On paper, brunch is that special weekend meal where you get to drink champagne before noon and eat a fancy benedict you would have never made at home (a.k.a. any benedict). But in reality, it’s a meal of survival. One shot lead to two shots lead to you singing LeeAnn Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” to a group of people waiting in line for the bathroom last night, and you’ve woken up in a dire state. There’s no time for truffle omelettes or thoughtful takes on a Belgian waffle, you need butter and carbs to keep you upright. So grab a pedialyte roadie and get to any of these spots as fast as you can.
the spots
Even though you drank too much last night, you still have to be functional this morning and follow through on your brunch plans with your significant other’s parents. Echo Park’s Ostrich Farm is the best place for this hungover-but-still-important meal. The food is upscale, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be eating foam - there are fantastic hangover-busting things like creamy polenta with mushrooms, and a prosciutto and egg sandwich. They also have excellent cocktails, if you decide that the hair of the dog is the best path to feeling better (it is).
Dim sum is a (maybe) scientifically proven hangover cure, but spending over an hour in traffic isn’t good for your stomach. So if you’re on the Westside, and don’t have the intestinal strength to drive to the SGV, head to Little Fatty. This Chinese spot in Mar Vista is a great spot for a bowl of noodles and some dumplings. They also rarely have a wait in the daytime, so it’s a perfect place for when you’re hungover, hungry, and need to eat something before you start randomly yelling at strangers.
Sometimes, all you need to feel better on a weekend morning is some quiet. A breakfast burrito stuffed with pork shoulder doesn’t hurt, either. Doubting Thomas in Historic Filipinotown is a quiet, super low-key cafe with interesting takes on traditional breakfast stuff, like the pork burrito with eggs, and a sage sausage breakfast sandwich on a housemade english muffin that’s only $7. They also have some of our favorite brunch coffee in town.
Yeastie Boys Bagels
Sometimes, all you need to feel better on a weekend morning is some quiet. A breakfast burrito stuffed with pork shoulder doesn’t hurt, either. Doubting Thomas in Historic Filipinotown is a quiet, super low-key cafe with interesting takes on traditional breakfast stuff, like the pork burrito with eggs, and a sage sausage breakfast sandwich on a housemade english muffin that’s only $7. They also have some of our favorite brunch coffee in town.
You told yourself no hard alcohol last night and there you were at 1:20am in a lemon drop chug race with the bathroom attendant. Call in backup and get to Lunasia. The SGV dim sum staple has a wait most weekends, but that extra half hour of mental fog will be a distant memory the moment you put their softball-sized pork shu-mai in your mouth. All the seating at Lunasia is at giant King Arthur roundtables, so gather up the crew and go hold hangover court. Dim sum is served all day long.
Kings Road is a no-frills sidewalk cafe in Beverly Grove where you can always get a table, and the crowd is just as hungover as you are. Their breakfast menu isn’t huge, but they have all the omelettes and scrambles and buttermilk pancakes you need. And if none of that works, go for their coffee. It’s truly some of the best in town.
Nick’s Chinatown location might not be the most convenient, but if you’re looking for a greasy pile of breakfast, nothing beats this 70-year-old diner classic. The interior is small, with only counter seating, but there are a few tables outside if you can bear to be in the sun right now. You can’t go wrong with any of their egg dishes here, but order at least one plate of their famous house-cured sliced ham for the table. You won’t regret it.
John O’Groats feels like that restaurant in your hometown that your family has been going to for decades, with owners who still think you’re in high school even though you’re 32. And that’s the kind of comfort you need right now. Everyone in here is either reading the newspaper, swapping synagogue gossip, or eating the Biscuits From Heaven until they can’t anymore. Yes, they’re actually called Biscuits From Heaven and yes, it’s a very accurate description.
26 Beach is a neighborhood brunch spot in Venice with a big patio and an atmosphere that feels like you’re eating breakfast inside Mary Poppins’ attic. And yet in this moment of desperation, the one thing you really need to know about it is that they have a 20-item long French toast section on their menu. And also there’s an egg scramble with pasta in it. 26 Beach might be the Six Flags of LA brunch, but that’s a ride you’re willing to take today.
Your hangover woke you up at 6am and deep down you know there’s no chance you’re going back to bed. Take advantage of the fact that you live near the ocean, and grab some food at Playa Provisions beforehand before heading to the beach. The all-day restaurant in Playa Del Rey opens at 7:30am every morning, with a long coffee menu, housemade pastries, and one of our favorite breakfast sandwiches on the Westside. Take it all to-go and claim your spot in the sand.
When you only know you need sunshine and a giant plate of starchy things, go to Millie’s in Silver Lake. This breakfast spot specializes in dishes that will cure the worst hangovers - for example, the Devil’s Mess, which is eggs, potatoes, and spicy sausage thrown together with guacamole and sour cream. Also, the fact that wearing anything other than sweatpants basically constitutes overdressing here means you can come as you are (still wearing that lei you have no memory of putting on last night).
Pho isn’t technically brunch, but if you’ve ever utilized it to lift yourself out of hangover hell, then you know just how magically it restores you to pre-I’ll-just-have-one-more-shot health levels. And Pho Cafe is one of our favorite ways to heal. This casual spot in a Silver Lake stripmall is the perfect low-key place to sit with your head down until you’ve inhaled enough soup to raise it and maybe venture back outside.
If you woke up early and need to eat before you inevitably head back to bed, it might be a good time to go to Uncle Bill’s. This small diner looks like a beach shack and has walls filled with photos of the ocean, in case you forgot where you were. It fills up on weekends, but if you get there before the rush, you’ll be rewarded with giant stacks of very fluffy pancakes and waffles. And an ocean view. Salty air is good for a hangover.
The Waffle
Deep in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd., Waffle looks like the kind of place you might find attached to an office park in Sherman Oaks. But it’s actually a great breakfast option in a part of town that’s otherwise lacking in good, casual spots. It’s called Waffle, but you can get pretty much any kind of breakfast item here - without much of a wait.
This tiny breakfast and lunch spot in Santa Monica specializes in fried chicken and waffles. There will probably be a line out the door on weekends, so we recommend ordering to go, then taking your huge portion across the street to Douglas Park. The chicken is always crispy and well-seasoned, the waffles are fluffy, and some sunshine and fresh air also probably won’t hurt. Plus, you can distract yourself by throwing pieces of waffle at the ducks.
