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Manitas on Hayes Street is a must-try for any breakfast lover.
Manitas Cafe

The 14 San Francisco Weekday Breakfasts to Start Any Day on the Right Foot

Waffles, chilaquiles, and pastries to save you from that work-from-home bowl of cold cereal

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Manitas on Hayes Street is a must-try for any breakfast lover.
| Manitas Cafe

There are just way too many places for meaty, indulgent, lovely, hardy breakfasts in San Francisco. Brenda’s Meat and Three on Divisadero Street whips up shrimp and grits in the Western Addition and Black Jet Baking Co. in Bernal Heights cracks out egg-laden breakfast sandwiches that would give even a Texan pause. Plus, Xica is coming to the waterfront for peppery chilaquiles any day now, and brunch is back for all the bottomless mimosa people in your life. It’s a good time to be eating breakfast in San Francisco, so for the sake of all things cheesy and potato-y, put these 14 restaurants on your must-hit breakfast list.

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Rose's Cafe

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Rose’s, the home of an always-reliable weekday brunch, has dishes like breakfast pizza with ham, fontina, and eggs or French toast bread pudding with caramelized apples and whipped cream. The cafe has added Oakland-based Mr. Espresso coffee to its offerings, too.

This neighborhood favorite is tucked beneath an unlikely nail salon sign and down the way from Liholiho Yacht Club, but people fell in love with the breakfast sandwiches here so much — including the eponymous Bandit featuring Muenster cheese and thick-cut bacon — that the shop is set to open a second location on 18th and Dolores Street in 2023.

A vegetarian breakfast sandwich with tater tots.
Bandit breakfast sandwiches are no joke.
Lauren Saria

Sweet Maple

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Reasons to love Sweet Maple's breakfast include the Millionaire's Bacon (bacon baked in brown sugar with cayenne, and red and black pepper) and four different breakfast pizzas. There's also a huge selection of Benedicts and scrambles, four different "morning sandwiches," and even a few healthy choices (if that’s what moves you).

Town's End Brunch

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From the same owners of the New Spot on Polk Street comes a reinvigorated take on Americana classics. Right off the water in South Beach, owners Sam and Nazeira Elbandak are offering $8 milkshakes and tremendous breakfast items like the Warriors Breakfast, a dish of potatoes and eggs as mighty as 2015 Klay Thompson.

A big plate of food.
The Warriors Breakfast from Town’s End. 
Town’s End

Rad Radish

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A new player in the plant-based restaurant scene — from the same team behind Wildseed  — this restaurant is open 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays (and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends). The chilaquiles are to die for, Vietnamese iced coffee goes for $5, and the interior design is ultra pleasant.

Food on a plate.
Chilaquiles at Rad Radish.
Paolo Bicchieri

Manitas Cafe

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Manitas’ owners promise recipes “stolen from Grandma” — that is, if your grandma made blisteringly spicy chilaquiles and breakfast tacos with chorizo, eggs, and bacon. Best of all, breakfast is served all day long.

Brioche Bakery & Cafe

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Naima Moutaim and Edson Garcia’s Columbus Avenue breakfast kiosk expanded to Haight Street in fall 2021. Affordability is a major draw here — think vanilla custard French toast for $12.95 — but so is the outdoor patio. More than a decade in the city, Mountain and Garcia keep showing up for that reliable cup of coffee and Gruyere omelette. 

Art's Cafe

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Things looked grim for the Inner Sunset’s favorite Korean American diner. The restaurant closed in July 2020 after about 30 years in the hash brown game, but managed to reopen under new ownership in early February 2021. Now new owners Chol and Young Lee are cracking eggs and fermenting kimchi for returned longtime fans and newcomers to the shop alike.

Just For You Cafe

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Would you like your eggs with a grilled catfish filet or a pork chop? Or would you prefer a big breakfast burrito smothered in chili con carne? Or perhaps some pancakes or French toast hot off the griddle? And if you don't need to work that day, maybe also have a pint-sized mimosa. Because Just For You Cafe can provide all that. Grab a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread to enjoy later, too.

Boogaloos

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Is there anything finer than this 22nd and Valencia Street breakfast destination for tofu fajitas? No, there isn’t. The restaurant offers ample outdoor seating, for those looking to get a little sun, and diner coffee by the barrel-full.

Plain Jane

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Across the street from the unsung hero of San Francisco’s bar scene, the Liberties Bar, Plain Jane dishes up breakfast for massive crowds of loyal fans most every day of the week. The move? PJ’s Sweet Flight, a medley of pain de mie custard French toast, a red velvet pancake, a cottage pancake, and a healthy dose of maple syrup.

A spiraling dish of food.
Breakfast at Plain Jane is a full event.
Plain Jane

Diamond Cafe

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This Noe Valley institution comes from the same team behind Crepevine and it shows (mostly in the same enormous chalkboard-esque menu). Importantly, this corner-spot haunt offers two mimosas for $10. Eggs, bagels, and omelettes are all standard fare here.

Lucho’s

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Lakeside Yucatán restaurant Lucho’s is open for weekday and weekend brunch, which means you can get their pibil Benedict or buñuelos to go. Call 415-347-7416 for takeout, order delivery via Postmates, or grab a seat at the restaurant.

Ann's Doughnut Coffee Shop

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There are few diners in San Francisco with more than 40 years of mom and pop experience. Ann’s in the Excelsior is just that, continuing to dole out greasy hash browns and juicy sausage links on Mission Street at ultra-affordable rates.

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Rose's Cafe

Rose’s, the home of an always-reliable weekday brunch, has dishes like breakfast pizza with ham, fontina, and eggs or French toast bread pudding with caramelized apples and whipped cream. The cafe has added Oakland-based Mr. Espresso coffee to its offerings, too.

Bandit

This neighborhood favorite is tucked beneath an unlikely nail salon sign and down the way from Liholiho Yacht Club, but people fell in love with the breakfast sandwiches here so much — including the eponymous Bandit featuring Muenster cheese and thick-cut bacon — that the shop is set to open a second location on 18th and Dolores Street in 2023.

A vegetarian breakfast sandwich with tater tots.
Bandit breakfast sandwiches are no joke.
Lauren Saria

Sweet Maple

Reasons to love Sweet Maple's breakfast include the Millionaire's Bacon (bacon baked in brown sugar with cayenne, and red and black pepper) and four different breakfast pizzas. There's also a huge selection of Benedicts and scrambles, four different "morning sandwiches," and even a few healthy choices (if that’s what moves you).

Town's End Brunch

From the same owners of the New Spot on Polk Street comes a reinvigorated take on Americana classics. Right off the water in South Beach, owners Sam and Nazeira Elbandak are offering $8 milkshakes and tremendous breakfast items like the Warriors Breakfast, a dish of potatoes and eggs as mighty as 2015 Klay Thompson.

A big plate of food.
The Warriors Breakfast from Town’s End. 
Town’s End

Rad Radish

A new player in the plant-based restaurant scene — from the same team behind Wildseed  — this restaurant is open 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays (and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends). The chilaquiles are to die for, Vietnamese iced coffee goes for $5, and the interior design is ultra pleasant.

Food on a plate.
Chilaquiles at Rad Radish.
Paolo Bicchieri

Manitas Cafe

Manitas’ owners promise recipes “stolen from Grandma” — that is, if your grandma made blisteringly spicy chilaquiles and breakfast tacos with chorizo, eggs, and bacon. Best of all, breakfast is served all day long.

Brioche Bakery & Cafe

Naima Moutaim and Edson Garcia’s Columbus Avenue breakfast kiosk expanded to Haight Street in fall 2021. Affordability is a major draw here — think vanilla custard French toast for $12.95 — but so is the outdoor patio. More than a decade in the city, Mountain and Garcia keep showing up for that reliable cup of coffee and Gruyere omelette. 

Art's Cafe

Things looked grim for the Inner Sunset’s favorite Korean American diner. The restaurant closed in July 2020 after about 30 years in the hash brown game, but managed to reopen under new ownership in early February 2021. Now new owners Chol and Young Lee are cracking eggs and fermenting kimchi for returned longtime fans and newcomers to the shop alike.

Just For You Cafe

Would you like your eggs with a grilled catfish filet or a pork chop? Or would you prefer a big breakfast burrito smothered in chili con carne? Or perhaps some pancakes or French toast hot off the griddle? And if you don't need to work that day, maybe also have a pint-sized mimosa. Because Just For You Cafe can provide all that. Grab a loaf of cinnamon-raisin bread to enjoy later, too.

Boogaloos

Is there anything finer than this 22nd and Valencia Street breakfast destination for tofu fajitas? No, there isn’t. The restaurant offers ample outdoor seating, for those looking to get a little sun, and diner coffee by the barrel-full.

Plain Jane

Across the street from the unsung hero of San Francisco’s bar scene, the Liberties Bar, Plain Jane dishes up breakfast for massive crowds of loyal fans most every day of the week. The move? PJ’s Sweet Flight, a medley of pain de mie custard French toast, a red velvet pancake, a cottage pancake, and a healthy dose of maple syrup.

A spiraling dish of food.
Breakfast at Plain Jane is a full event.
Plain Jane

Diamond Cafe

This Noe Valley institution comes from the same team behind Crepevine and it shows (mostly in the same enormous chalkboard-esque menu). Importantly, this corner-spot haunt offers two mimosas for $10. Eggs, bagels, and omelettes are all standard fare here.

Lucho’s

Lakeside Yucatán restaurant Lucho’s is open for weekday and weekend brunch, which means you can get their pibil Benedict or buñuelos to go. Call 415-347-7416 for takeout, order delivery via Postmates, or grab a seat at the restaurant.

Ann's Doughnut Coffee Shop

There are few diners in San Francisco with more than 40 years of mom and pop experience. Ann’s in the Excelsior is just that, continuing to dole out greasy hash browns and juicy sausage links on Mission Street at ultra-affordable rates.

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