Perfect french toast and fluffy pancakes with the lightest hint of orange, eggs done just the way you wanted: Columbia City’s fiercely beloved community hub makes breakfast dishes so good, you remember why they became classics in the first place. Weekday mornings deliver the same expansive menu, minus the weekend crowds.

It’s back! The beloved downtown diner and purveyor of Filipino breakfast resurfaced after a fire and a lease issue shuttered the old incarnation back in 2019. Now the ube pancakes, loco mocos, silos, and other favorites happen in a roomy (and admittedly un-diner-like) space at Second and Stewart.

This combo diner–flower shop offers a formidable lineup from monte cristos to the underrated breakfast salad. But the real fun here involves waffles nearly as big as personal pizzas, with enhancements like bacon or lemon curd, even cereal (fruity or chocolate) cooked into the batter. Coffee drinks are as festive as the food.

A friendly cafe in a converted home specializes in sweet and savory crepes, not to mention the sensation of eating them as  planes fly overhead to land across the street at Boeing Field. The menu also includes plenty of waffles, breakfast burritos, and egg dishes; in warmer months, the patio teems with atmosphere.

One of Tom Douglas’s first-gen restaurants still serves bacon and breakfast potatoes that are damn near perfect. Lola’s menu dovetails Greek flavors with classic American breakfast, balancing kebabs and pita with pancakes and french toast. These two worlds come together in one dynamite octopus hash. Good luck resisting Douglas’s signature miniature doughnuts, hot fresh and served with jam.

Khachapuri, the nation of Georgia’s signature bread, is shaped like a canoe and brimming with butter, soft cheese, and an egg with a runny yolk. Even if the dish is unfamiliar, this combo taps into multiple breakfast pleasures. This spartan cafe down on Western Avenue serves five varieties on very good bread, from the classic Adjaruli to versions garnished with chicken ragu, beef stroganoff with pickles, or roasted vegetables.

A combination bike shop and cafe serves the best breakfast bowls, messy sandwiches, and veggie-laden hash you’re likely to find in close proximity to patch kits and tire pumps. The surprisingly broad breakfast menu has specific sections for vegetarians, vegans, and unabashed meat-eaters.

It's been open since 1991 and still people cluster on the sidewalk to wait for a table at this vegetarian landmark’s weekend brunch. But the weekday breakfast menu is nearly as expansive, filled with scrambles, baked goods, and one impressive plate of biscuits and gravy. These are vegetarian dishes with complex flavors that win over omnivores, and plenty of options for vegans and anyone avoiding gluten or nuts.

Eggs baked in tomato sauce inside scalding individual skillets are the centerpiece of northern Ballard’s tiny breakfast haven. These versions, sometimes called “eggs in purgatory,” draw inspiration from Italy with combos like sausage, mushrooms, and mozzarella. A few great toasts, like salmon and ricotta, bring things firmly back to the Northwest.

Each of the five locations functions as the neighborhood’s unofficial breakfast cafeteria: a topping bar for pancakes and french toast, plus warm flexibility for large groups. Not to mention a massive lineup of benedicts, scrambles, hash bowls, and other morning classics. Portage Bay is extremely user friendly, from kid-size versions of many dishes to dietary considerations like the great housemade gluten-free bread you can sub in for regular toast.

Now going strong in its new location, Watson’s Counter serves a morning menu so indulgent and curated, it feels downright licentious to indulge on weekdays. Don’t let that stop you. The loco moco, Korean-inflected poutine, and famed cereal french toast are accompanied by a coffee program that’s both ferociously legit and lots of fun.