garden with the light coming slow over the valley, it's easy to see why.
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- San Antonio Express-News #32 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
- Bon Appétit The Best Breakfast Tacos in San Antonio
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Rank 69. Balthazar
Classic French
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Brunch Venue
- Eater The Best Classic Restaurants in NYC
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in New York City
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- 5280 Best for Day Drinking · The 23 Best Bars in Denver
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Place to Drink With a View · Best of Denver
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Rank 69. Chef Zorba's
American Greek
Avgolemono on a menu full of green chile cheese fries and omelets sets the tone at this neighborhood diner tucked onto a quiet, tree-shaded block just off Colfax. Chef Zorba's has been around forever, and the regulars who walk over from Congress Park carry themselves like they've never needed to look at the menu. Westword handed it Best Soup for a Hangover, which is either high praise or a very specific clientele study.
- 5280 The 43 Best Places to Brunch in Denver
- Westword 2024 · Best Banana Pudding · Best of Denver
- Westword 2023 · Best Soup for a Hangover · Best of Denver
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Rank 69. Lucile's Creole Cafe
Cajun & Creole
Beignets dusted in powdered sugar and a personal bottle of sparkling juice set the tone at this Louisiana-inspired breakfast and lunch spot in Denver's Capitol Hill. The walls are loaded with Creole country kitsch, and the silverware arrives wrapped in bright fabric. The chicory coffee and housemade hot sauce are the real throughlines. A local chain, but one that has regulars debating grits versus potatoes, which is exactly the right argument to be having.
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- Westword 2024 · Best Expansion · Best of Denver
- Westword 2025 · Best Breakfast Burrito · Best of Denver
- 5280 The 11 Best Breakfast Burritos in Denver and Beyond
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Rank 74. Café Medina
Mediterranean
The line outside on weekend mornings is its own kind of landmark, and the smell of Belgian waffles from the kitchen doesn't help anyone's patience. Café Medina is a brunch spot with a Mediterranean lean, the sort of place where regulars shuffle to the counter without looking at the menu. Egg dishes carry the morning, and the orzo paella with chorizo and a fried egg on top has a way of ending the debate over what to order.
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Rank 76. Alem’s Coffee
Eritrean
The shihan ful arrives with two crusty sourdough rolls and no apology for the carbs. This Eritrean cafe in Oakland has been a neighborhood anchor for ages, the kind of spot where newcomers immediately feel like regulars. Fava beans, berbere, crumbled cheese, and a hit of lemon make that breakfast stew hard to skip, though the lunch tibsy, a spiced meat stew over injera, holds its own. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Top 100 Bay Area restaurants.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Ethiopian restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle #90 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 76. Enriqueta's
Cuban
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Inexpensive Restaurant · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater Miami’s 13 Best Breakfast Restaurants
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Rank 76. Islas Canarias Restaurant
Classic Cuban
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best Croquetas · Best of Miami New Times
- Miami New Times 2025 · Best Cuban Restaurant · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater Miami’s 13 Best Breakfast Restaurants
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- San Antonio Express-News #1 · Top 10 New Orleans Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #8 · Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #35 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
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- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Place to Dine with Dogs · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater Miami’s 13 Best Breakfast Restaurants
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Rank 80. La Guadalupana
Mexican
A Mexican café tucked into a shopping center that most people would drive past without a second look, though the tables spilling outside on weekends suggest others have figured it out. Pan dulce comes straight from the display case, the migas and huevos rancheros are the kind of thing you come back for on a bad Tuesday, and the cinnamon coffee is its own reason to show up. Cash-register Spanish, homey enough to linger.
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houstonia The Best Mexican Restaurants in Houston
- Houstonia The Best Tacos in Houston
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Rank 80. Mayahuel
Mexico City Mexican
Named for the Aztec goddess of agave and fertility, this Mexico City-inspired restaurant in Autry Park takes the naming convention seriously: the agave bar runs on additive-free spirits and the cocktail list splits neatly into light-and-refreshing versus smoky-and-heavy. Netflix-familiar chef Luis Robledo Richards brings the kind of menu that sits just below fine dining in category but not in ambition, with brunch drawing the weekend crowd for chilaquiles and a Mexico City eggs Benedict.
- Houstonia The 10 Best Restaurants That Opened in Houston
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
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- San Antonio Express-News #4 · Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #34 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #6 · Top 10 Fried Chicken in San Antonio
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Rank 80. Pearl
Eastern Mediterranean
Hammered metal tiles line the ceiling and cookbooks fill the shelves at this daytime cafe on Petaluma's waterfront, where the menu runs through Eastern Mediterranean breakfast and lunch that shifts with the seasons. The Jerusalem-style bagels, looped long and chewy, are made in-house. Turkish coffee comes spiced with cardamom and cinnamon. Gratuity is built into the prices, which saves you the math and explains the sticker shock.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Sonoma County
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Rank 80. SugarJam
Southern
Challah soaked in Grand Marnier, griddled until the sugar crust cracks like a crème brûlée top, is the thing people come back for at this Southern brunch spot in Scottsdale. Catfish and grits, chicken and waffles, and a waffle so light it barely holds its own weight round out a menu that swings comfortably between sweet and savory. Weekends bring a DJ and mimosas on every table; weekdays are quieter and the wait is shorter.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Brunch · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Brunch · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 86. Ánimo!
Mexican
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- San Antonio Express-News #2 · Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #46 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
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Cardamom buns, jumbo jam thumbprints, and gingery caramel cookies set the tone at this Scandinavian café and bakery on Market Street. The menu leans seasonal, with tartines on sprouted rye and both sweet and savory porridges, but the flaky seed-topped pastry stuffed with soft scrambled eggs and molten havarti is what brings people back. Grab a sidewalk table and let the Market Street parade do its thing.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best bakeries in San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 86. Lightwave Coffee & Kitchen
Levantine Middle Eastern
A redwood-shaded café in Monte Rio where the menu runs through the Levant and the Mediterranean and the décor is someone's very good vintage-electronics collection. The beach pita, stuffed with roasted eggplant, boiled eggs, tahini, and pickled mango sauce, is the reason regulars make the drive from the Bay. Take it across to the Russian River beach, or eat at a picnic table while the skatepark next door provides the entertainment.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants for outdoor dining in the Bay Area
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Rank 86. Lokma
California-inspired Turkish
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The Best Turkish Restaurants In SF
- The Infatuation The 25 Best Restaurants In The Richmond
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- San Antonio Express-News #3 · Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #20 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
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Rank 86. Piccino Presidio
Italian
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Rank 86. Rasa
Indian
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay
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Rank 86. Sam's Log Cabin
American
All the seating is outdoors, which means Sam's Log Cabin operates like a neighborhood backyard that happens to serve breakfast. The kitchen lives in an actual log cabin, the pergola is draped in greenery, and the menu runs hearty, with cornmeal pancakes and corned beef hash doing the heavy lifting. Ask about the weekly specials, which tend toward seasonal pancakes and scones. Albany's not a destination, but on a sunny morning this patio makes a persuasive case for itself.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants for outdoor dining in the Bay Area
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A Jewish deli in the Bay Area is a rare enough thing that Saul's has been feeding North Berkeley for decades without much competition. The latkes are aggressively crunchy, the pastrami comes fatty and brined on rye with grainy mustard, and raspberry jam sits on every table like a standing invitation. Pancakes are fluffy in the way a diner promises but rarely delivers. Weekend brunch draws a crowd that clearly has nowhere more important to be.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants
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- San Antonio Express-News #9 · Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio
- San Antonio Express-News #8 · Top 10 Fried Chicken in San Antonio
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Rank 86. Tur
Thai
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The Hit List: New San Francisco Restaurants To Try Right Now
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Nonalcoholic micheladas made with hop water and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice set the tone at this cozy Noe Valley cantina, where brunch skews California-virtuous without turning preachy. Tamales come with avocado and a jammy egg, grain bowls are loaded with seeds and roasted vegetables, and the whole thing feels like an all-day LA café that somehow landed in a neighborhood where Patagonia puffers count as dressed up. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's top brunch spots.
- San Francisco Chronicle Best brunch restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle #98 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 86. Zazie
French
- The Infatuation The 20 Best Brunch Spots In SF
- The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF