The 22 best breakfast restaurants in Chicago

Slinging breakfast since 1923, Lou Mitchell's is a bonafide Chicago institution. The Loop restaurant opens at 6am on weekdays with a lineup of morning favorites like egg sandos, pancakes, waffles, omelettes and fresh-squeezed juice—and that's just scratching the surface. On weekends, the line sometimes snakes out the front door, so prepare to wait it out.

At this adorably sunny, daytime-only café, healthy food is tasty enough to crave. The owners are committed to organics and offer meat-free options, but they’re okay with a little cheese, butter and sugar every now and then. Case in point: thick, dense blueberry pancakes and a heaping breakfast sandwich of fried egg, Gorgonzola, applewood-smoked bacon and fresh thyme. If that’s too good and gooey for you health nuts, there’s always the Vegan Epiphany, an organic tofu scramble that lives up to its name.

If you're the kind of person who searches every breakfast menu for French toast, Batter & Berries is your mothership. The restaurant's world-famous recipe comes in four varieties—from caramel with candied walnuts to zesty lemon and sumac. Regulars know that the best way to order is through the French Toast Flight, which affords you a taste of each.

Despite opening at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t take long for this Rogers Park diner to build a name for itself. Lines out the door are common occurrences, and it’s easy to see why once you sit down. The sizable menu offers something for every palate, from omelets and Benedicts to pancakes and waffles—with the option to customize each dish to your liking. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, the churro French toast is a can’t-miss.

Though Uncle Mike’s Place has been around for over three decades, favorites like longganisa, Filipino sausage, and bangus (the unofficial national fish of the Philippines) didn’t make it to the menu until around 2008. When the economic recession pushed them to innovate, owners Michael Grajewski (the Uncle Mike) and Lucie Grajewski leaned on Lucie’s Filipino heritage. Among old-school leather seats and steaming griddles, you’ll find both American and Filipino dishes, including tocino with eggs and spam and egg sandwiches.

Billing itself as a new-school diner with elevated spins on morning favorites, Irene’s is most definitely a step up from the traditional greasy spoons. Benedicts arrive with short rib or smoked salmon, omelets are made with Slagel Farm eggs, and pancakes come in flavors like carrot cake and cookies and cream. Coffee and tea are supplied by local standouts Passion House and Rare Tea Cellar, while Bang Bang provides key lime pie for dessert.

Located near the University of Chicago, this breezy diner keeps hungry students and Hyde Park residents fueled up with a selection of Southern fare from Lillie’s Q chef Charlie McKenna. Drop by in the morning for comforting classics like biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, fried catfish and chicken fried steak. It’s counter-service so those in a rush needn’t worry about running late. If you do have some time to kill, though, Roux also offers a small list of alcoholic beverages.

A breakfast and lunch joint, Tiztal focuses on egg dishes and other daytime classics. Fluffy omelets are stuffed with all kinds of fillings, from feta cheese to spicy chorizo. The crisp waffles, while good enough on their own, are even better with pecans and fruit. But the main attraction here are the huge plates of chilaquiles, which can be topped with chorizo, chicken or steak and easily feed two. And though the oatmeal shakes are so creamy and sweet, we won't judge if you have one at 8am.

This cheerful Logan Square mainstay was a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement in Chicago, and is also one of the most popular breakfast spots. The beloved classic breakfast burrito is stuffed with avocado, onion, green chile, tomato, potato, eggs and cheddar, while the rotating array of freshly baked pastries is always on point.

Quick thinking is the key to success at this classic cafeteria that opens at 6am daily. Once the line reaches the counter, you have only a few seconds to place your order, pick a side, order a drink and pay. For breakfast, we like the generous stack of French toast with a side of poached eggs. There’s always the question of whether to eat the sweet, cakey biscuits with your meal or save them for later; either way, make your choice the first time around. Otherwise, it’s back to the line.

This cheery pancake house, where Millennium Park tourists mingle with Edelman execs having breakfast meetings, is undoubtedly one of the busiest breakfast destinations in the city. Aside from the assiduously refilled coffee, these folks are starting their day with unseasoned and unnaturally large omelettes, giant breakfast sandwiches overwrought with cheese, and dense, custard-filled pancake stacks drizzled in berry puree. How do places like this manage to make pancakes that fill you up in only two bites? Ask the servers here—if our experience was any indication, they’ll answer with speed and a smile.

Whoever you are, Pearl, thank you. You must be pretty special to have inspired this Creole-influenced soul-food restaurant in your name. We’ve learned the hard way to be patient with the long waits. But don’t worry: The fried chicken is so damn juicy and sealed in a crunchy, pepper-flecked exterior; the collard greens so tender and flavorful with pork bits; and the sweet-potato pie so fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg (fluffy near the middle and caramelized where the filling meets the flaky crust) that we’d wait forever.

A bright and airy Croatian cafe, Doma is one of our favorite hidden gems in River North. You can drop by in the morning for some killer breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, buttermilk pancakes or cevapi served with flatbread and roasted red pepper eggplant spread. And because it’s counter service and offers Wi-Fi, it’s also a great place to post up for a few hours and get some work done.

We don’t know if the children depicted in the murals of this quaint cafe are of Swedish or Norwegian descent. All we know is that they scare the hell out of us, so we turn to Scandinavian comfort food to ease our minds. We love the flaky Danish filled with creamy apples and toasted pecans, thin Swedish pancakes with lingonberry preserves and omelets bulging with falukorv sausage and havarti cheese.

Most weekends you’ll find a crowd spilling onto this breakfast spot’s sidewalk, as servers carry plates toppling from the weight of sweet-milk biscuits and bone-in ham. Those who stick it out will be rewarded with staples like housemade muffins, corned beef hash and pancakes bursting with blueberries. Don’t miss the Southern-inspired dishes, either—the fried catfish nuggets are only available on Fridays.

Although it relocated across the street in 2019, Daley's is one of the oldest restaurants in the city, having been in operation since 1892. But there’s no time for this homey diner to dwell on the past—the space bustles with a mix of Woodlawn locals and University of Chicago students, especially in the mornings, when they gather for the ethereal Belgian waffles (offered with a side of juicy chicken wings), hearty Denver omelettes and warm, buttery biscuits.

This Little Italy breakfast-and-lunch room is essentially a diner, but it has a newfangled feel that more closely resembles morning favorites Yolk or Meli. Inside the cheery, sunny space, the kitchen turns out light (though not quite ethereal) pancakes, well-executed omelets and delightful crepes. It’s the combination of pepper-ridged bacon, strong coffee and good value, though, that makes this a go-to for UIC students and neighborhood families. A second outpost is located in River West.

Ann Sather is not the best dinner, lunch or breakfast in town. It may not even be the best diner food. But that doesn’t matter, because Ann Sather has the sweetest cinnamon rolls in the Midwest. If you must, you can order some “real” food—crab cakes Benedict for breakfast won’t disappoint, and neither will Scandinavian specialties, such as the Swedish pancakes with lingonberries. But let’s get real: You’re only after those fluffy cinnamon rolls, which arrive too big for the plate and submerged under warm icing. Luckily for you, they come with almost every order.

Hungover rock stars, early-rising soccer moms and everybody in between seem to flock to this bright, cheery spot for fancy morning cocktails and a bite or two. Among the run-of-the-mill numbers on the menu are some dishes worth the often-very-long wait. The chocolate tower French toast—no doubt the menu’s pièce de résistance—is a creamy, luxurious pile of chocolate bread smothered in what is essentially melted banana crème brûlée. It’s definitely more dessert than breakfast, but sweet tooths won’t complain.

Chef-owner Manny Mejia, a restaurant vet who previously worked at breakfast spots like M. Henry and Marmalade, whips up globally-inspired twists on sweet and savory favorites. The eclectic menu includes options like sourdough French toast stuffed with Canadian bacon, a caprese omelet, a breakfast torta and skillets loaded with chorizo, veggies and more. A second location is in Hermosa.

As the name implies, baked goodies are the specialty at Bang Bang, where the day starts with biscuits smothered in gravy, jam and more. Want to impress your friends and family? You can also stock up on from-scratch biscuits, blueberry lavender jam, grits, coffee beans and granola. Heck, you might as well toss in a key lime pie while you're at it (What? We can't be the only ones who eat pie for breakfast).

With outposts in River North, Streeterville, Fulton Market, the Loop and Oak Brook, Beatrix is a reliable morning standby no matter where you wake up. And because most locations open by 7am, it's also a great option for early risers. Grab a pastry and coffee from the bakery if you're in a rush, or take a seat and enjoy heartier dishes like blackberry-topped lemon pancakes, the smashed avocado toast or spicy shakshuka. The Power Greens juice—with kale, romaine, celery, pineapple and mint—is just the boost you need to power through the week.