NYC’s 27 best breakfast spots

This downtown spot recalls NYC's diners of yore, which used to operate in much higher numbers. It has swivel stools at the counter, nostalgic light fixtures, and wonderful bites like eggs any way, green tea coffee cake and breakfast sandwiches on scallion milk buns. 

This venerable, 400-square-foot lunch counter still serves the kosher dairy dishes it's been beloved for since 1938. Our favorite breakfast here is still under $10 for two eggs any style, home fries, challah, orange juice and coffee or tea. 

Russ & Daughters has been serving some of NYC's favorite lox and herring since 1914. It's since opened a second location uptown, a sit-down cafe near the original, and another shop over in Brooklyn. We favor the bagel sandwich classics across locations.

This Ukrainian restaurant first opened in 1954, and today it's still one of New York City's favorite spots. Breakfast is served all day, including a Monday-Friday only special with four pierogi topped with two eggs any way and a choice of bacon, sausage, kielbasa or avocado, plus a side of beet and horseradish salad and coffee or tea for $17. 

This locally beloved Essex Market eatery has oodles of options on its menu. Its "Pancakeland" section alone nears a dozen, while the “Eggland” section offers double that number of egg preparations and combinations. It might take you a while to try them all; Shopsin's is only open about six hours a day. 

Jack's Wife Freda has four lovely locations in NYC, and this one sports dark-green leather banquettes, brass railings and marble counters. Rosewater waffles, shakshuka, and pressed sandwiches (go for the duck bacon, scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and tomato jam variety) are all on the menu for breakfast. 

f you’ve ever wondered what it was like to hang out at the Chelsea Hotel in its 1960s heyday, the new adjacent Café Chelsea will give you a taste of the cool, mod aesthetic that was once abounded in this part of town. The French cafe-inspired menu is modest, but offers a nice breakfast selection of pastries, fruit and granola, egg dishes and open-faced sandwiches. If you’re willing to brave the weekend brunch crowds, you’ll be rewarded with additional options including oysters, caviar and steak tartare.

Meander down the westernmost part of Greenpoint Ave to find Radio Star, a hip throwback-style diner that serves up dishes inspired by the flavors of northern Africa and the Mediterranean. The breakfast menu is humble but mighty, including a breakfast sandwich made with flatbread, a play on pigs in a blanket that uses Merguez sausage and phyllo dough, and a sweet saffron and orange blossom-infused cream cheese pastry.

Now approaching twenty years in operation, Marlow & Sons' menu is always evolving in its familiar, heavily wood-lined space. Morning foodstuffs include a grab and go assortment of pastries and sandwiches.

The midtown location of this beloved Spanish chain is the only one in the city that offers breakfast, and they do it right: choose from plates like the continental breakfast, a spread of croissants, yogurt, bananas and Manchego cheese, or the tortilla Española platter, a frittata of eggs, confit potatoes, and onions served with pan con tomate, and if you have a sweet tooth, go for the churros con chocolate to finish.

Comforting congee is served several ways from the counter of this small Asian market. The breakfast bowl comes with soft egg and smoked cheese, and other varieties include items like chicken, fish, peanuts and preserved duck egg with spicy pork, kimchi, broccoli, chili crunch. 

An Upper West Side classic since 1908, this old school Jewish appetizing shop has been staple for more than a century. Order from an extensive menu of omelettes and eggs with smoked fish, cheese blintzes, challah French toast and signature platters.

This new kid on the Upper West Side block is the first NYC outpost of a beloved Connecticut brand known for its outstanding takes on its namesake menu item. But don’t stop at the granola (of which there are three distinct flavors), as the homey and hearty savory dishes are out of this world, too. Go for The Heisenberg or the huevos rancheros for an especially tasty and filling meal.

This pint-sized Japanese café has a variety of toast topped with items like spicy cod roe, cinnamon butter, ham and egg. It also has an abundance of coffee, tea, espresso and matcha options. 

Beat the rush to this egg-cellent breakfast truck when it opens at the crack of 6am. From then until 3pm, the family operation dishes out terrific breakfast tacos and burritos right here on 52nd Street and Park Avenue.

Weekday mornings are among the better times to aspire to a table at perpetually popular Buvette. At the right hour, the daytime rays light the pressed tin ceiling, handsome fixtures and pastries, croques, eggs and toasts. Plus it's just a little easier to get a seat. 

The breakfast empanadas filled with scrambled eggs, cheese and maduros or house-made chorizo are more than enough options to keep returning here, and the Cuban coffee makes repeat visits a must. 

Comfortably casual Kopitiam has eight all-day Malaysian breakfast plates on its lengthy menu. Nasi lemak, the national dish of Malaysia is a great day-starter with coconut rice, ikan bilis (fried anchovies and peanuts), cucumber, hard boiled egg and housemade sambal. 

What began as a pop-up in 2020 is now a brick-and-mortar destination for Jewish staples with sweet and savory menu items. Choose from classics like the pastrami steak and eggs, house fish plate and the coconut macaroon French toast. There's also plenty to take away. 

This chestnut-walled restaurant specializes in ichiju sansai—a Japanese set meal of one soup and three side dishes for breakfast and lunch every day from 9am to 3pm. Around dinnertime, it transitions into Yuji Ramen and focuses on that titular dish. 

This Austrailian cafe is bright as morning for those times when you're up before the alarm and ready to start the day ahead of time. Or at 8am, when it opens. Choose from avocado toast, açaí bowls, scrambles and breakfast rolls. 

The dim-sum juggernaut from chef-owners Mak Kwai Pui and Leung Fai Keung—which has five locations in Hong Kong and another 39 sites worldwide—became the world’s least-expensive Michelin-starred restaurant when it surprisingly scored a sparkler in 2009 for its freshly made pork buns and translucent shrimp dumplings.

Grab an a.m. pastry at at one of Daily Provisions' five locations, including its latest in Brooklyn. This outpost near Union Square also serves BECs, cheesy egg gougères and housemade granola on its all day menu. 

The California-influenced restaurant that launched the naming of a microneighborhood, not to mention plenty of memes, still holds up. Its breakfast fare includes tacos, açaí bowls, porridge, and scrambled egg sandwiches with avocado, cheddar, pickled jalapeños and house hot sauce. 

Sweets at Sydney-based Bourke Street include lemon curd tarts, carrot cake, ginger crème brûlée, and New York-only treats like a PB & J roll. Its savory sausage rolls—lamb and harissa, pork and fennel, and the vegetarian eggplant, chickpea, feta and mint version—are also popular. 

Mom’s "modern comfort food" is good for groups who like to 'gram and has locations in Hell's Kitchen and Astoria. All-day brunch includes mac & cheese pancakes, pancake burritos, egg white scrambles and waffles with chicken and bacon. 

Inspired by the notion of all-day California cafes, Gertie is a cute 70-seat spot off the Lorimer L train with luncheonette style and takes on local deli sandwich classics.