Best Breakfasts & Brunches: Diners & Grills

Al’s Breakfast
413 14th Ave. SE, Mpls., 612-331-9991
A tiny Dinkytown landmark, Al’s is known for buttermilk blueberry pancakes, fried eggs, and potatoes. Al’s slings its hash with delightful irreverence, and everything from the pottery cream jugs to the crispy waffles is homemade. Grill guys razz the servers who draw patrons into spicy conversations. Expect a line of people winding out the door to nab one of the 18 stools at the counter.

Bad Waitress Coffee Shop
2 E. 26th St., Mpls., 612-872-7575
Comfy booths, natural light, lots of pop art, and very good coffee define Bad Waitress almost as much as its edgy alternative vibe and chatty tattooed servers. It delivers crêpe-style pancakes (try the pumpkin) and great French toast, light but eggy and thick. The downside? The ordering arrangement, where you fill out a form and then pay up front, is clumsy.

Grandview Grill
Paul, 651-698-2346
Louisiana Cafe
St. Paul, 651-221-9140
Uptown Diner
Mpls., 612-874-0481
Woodbury Café
651-209-8081
This casual collection of diners offers solid breakfast fare with a long list of Benedicts, burritos, and a “Cajun” (this naming curiosity is rampant, but the dish bears no similarity to any Cajun food we’ve eaten) with andouille. They’re cheery, bright spots, all offering the same menu. Each reflects the tenor of its neighborhood: Uptown’s edgy crowd ends the night with early breakfast of vegan scrambles while Woodbury moms come in for blackened walleye.

Carol’s
11888 Aberdeen St., Blaine, 763-757-9700
An oasis of fresh home cooking in a desert of fast-food joints. You’ll find tender, airy pancakes; thick, custardy French toast fashioned from homemade cinnamon swirl bread (loaves are available for sale); and meaty corned beef hash, fried to a crisp fare-thee-well. Don’t skimp on the caramel rolls (but ask that they not be microwaved). Who else puts so much thought into hot chocolate, melting dark chocolate into milk, then topping it with a homemade marshmallow? Though the place is set on a somewhat desolate patch of suburbia, the staff is friendly, fast, and facile with weekend crowds. Owner Carol Brown brings darn good farm cooking back to lost farmland. Closed Sunday.

Day by Day Café (Beth's Pick)
477 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-227-0654, daybyday.com
This St. Paul institution supports recovering addicts, helping them gain marketable skills. It’s even better now that the place isn’t choked with cigarette smoke. We remember the great breakfasts we’ve eaten here over the years in the historic brick space with high ceilings, a sunny garden terrace, and swift, friendly service. Try the buckwheat pancakes or fresh housemade granola. Come early (7-11) on weekdays and the eggs are a deal; come before 7, and they’re a steal.

Egg & I
2550 University Ave. W., St. Paul, 651-647-1292; 2828 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612 872-7282
A breakfast tradition, these friendly joints are known for their kamikaze pancakes (loaded with blueberries, walnuts, and bananas) as well as their sassy servers. It’s the small stuff, like perfectly poached eggs on whole wheat toast, that have kept this a Cities mainstay.

Fat Nat’s Eggs
3540 Winnetka Ave. N., New Hope, 763-540-0234; 8587 Edinburgh Center Dr., Brooklyn Park, 763-425-0117
You just know that the eggs are cooked by someone who loves and understands eggs, especially the Benedict with plenty of lemony hollandaise. Hash browns are crispy and nicely caramelized outside, creamy and tender within. But it’s the Benedicts that draw folks in. Clean, warmly lit, and efficient, these places are stalwart diners in family neighborhoods.

Good Earth Restaurants
1901 W. Highway 36, Roseville, 651-636-0956; Galleria, 952-925-1001
Among the first all-natural restaurants in town, Good Earth boasts a long list of eye-opening juice concoctions (try the pineapple ginger or carrot orange). The housemade granola, 10-grain pancakes, and vegetarian omelets are good picks. Service can be uneven.

Good Day Café
5410 Wayzata Blvd., Golden Valley, 763-544-0205
Upscale and brightly lit, this friendly place is a bustling crossroads conveniently located off 394. At breakfast, find stellar (generous) huckleberry pancakes, bounteous Benedicts, and some of the town’s fluffiest omelets. The fried egg sandwich with avocado, ham, tomato, and lettuce on brioche is another good bet. On weekends, expect a wait.

Hard Times Café (Beth's Pick)
1821 Riverside Ave., Mpls., 612-341-9261
This punk-rock vegetarian/vegan collective and late-night dive (it’s open till 4 am) serves up classy vegetable wraps and light, fluffy pancakes along with omelets and a homey, humble waffle. Despite the tattoos and sundry piercings, the barista is a pussycat. Though dark and disheveled (avoid the bathrooms), Hard Times pours wonderfully strong, rich coffee, and the food is the best deal in town (cash only). Counter service.

Keys Café & Bakery
Numerous metro locations
We love Keys’ original location on Raymond Avenue in St. Paul for its bustling, if chaotic, service and the framed photos of St. Paul legends peering down from the walls. The sticky caramel rolls are the size of a toddler’s head, and the platters of eggs, fat juicy sausages, and Belgian waffles are made to share.

Maria’s Café
113 E. Franklin Ave., Mpls., 612-870-9842
Maria’s south-of-the-border menu lights up the morning. The crowd is a neighborhood mix of suited lawyers, construction guys, and night-shift nurses tucking into huge breakfast burritos and corn pancakes. Full of sweet kernels, the cakes can be topped with maple syrup or zesty house salsa—the best in town, hands down. The sunny servers and soft Latin music make for an up-tempo start to the day.

Mickey’s Diner
36 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-698-0259
Postcard perfect, this tiny railroad car–style diner in the heart of St. Paul figures mightily in civic history. The food is real, the service appropriately brusque. Go for potatoes O’Brien or hash browns and honest-to-goodness steak and eggs done just the way you like ’em. Open 24/7.

Milda’s Café (Beth's Pick)
1720 Glenwood Ave., Mpls., 612-377-9460
No-nonsense and squeaky clean, Milda’s has been serving perfect poached eggs, grits with cheese, and kielbasa for generations. Known for its pasties (sans rutabagas, extra gravy), it’s a bustling haven for retirees, moms, and the road crew—most of whom the staff knows by name.

Our Kitchen
813 W. 36th St., Mpls., 612-825-3718
The griddle guy in this blue, postage stamp–size house knows his stuff. Try the perfect hash browns (crisp outside, creamy within), fluffy omelets, and light pancakes—all cheaper than if you made them yourself. The chatty, witty wait staff doesn’t take themselves, or you, too seriously.

Papas Café
7181 42nd Ave. N., New Hope, 763-535-4887
Tucked between a barbershop and a gas station, Papa’s is easy to miss. Thin, light, plate-draping pancakes (with fresh blueberries in season) and scratch breakfast fare make this cheap, friendly place great for kids.

Peg’s Countryside Café
842 Hwy. 55, Hamel, 763-478-6869
If you can’t decide between breakfast and lunch, get the egg, bacon, hash brown, and cheddar burger and call it a day. This old-time, small-town spot sits on the border where the suburbs end and the country begins. Counter service.

St. Clair Broiler
1580 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul, 651-698-7055
The One Egger, a mash of hash browns, ham, onions, and grilled tomato under an egg, is yours any time of day. Serving hungover co-eds and neighborhood gossips for nearly 55 years, “The Broiler” remains a family-owned St. Paul mainstay.

Stabby’s Café
4159 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls., 612-722-1150
Stabby’s is a welcome retooling of Isabel’s Coffee Cafe. It’s bare-bones spare, but the gingerbread pancakes and lightly spiked “Cajun” hash browns are great deals.

Victor’s 1959 Café
3756 Grand Ave., Mpls., 612-827-8948
Linger over the café con leche after a plate of eggs wrapped in tortillas with Creole sauce, plantains, and sweet black beans. There’s toast with guava jam, mango pancakes, and other Cuban specialties that swing to the beat of this tiny, tropical joint.