The East Bay is home to a number of excellent dim sum spots with an honorable mention going to Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant. But if you’re looking for a more scenic spot for a group, Hong Kong East Ocean delivers. Located in Emeryville, the window seats of the bayside restaurant offer views of downtown San Francisco to go with a stellar selection of dim sum and seafood. Go for the siu mai and the Shanghai mini dumplings, and if you’re a fan of chicken feet, the restaurant offers three styles.

This bright Berkeley spot does a bountiful weekend brunch, when diners can order table-sized mezze platters piled high with all sorts of fresh-baked breads, dips, and pickled vegetables. There’s a cozy outdoor patio and an airy indoor dining room which a view of the kitchen, where you may even spot chef Mona Leena artfully building each of the many platters for guests.

Sistory Thai Kitchen serves a menu that appeals to those who want the standardest of standard breakfasts — i.e. a proper buttermilk pancake or eggs Benedict — but it’s when the menu branches out that the food truly shines. For instance, the Get Up N Fly features crisp russet potato wedges (topped with a fried egg, it’s breakfast after all) with a yellow curry sauce perfect for re-dipping bites of potato. On the sweeter side, the pancakes with Thai tea syrup might be up your alley.

Perhaps best known for its weekday focaccia sandwich brown bag lunches, Chez Panisse alum Kelsie Kerr’s West Berkeley breakfast and lunch spot also serves a mean Saturday brunch. The menu changes every day, but keep an eye out for sticky buns, sourdough waffles, and picture-perfect fried eggs.

It’s easy to get caught up in the breezy cheerfulness of Babette’s back patio, and thankfully the brunch menu gives diners many reasons to linger. The brunch menu is a mix of standards and items special to Babette. For the brunch traditionalists, order a French toast or waffles; for those who prefer something else, try the tomato, basil, and goat cheese quiche. A group might enjoy sharing a Mediterranean platter as well, which includes smoked salmon, beet hummus, labneh, and more.

You’ll find all the classics here, but also slightly more contemporary and hard-to-find options: Buried in the restaurant’s vast menu are gems like pan-fried daikon cake with XO sauce; crispy-garlic-topped “typhoon style” taro cake; and cute, Instagram-ready piggy-faced steamed custard buns.

Low Bar has made itself a nightlife destination in downtown Oakland, but it’s also drawing customers during the daytime with a brunch menu filled with standard (and not-so-standard) dishes. Sure, you can get buttermilk pancakes if that’s what you desire, but what you’ll miss out on is a number of egg-laden Mexican dishes, including breakfast tacos and burritos, and Eddie’s Chilaquiles. There’s also a large selection of drinks available, of course, including bloody marys and mimosas, natural wines, and beer and a shot specials, if you’re in the mood.

FOB Kitchen offers three-day-a-week brunch hours, which means you can snag one of their silogs (garlic rice breakfast plates). Try the one with tocino or the Filipino eggplant omelette on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings.

Acre is the new Rockridge spot serving customers all day in the cafe downstairs and the cozy second-floor restaurant. Brunch is just another opportunity for this place to shine. Now’s the opportunity to dig into the restaurant’s selection of pizzas, or try something fresh with the salads or vegetarian quiche. If eggs are more in your wheelhouse, Acre goes beyond the typical dishes to serve an egg and lamb sausage sandwich with berbere breakfast potatoes.

This Rockridge restaurant serves brunch every day. The menu aims to offer something for everyone, from pancakes and Benedicts to morning fare with Korean and other international influences: omurice, morning tacos with kalbi, and Korean fried chicken and waffles.

By far the most popular brunch spot in the vicinity of Lake Merritt (the weekend lines are legendary), Grand Lake Kitchen has an all-day brunch menu that includes both sweet and savory versions of French toast. The restaurant has a second location in the Dimond.

Those looking for a Mexican twist to brunch in the East Bay might try T’zunun in Pleasant Hill. The menu includes a few expected dishes, such as huevos rancheros and chilaquiles, but there are also some pleasant brunch diversions such as squash blossom toast and a breakfast torta to fill out your brunch meal, there’s even a dulce de leche French toast if you’re looking for something sweet.