Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Best Spots for Breakfast

Al’s Breakfast
Minneapolis

For the past 75 years, this diminutive 14-seat diner has been happily challenging the personal-space boundaries of standoffish Minnesotans. The late Al Bergstrom’s legendary hole-in-the-wall is now under the watchful purview of owner Alison Kirwin, and she and her quick-witted crew — all fluent in the nearly extinct language of short-order-speak — continue Bergstrom’s mission to nourish the nearby University of Minnesota community with meticulous renditions of morning classics.

Don’t miss the plate-sized pancakes (order the walnut-blueberry versions, better known as Wally Blues), tender waffles, well-stuffed omelets, spectacular hash browns or the silky Hollandaise that is the crowning glory of the eggs Benedict.

Cash only.

Asa's Bakery
Minneapolis

Graphic artist Asa Diebolt was missing the bagels and bialys he grew up eating in upstate New York, so he taught himself how to bake and then switched careers. His small-batch output — naturally leavened and made with locally milled flours — rank among the state’s best. 

They’re topped with a seasonally minded selection of fortified cream cheeses; expect to encounter combinations ranging from roasted beet/fennel to sweet corn/chive. Purists will appreciate the expertly prepared whitefish salad, made with gently smoked Lake Superior whitefish. 

Churchill St.
Shoreview 

Having grown tired of living in a dining desert, Shoreview resident and first-time restaurateur Carly Gatzlaff converted what had been her local hardware store into this busy suburban beauty. At breakfast, the star of the show is the short stack of blueberry hotcakes (the secret to their success is greasing the griddle with bacon fat) but other highlights include grilled sourdough toast topped with smoked walleye and imaginatively composed grain bowls finished with a soft-cooked egg. 

On your way out, pick up a package of the kitchen’s excellent granola.

Diane's Place
Minneapolis

After a trailblazing career as a pastry chef (including a long and influential stint at the four-star establishment Spoon & Stable) Diane Moua is now her own boss, presiding over one of the city’s most energetic, see-and-be-seen dining rooms. 

Moua calls upon her heritage — and applies her expert culinary chops — to a parade of dishes that expand the breakfast mindset: a zesty Hmong sausage served with sticky rice, over-easy eggs and a blazing hot sauce; cubes of sweetly glazed pork belly paired with tangy pickled mustard greens from her parents’ farm; a rice-noodle salad brimming with papaya and dressed with a bright tamarind vinaigrette; and a bevy of pastries, starting with pitch-perfect croissants embellished with a decadent pandan- and coconut-infused Chantilly cream.

Fat Nat's Eggs
Various Locations 

If the Midwestern expectation for huge portions wasn’t invented here, it could have been. At his three northern suburban restaurants, owner Jeff Nat is clearly acknowledging linebacker appetites with shortcut-free short-order cooking. The Benedicts – all eight variations – stand up to scrutiny, ditto the green chile huevos rancheros and the carnitas-black bean omelets smothered in a spirited house-made salsa. 

Fat Nat’s regulars surely engage in this debate: Which is a more fulfilling use of potatoes, the kitchen’s hash browns, or American fries? 

Good Day Café
Golden Valley

A breakfast Mecca since 2007, and with good reason. The colorful, spacious dining room pops with a caffeinated pulse; the staff knows how to manage the steady stream of diners and the expansive menu firmly rejects any less-is-more leanings. 

Along with nine omelets and five takes on eggs Benedict, other notables include puffy Dutch baby pancakes smothered in cinnamon-laced apples, cheese blintzes buried beneath strawberries, and a decadent bread pudding doing double duty as French toast. 

The bakery’s best moments? Delicate beignets and sticky, pecan-filled caramel rolls. 

The Grocer's Table
Wayzata 

Counter-service setups everywhere could learn from this crowd-pleaser, which distinguishes itself with an attentive service staff, handsome surroundings and something-for-everyone cooking, which is particularly appealing at breakfast. 

Sharply executed morning basics — pancakes, quiche, French toast — are the menu’s backbone, along with vegetable-packed grain bowls, well-assembled egg sandwiches, and egg-centric iterations of quesadillas, burritos and pizzas. If the bakery case’s temptations must be limited to a single selection, make it a slice of the pistachio-laden coffee cake. 

Heather’s
Various Locations 

A quintessential neighborhood restaurant that’s so good it draws diners from all over. A big reason why her engaging establishment runs like clockwork is because owner Heather Asbury spent years opening restaurants for customer service-obsessed Nordstrom. (She opened a second, larger Minnetonka location in 2024.) 

Menu highlights include a quinoa-avocado bowl that’s jazzed with pickled jalapenos and chimichurri, tender crêpes smeared with sweet berry preserves, and ultra-creamy scrambled eggs paired with sublime bacon from Fischer Family Farms Pork in Waseca, Minn. Baker Annamarie Rigelman performs minor miracles with banana bread, cinnamon muffins, and cheddar-chive scones.

Hope Breakfast Bar
Various Locations 

This locally owned chain — seven great-looking locations, with more on the way — embrace mornings with gusto. Creativity crackles through the broad menu, where the accent is on imaginative renditions of dishes not found elsewhere: piña colada-inspired French toast, a Reuben disguised as potato hash, red velvet waffles and tacos stuffed with pork belly, bacon jam, scrambled eggs and guacamole. 

There are classics too, of course, from a steak-and-eggs combo to buttermilk pancakes, plus a festive roster of brunch cocktails. 

Mara
Minneapolis

The place to go for a pampered hotel experience. The menu — the work of two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen — is at its most compelling when making nods to Middle Eastern flavors. Instead of familiar layers of Greek yogurt and berries, there’s a gorgeous parfait of tangy labneh and sweet-tart caramelized pineapple, and a breakfast sandwich skips the usual bacon or sausage in favor of a lively chicken shawarma with a swipe of harissa-fueled aioli. 

Fresh-pressed juices are straight out of an upscale spa, and the house-baked pastries and breads are best described as “standard-setters.” The scene-stealing dining room is imbued with all the requisite luxury of a Four Seasons property.  

Marine Landing b.o.t.m.
Marine on St. Croix

In a region famous for its lakes and rivers, this hidden gem earns an easy A for its prodigious on-the-water appeal. Perched over an out-of-the-way marina, the cafe’s deck enjoys postcard-worthy views up and down the wooded banks of the St. Croix, a federally protected scenic riverway. 

The diner-style format covers the basics, with a breakfast-all-day roster that includes eggs, pancakes, waffles and French toast, all affordably priced. 

NOLO's Kitchen & Bar
Minneapolis 

Where residents of the red-hot North Loop neighborhood ease their way into the day. Yes, the kitchen prepares eggs-any-style with bacon, toast and home fries. But there are less conventional options, including crisp corn tostadas topped with scrambled eggs, onions, jalapenos and sausage, and fried jasmine rice tossed with scrambled eggs, peas and bacon, then crowned with wilted kale. 

Even better is the doozy of an avocado toast, built with slices of sturdy grilled country sourdough and topped with Calabrian chiles and burrata. 

Sun Street Breads
Minneapolis

Biscuit sandwiches — oh, those biscuits! — are the house specialty at this upbeat bakery/cafe, starting with a gleefully artery-clogging combination of fried chicken, bacon and sausage gravy. Chef/co-owner Solveig Tofte’s tangy sourdough-fueled pancakes are another major draw, as are the splendors filling the bakery case. Standouts include a spiraled cinnamon roll delicately perfumed with cardamom and cloves, and the flaky turnovers, made with a sour cream-enriched dough and filled with whatever fruit — rhubarb, blueberries, apples — is in season.

One bit of bad news: Tofte and her husband, co-owner Martin Ouimet, are closing Sun Street in March of 2026, right around when it would have celebrated its 15th anniversary. The good news? Their barbecue pop-up (Moon Cow) is getting a permanent space in Grand Marais that’ll be open a few days a week every summer. Be sure to follow @mooncowbbq for more news about its opening. 

Victor’s 1959 Café
Minneapolis 

“Revolutionary Cuban Cooking” is the motto of this fun and funky south Minneapolis institution. In the mornings, that pledge translates to scrambled eggs covered in a chorizo-red pepper stew, or black beans over rice with sweet plantains and fried eggs, or lime- and garlic-marinated flank steak with crispy yuca fries. 

Beverages include guava juice, iced cafe con leche, and espresso sweetened with Cuban sugar paste. The menu’s Americano offerings stick to pancakes and French toast, plus a hearty porridge made with hand-harvested Minnesota wild rice.

Wise Acre Eatery
Minneapolis

Few farm-to-table restaurants boast their own actual farm, but this one does, a bucolic 140-acre operation about an hour west of the Twin Cities. At breakfast, that invaluable land-to-plate connection translates into just-gathered eggs from pasture-raised chickens and dreamy slab bacon from heritage-breed pigs. Utilizing a wide array of vegetables and herbs that are literally farm-fresh, chef Dan Schmit also makes a considerable effort to appeal to vegetarian and vegan appetites.