Head to Cafe Lift on a Saturday morning and you’ll encounter a lot of people still feeling the effects of Friday night, waiting anxiously for a plate of cannoli french toast. But if your office is closed for the day, or you’ve decided to call in “sick,” there’s nowhere better to take advantage of the rare weekday brunch. They serve breakfast food every day until 3pm - especially important to note since they’re also BYO.

You’ll generally wait at least 30 minutes in line just to order on the weekend at K’far - unless you can grab a seat at the counter, where you’ll get immediate service. But even if you do have to wait and take a number to get your order, you should know you’re about to have some of the best breakfast food in the city. With thick, buttery kubaneh toasts topped with whipped brown sugar ricotta, egg sandwiches on crispy Jerusalem bagels, and a whole lot of delicious pastries, there’s not much here we wouldn’t recommend.

Open daily from 8am-8pm, this Mexican spot has more brunch choices than the number of replies from a basic math problem on Twitter. Designed by the Queer Eye cast, the dining room is decked out in vibrant colors, fresh flowers, and even some cool neon signage. And because the Bella Vista BYOB spot is always generous with the portions, it’s one of our favorite places to eat a huge plate of huevos rancheros in the city.

If you want to have brunch somewhere with big tables and bottomless pitchers of mimosas, don’t come to Middle Child. However, if you’re looking for the best breakfast sandwich in the city, then you’re in the right place. Middle Child is a small, counter-service deli in Washington Square West, and on the weekends there’s usually about a 30-minute wait. But the Herschel Waker sandwich, with fluffy eggs, American cheese, and short-rib corned beef, is worth the line.

When you’re craving a breakfast that’ll last you until dinner, and don’t want to be the only one at brunch in scrubs, head to Honey’s for latkes and their signature “Honey Cristo,” made with challah French toast and ham. This place is cash-only and doesn’t take reservations, so expect to wait on the weekends. But they are BYOB, so if you’re worried, you can always bring an extra bottle of something.

If your only experience with a brunch buffet is that time your grandma took you to Atlantic City, starting a morning at Harp & Crown will be a lot. For $28 a person, you get access to a mini-donut wall (with DIY toppings), infinite smoked salmon, and a prime rib carving station, along with everything else you’d want. For $15 more, you can add on drinks, too.

Sometimes going to the same brunch place can feel as predictable as Ben Simmons’ free throw attempts. When that happens, we recommend mixing things up at this fun Locust Street spot that really commits to its retro them (they even have one of those old tube TVs behind the bar). With 11 different brunch cocktails, including a tasty blood orange margarita that’s good enough to help you forget about the Sixers' past season, they’ve got plenty of ways to start your day off on a fun note. And here they know that on a lazy Sunday, we don’t always want something as simple as syrup on our chicken and waffles. They take things up a notch by topping them with thick slabs of bacon and a fried egg.

Cafe La Maude kind of looks like a French bistro and has a few tables outside for when it’s nice out. The menu leans Lebanese and Mediterranean with everything from green shakshuka to a petit steak and eggs. It’s BYOB and they don’t take reservations, but there’s a plant shop next door that you can explore while you wait.

Sometimes you wake up on a Sunday morning ready to fill the last day of your weekend with activities. Other times, you want Jerry’s. This Northern Liberties spot is where you come when you’ve got a hangover, or when you want to distract yourself from the Eagles game with a sticky bun and a short rib omelette. They do all the classic breakfast drinks and have a ton of beers on tap as well, just in case you want to keep the party going.

With one of the few truly bottomless brunches in the city, Veda’s Masala egg roast and kathi rolls are a nice change of pace from omelets and french toast. Plus, the goat cheese naan really helps balance out the not-so-strong mimosas you’ll be drinking all morning. They take reservations, so get some friends together and use Veda as your starting point for a day out in Rittenhouse.

Instead of waking up late and watching a Youtube tutorial on how to make the perfect shakshuka, just head over to this Circa Centre South cafe from 10am-3pm. With a location right near the Schuylkill River, a meal here almost makes us forget about the stack of emails that'll be waiting for us on Monday morning. The eggs are swimming in a rich tomato sauce that’s a little up there on the spice meter. But since they serve everything from an orange sweet cream espressotini to an Irish coffee, our mouths have a few cool-down options too.

Renata’s Kitchen is our favorite West Philly brunch spot. The Mediterranean BYOB serves brunch all day, every day with a menu that ranges from a croissant and crumb cake-filled pastry basket to omelets, salads, and falafel wraps. No matter who you’re here with or how much you drank the night before, it’s the kind of place that has something for anyone.

No matter the weekend or the weather, Day By Day always seems to have a line. They’re only open from 9:30am to 2:30pm, so the window for brunch is a little tighter than some other spots in the city. They also don’t take reservations, but they do have very friendly service, a rotating assortment of stuffed french toasts, and potato pancakes with smoked salmon. Stick with the more classic American brunch dishes and skip the huevos rancheros.

When it’s nice outside, there’s no better place to eat breakfast than on Front Street Cafe’s back patio. And even when it’s not nice out, there still aren’t many better places to have brunch in the city. From 11am to 3pm on weekends, they serve everything from chicken and waffle bites to white chocolate cream-stuffed french toast. If you’re looking for something kind of healthy, they also do solid acai bowls and quinoa oat porridge topped with apple compote.

There are mornings you feel invincible. You know, meditation at sunrise, early morning yoga, post-class juice. And then there are mornings where the only thing you want is a plate of cheesy eggs and potatoes, served with a side of more fried things. On mornings like this, Sam’s is here for you. This Bella Vista institution has been around for more than two decades, and though it’s nothing fancy on the outside, the service and food are consistently great. Just don’t schedule any plans for afterward, unless those plans include a nap.

Ants Pants, an all-day Australian cafe that has locations in Graduate Hospital and Queen Village, is one of the few places in the city where you can actually order vegemite. If that’s not a selling point, they also have a full breakfast and lunch menu seven days a week, with things like brie-stuffed french toast and Italian sausage-potato hash. If you want to get brunch on a random Tuesday morning, this is one of your best bets.

Putting your phone on Do Not Disturb before going to sleep is one of the best things you can do over the weekend. Another is having brunch at this stunning converted Victorian greenhouse. If you’re looking for something sweet to enjoy while admiring the fountain sculpture in the middle of the dining room, this Germantown Ave bakery and cafe has everything from breakfast biscuits to lemon custard tarts. But an 8oz brunch burger is really the way to go after trying to convince yourself to hop out of bed all morning. It’s the right amount of sloppy with a mix of the melted cheese and caramelized onions that might be the second-best combo (next to some shades and a few Tylenol) that a morning can ask for.

The Dutch is the little neighborhood breakfast spot that everyone wishes they had around the corner from where they live. They serve brunch Tuesday through Sunday until 3pm with everything from a Dutch baby and omelettes to a very solid reuben. Come by during the week to avoid a long wait, or stop by Grindcore House down the street to get a coffee in the meantime.

During the week, Dutch spot Winkel serves its entire breakfast menu a la carte - with things like shakshuka, fried french toast, and a rabbit frittata. On the weekend, though, they do a $25 pre-fixe brunch where you can bring your own champagne (they’ll supply the OJ). You’ll get grilled bread and jam, as much coffee or tea as you’d like, and your choice of entree from their weekday menu.

Scrolling through your stories the morning after a night out, you might have a few regrets. But as someone probably once said, “There’s no better cure for a pounding headache than pho from a strip mall.” Ok, maybe we’re the ones who said that, but it’s only because we've walked into Nam Phuong a mess and walked out a fully functioning human being an hour later on many occasions. The Vietnamese coffee is strong and everything on the menu seems to have a restorative effect, but especially the pho.

Overflowing with trees, overhead string lighting, and a greenhouse in the center, this Broad Street rooftop is one of the most beautiful brunch spots in Philly. After you’re done taking in the view, try the fontina-toped crab melt. It’s an open toast that’s overflowing with mounds of spring mix, jalapeno, and pickled onions. It gets crowded on Saturday and Sunday, so we recommend getting a reservation (and maybe bringing some sunscreen too).

Suraya is a good choice basically any day or time, but there’s something especially nice about coming here in the morning. It could be the smell of chai and cardamom kouign-amann, or the backyard courtyard, but either way, this is one of our favorite brunch places in Fishtown. Order the shish taouk kebab plate - complete with hummus, spiced french fries, tabbouleh, and pita. And in case you’re a planner, they do take reservations.

If you live or work in Fishtown, you’ve probably noticed that there are at least 10 coffee shops, but only one or two spots to grab an actual breakfast. Over Easy Breakfast Club is here to fix that - at least Friday through Sunday when they’re open. This bright and airy cafe has a long bar and plenty of tables where you can sit, drink coffee, and be glad you’re not at home trying to figure out how to make a frittata. If you’re looking for something savory, the lox and breakfast sandwich are solid bets, but make sure to get some of the pancakes with walnut honey butter for the table.

Sometimes brunch is really just an excuse to start drinking before noon. And when that’s the case, we like going to The Wayward for their massive gin list and a few French 75s. This Center City brasserie and raw bar opts to serve this signature cocktail by the glass or in a long carafe, and regardless of which format you go with, the Sweet Dee is one of our favorites. The perfect blend of gin, mint, champagne, and grapefruit is a refreshing mix that goes great with their $3 oysters from 10am-2pm.

When you’re not a mimosa or Bloody Mary fan, sometimes brunch can be a bit lonely. Find your people at Hawthornes, a beer cafe with a laid-back weekend brunch that’s hearty and fast. The portions are big, and so is the beer menu. If you’d rather have brunch at home, you can get most of the brunch dishes and a six-pack of beer to go.

Heritage has live bluegrass every Sunday from 12-3pm, and the menu is full of Southern classics - our favorites are the biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, and shrimp and grits. They take reservations, so you can introduce your friends to their affordable Bloody Marys and their new favorite Sunday tradition all at once.

For some, it’s not brunch without a side of smoked fish and a bagel topped with a dollop of cream cheese the size of a fist. For the closest thing to New York without any bridges or tunnels required, Queen Village’s Famous 4th Street Deli is your best bet. They don’t take reservations, but there’s no one else in town stacking corned beef higher or smearing cream cheese thicker.

This South Philly wine shop and tapas bar is one of our favorite brunch spots near East Passyunk. And we know, after a late night, you might not be in the right headspace to choose from the lineup of 24 charcuterie and tapas options. But thankfully, they’re all pretty good - especially the perfectly flaky beef empanadas. The pepper sauce on the beef isn’t too overpowering, but make sure you’re well-stocked on Guns & Roses sangria just in case.

Leave it to a West Philly beer bar to serve up some of the best vegetarian and vegan brunch options in the city. Local 44 has always been one of our favorite places to seek out rare craft brews, but when we realized their mushroom scrapple tasted better than the pork version, we never looked back. If you’re looking for something a little heartier, the brunch BLT with sriracha mayo and the full English breakfast are two good choices.