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The pastry case at Grande Creperie with croissants, cakes, and more.

15 Excellent Weekday Breakfasts in San Francisco

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

by Dianne de Guzman, Becky Duffett, and Eve Batey Updated
2 comments / new
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by Dianne de Guzman, Becky Duffett, and Eve Batey Updated
2 comments / new

Spending the workday in a uniform of sweat pants and T-shirt is becoming (somewhat) more uncommon. But the good news is getting a bite to eat for the most important meal of the day remains a legitimate way to stave off that Garfield energy on an otherwise enjoyable Monday. (Though if you’re more of a weekend diner, brunch is back in full force, too.)

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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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.

2298 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 775-2200
(415) 775-2200

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Grande Crêperie

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Are crepes a breakfast food or a dessert? Actually, don’t answer that, let’s just consider ourselves lucky to have Grande Creperie from the Le Marais team serving savory and sweet crepes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. And it’s not just crepes; there’s plenty of bakery options like a twice-baked almond croissant or kouign amann plus a coffee menu to round out the breakfast essentials.

Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94105
A view of the counter and bakery case at Grande Creperie. Photos courtesy of Grande Creperie

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Jane

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Neighborhood shoppers and Pac Heights locals line up daily at Jane's cheery cafe on Fillmore. The business, which opened in 2011 and has since cloned itself on Larkin and grown to include an outpost in Chinatown, is a hub for beautiful baked goods, soups and salads, green smoothies, and good coffee. It does get busy, but lines move fast.

2123 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 931-5263
(415) 931-5263

Also featured in:

Farm : Table

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Farm : Table, a tiny Tenderloin breakfast spot that describes itself as a “micro cafe,” serves a menu of espresso, pastries, savory tarts, toasts, and breakfast cereals. Every dish falls within San Francisco’s ethos of local, sustainable, etc.

754 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 300-5652
(415) 300-5652

Also featured in:

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.

2101 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 655-9169
(415) 655-9169

Also featured in:

Derm Restaurant

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Passing Derm, tucked into an unassuming storefront on Geary Boulevard, you might assume it’s just another of the many slickly decorated, good-to-middling Thai restaurants in the city. But this place churns out a mean breakfast of quality ingredients, vast proportions, and unexpected twists. There’s excellent execution on items like Benedicts and French toasts, but the must-try item is the Bangkok scramble, which marries tom yum sauce, eggs, cheese, and shrimp into an unforgettable savory-and-sour package.

3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
415-379-4549​
415-379-4549​

Brenda's Meat & Three

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Brenda’s breakfast is no joke, and the Divisadero outpost is not to be missed, either. Flapjacks and French toast are available everyday until 3 p.m., and shrimp and grits with a spicy tomato-bacon gravy is a decadent choice for a midweek pick-me-up.

919 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 926-8657
(415) 926-8657
Brenda’s Meat & Three

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Devil’s Teeth Baking Company

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The original Devil’s Teeth Baking Company is at 3876 Noriega Street in the Outer Sunset, but its Outer Richmond spot is the location that’s best suited for a weekday meal. The sourdough bread used in all the concoctions is baked daily, and the biscuits used in their special breakfast and breakfast sandwiches are also made in-house.

3619 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
(626) 280-1974
(626) 280-1974

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, egg, and bacon. Best of all, breakfast is served all day long.

2078 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94117
415-213-5566
415-213-5566

Rain Tree Cafe

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The price for the Irish Breakfast at this Inner Sunset shop rises right alongside inflation — about $17 as of publication — but the portions are healthy, and worth the price. Two strips of bacon, two links of Irish sausage, two eggs, homefries, black and white pudding, grilled tomatoes, and toast with a dab of jelly and a pad of butter. Tough to top that.

654 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-3633
(415) 665-3633

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 hashbrowns 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.

747 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-7440
(415) 665-7440

Also featured in:

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 have work that day, maybe also a pint-sized mimosa. Because Just For You Cafe can provide all that. Grab a loaf of the cinnamon-raisin bread to enjoy later, too.

732 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 647-3033
(415) 647-3033

Also featured in:

St. Francis Fountain

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This restaurant has been slinging diner standards on 24th Street since 1918. In addition to breakfast standards like omelets, scrambles and pancakes, it also gives attention to its vegetarian guests, with offerings like a plant-based chorizo hash and eggs.

2801 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 826-4200
(415) 826-4200

Also featured in:

New Taraval Cafe

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New Taraval Cafe, alongside Art’s Cafe, holds up the so-non-hipster-that-it’s-deeply-hipster diner torch in the Sunset. This longtime haunt has a limited menu of standards like the excellent Denver omelette, or experiment with the mushroom-laden breakfast sandwich. And hit the ATM before you head over, as NTC remains cash only.

1054 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 731-3816
(415) 731-3816

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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.

2675 Ocean Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 347-7416
(415) 347-7416

Also featured in:

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Rose's Cafe

2298 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

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.

2298 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 775-2200
(415) 775-2200

Grande Crêperie

Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94105

Are crepes a breakfast food or a dessert? Actually, don’t answer that, let’s just consider ourselves lucky to have Grande Creperie from the Le Marais team serving savory and sweet crepes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. And it’s not just crepes; there’s plenty of bakery options like a twice-baked almond croissant or kouign amann plus a coffee menu to round out the breakfast essentials.

Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94105
A view of the counter and bakery case at Grande Creperie. Photos courtesy of Grande Creperie

Jane

2123 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Neighborhood shoppers and Pac Heights locals line up daily at Jane's cheery cafe on Fillmore. The business, which opened in 2011 and has since cloned itself on Larkin and grown to include an outpost in Chinatown, is a hub for beautiful baked goods, soups and salads, green smoothies, and good coffee. It does get busy, but lines move fast.

2123 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 931-5263
(415) 931-5263

Farm : Table

754 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Farm : Table, a tiny Tenderloin breakfast spot that describes itself as a “micro cafe,” serves a menu of espresso, pastries, savory tarts, toasts, and breakfast cereals. Every dish falls within San Francisco’s ethos of local, sustainable, etc.

754 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 300-5652
(415) 300-5652

Sweet Maple

2101 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94115

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.

2101 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 655-9169
(415) 655-9169

Derm Restaurant

3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118

Passing Derm, tucked into an unassuming storefront on Geary Boulevard, you might assume it’s just another of the many slickly decorated, good-to-middling Thai restaurants in the city. But this place churns out a mean breakfast of quality ingredients, vast proportions, and unexpected twists. There’s excellent execution on items like Benedicts and French toasts, but the must-try item is the Bangkok scramble, which marries tom yum sauce, eggs, cheese, and shrimp into an unforgettable savory-and-sour package.

3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118
415-379-4549​
415-379-4549​

Brenda's Meat & Three

919 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Brenda’s breakfast is no joke, and the Divisadero outpost is not to be missed, either. Flapjacks and French toast are available everyday until 3 p.m., and shrimp and grits with a spicy tomato-bacon gravy is a decadent choice for a midweek pick-me-up.

919 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 926-8657
(415) 926-8657
Brenda’s Meat & Three

Devil’s Teeth Baking Company

3619 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

The original Devil’s Teeth Baking Company is at 3876 Noriega Street in the Outer Sunset, but its Outer Richmond spot is the location that’s best suited for a weekday meal. The sourdough bread used in all the concoctions is baked daily, and the biscuits used in their special breakfast and breakfast sandwiches are also made in-house.

3619 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
(626) 280-1974
(626) 280-1974

Manitas Cafe

2078 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94117

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

2078 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94117
415-213-5566
415-213-5566

Rain Tree Cafe

654 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

The price for the Irish Breakfast at this Inner Sunset shop rises right alongside inflation — about $17 as of publication — but the portions are healthy, and worth the price. Two strips of bacon, two links of Irish sausage, two eggs, homefries, black and white pudding, grilled tomatoes, and toast with a dab of jelly and a pad of butter. Tough to top that.

654 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-3633
(415) 665-3633

Art's Cafe

747 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Things looked grim for the Inner Sunset’s favorite Korean American diner. The restaurant closed in July 2020 after about 30 years in the hashbrowns 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.

747 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-7440
(415) 665-7440

Just For You Cafe

732 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

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 have work that day, maybe also a pint-sized mimosa. Because Just For You Cafe can provide all that. Grab a loaf of the cinnamon-raisin bread to enjoy later, too.

732 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 647-3033
(415) 647-3033

St. Francis Fountain

2801 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

This restaurant has been slinging diner standards on 24th Street since 1918. In addition to breakfast standards like omelets, scrambles and pancakes, it also gives attention to its vegetarian guests, with offerings like a plant-based chorizo hash and eggs.

2801 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 826-4200
(415) 826-4200

New Taraval Cafe

1054 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116

New Taraval Cafe, alongside Art’s Cafe, holds up the so-non-hipster-that-it’s-deeply-hipster diner torch in the Sunset. This longtime haunt has a limited menu of standards like the excellent Denver omelette, or experiment with the mushroom-laden breakfast sandwich. And hit the ATM before you head over, as NTC remains cash only.

1054 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 731-3816
(415) 731-3816

Lucho’s

2675 Ocean Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132

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.

2675 Ocean Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 347-7416
(415) 347-7416

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