The Best Brunch Spots In Seattle

There are not too many things worthy of springing out of bed before 11am on the weekends (parents, we salute you). A great brunch is one of them—our list has our favorite spots in town, from newer additions to the city to mainstays we've loved forking pancakes at for years. And if you’re the kind of person who hates waiting an hour for eggs you could make at home in five minutes at a fraction of the cost, we’ve noted the spots that take reservations.

THE SPOTS

The second this outstanding Spanish spot started serving brunch, it became a brunch worth seeking out. The mellow vibes of the space translate well during daylight over sticky orange cinnamon rolls with a glob of fino cream cheese frosting, or huevos benedicto, a fun take on eggs benedict. This majesty is complete with toasted pan de millo, chorizo, an onsen egg slow-cooked so perfectly it takes on the consistency of hot fudge, and a jamon bechamel that we’d like to drink from a pitcher. And if you’ve been a fan of the patatas bravas or the tortilla de patata from dinnertime, you can get that here, too. Best to save this one for a special occasion brunch—not a hungover one.

This funky little bistro on Beacon Hill is the best spot in town for sparkling wine, whether you casually enjoy bubbles or your phone’s lock screen is currently the French countryside. Their brunch menu is a fantastic accompaniment to all of that carbonated grape juice, even if you only split an order of tempura-battered cream puffs and a round of passionfruit champagne punches. You won’t find three-egg breakfasts or pancake stacks here. Instead, you’ll find braised duck benedict with perfect poached eggs and tangy hoisin butter, griddled garam masala-kicked bread pudding with serious pumpkin spice energy (PSE), and our favorite dish, a custardy-crispy roasted cauliflower frittata. Not everyone in town is in on this place yet, so waltz right in to secure a table. Or make a reservation online.

This rickety little ship solely serves Vietnamese fried chicken rice and waffles—a dynamic duo we’ve replayed in our minds over and over again like the Napoleon Dynamite dance sequence. The fried cornish hens are super moist, blasted with sizzled garlic, and topped with a crackly glazed exterior. On the side, there’s yellow rice, an optional runny egg (exercise that option), chrysanthemum greens, and phở broth. That’d be enough for the brunch of the century, but then they go and add crisp-and-fluffy pink pineapple waffles with salted whipped coconut and a peanut sesame crumble. Pair it all with stiff-and-sweet iced coffees, and we can’t think of a better early weekend lunch. Despite being seemingly small from the outside, the boat has plenty of four-tops where you can kick back with friends on a Sunday.

For an easy special occasion brunch, or a daytime date powered by natural wine and herbs de Provence-infused omelettes, Fremont’s Le Coin is the French bistro you should seek out. Covered in a velvety mustard seed polka-dotted hollandaise, their eggs benedict with smoky thick-cut ham and a side of potatoes fried to the ideal shade of Pantone 18-0940 TCX is pretty mandatory. So is a round of mini apple fritters. But their breakfast sandwich, layered with pork belly, peppery arugula, pepperoncini, fresh radish, and runny fried eggs on a big seedy bun is great, too.

This counter-service operation serves everything from avocado toast and griddled pastrami egg sandwiches to shakshuka and apple butter oat pancakes with hazelnut dukkah. As for drinks, they range from fresh-pressed green juice to one of the best espresso martinis in town. It’s all done in a bright and airy space complete with a covered patio, high-end pantry staples for sale, and a surplus of calming sky-blue paint. If all of that makes this place sound popular, that's because it is. Good luck getting a table.

If you find yourself craving savory things while everyone else is knee-deep in a stack of pancakes, head to El Moose. This Mexican restaurant in Ballard serves great food all day, but their brunch is the star of the show. Floral oilcloths and papel picado brighten the space, while café de olla—an earthy spiced coffee served in clay mugs—livens up the out-late-last-night crowd. Order the alambres, a hot plate of shredded beef, spicy chorizo, and grilled poblano peppers and onions, topped with slices of cheese that melt on contact. Add a fried egg on top to appease the brunch gods, and swaddle it all inside tortillas. And while the horchata latte refills and warm energy may make you feel like the only customer in the entire city, they do get busy, so arrive early.

Brunch can be a way to enjoy something you might not have every morning, like crusty herb-loaded fried chicken on top of thin waffles slathered in Hennessy-infused butter. That’s why we love Fat’s. There’s something about the way that their sweet syrup swirls with bits of fallen breading and a bracing cognac bite that just improves a Saturday or Sunday. Reserve the sad bowlful of stale cereal for Monday through Friday.  

If you like your waffles a little on the thicker side, you should make it a priority to visit Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle. Their belgian-style wedges are fluffy and yeasty on the inside, with a golden crust that still stands up to maple syrup and their phenomenal salted cinnamon butter. Their breakfast sandwich, layered with a thick patty of egg, cheddar, bacon, and a zippy turmeric mustard aioli, is also a great morning meal route to take. Pair it with a cold brew banana smoothie, an iced mocha topped with Cocoa Puffs, or a carafe of mimosas, and enjoy them in their retro diner-inspired space that has a flower shop in the back.

Can Bar in White Center has one of the best patios in town, complete with a fence made exclusively from mismatched doors, a fire table, and Rainier-branded umbrellas. It also happens to be a fantastic place for a casual outdoor brunch, whether the weather is warm or you’re underneath their tented cover in the winter. You’re in good hands with a tasty grilled breakfast burrito, chilaquiles with homemade tortilla chips, or their unsung hero of an arugula salad loaded with cucumber, avocado, feta, dried cranberries, fried shallots, pepitas, and a sweet basil dressing.

Don’t come to this Columbia City Tex-Mex spot searching for benedicts and french toast. Instead, what you will find are breakfast tacos with cheddar jalapeño sausage and huevos rancheros topped with dripping brisket picadillo. Really, just the thought of eating bacon-infused refried beans at 10am is enough to get us out of bed even after watching The Great British Bake Off all night. And for a place where a slow-smoked meats and eggs over easy come together, it might not be Austin-level here, but it's pretty damn close.

We all have personal demons. Like being forced to get along with a difficult boss, jump squats, or what Wordle opener to use. If gluten is yours, brunch can be tough, so keep Bounty Kitchen on your shortlist. It’s a casual all-day cafe that serves excellent gluten-free pancakes with cinnamon butter and fruit compote, as well as egg and vegetable hashes. Order some standout avocado toast or the braised beef bowl if wheat, barley, rye, and related species are your friends. The place can get pretty busy during the brunch rush, so you might have to wait a few minutes for a table.

If you’re meeting out of town guests somewhere Downtown before diving headfirst into the Pike Place chaos, Cafe Campagne’s a great place to start. It’s a French classic that has stood the test of time, and is perfect for a special occasion or solo brunch at the bar—both scenarios that could benefit from an order of quiche Lorraine and a bottle of bubbles. To be clear, don’t come here without getting quiche. And sure, you’re in Seattle and not Paris, but Cafe Campagne—with its white-tableclothed sidewalk seating and abundance of French posters—feels pretty close to a European adventure.

North Star Diner & Shanghai Room is the coolest diner in the city. It has gold glittery booth cushions as well as an entire wall dedicated to framed portraits of real astronauts. Most importantly, their breakfast food—particularly the terrific buttermilk pancakes—are some of the best in Seattle. Pair your biscuits and gravy or scrambled egg chimichanga with a Pimm’s cup or Irish coffee, and in the warmer months, trade your view of several dozen space-suited cadets for fresh air on their patio.

Maybe the thought of consuming one more hollandaise-saturated English muffin has you wanting to smash eggs with a baseball bat. Take a deep breath and remember that morning dim sum is a thing. Harbor City is an ID institution where you can gather some friends around a huge circular table, grab some dumplings from the carts being wheeled around, and repeat every time you’d rather not have an American breakfast. We’re fans of the pan-fried chive and shrimp cakes, but Harbor City’s sticky-sweet BBQ buns and oversized potstickers prove that pork is indeed the best brunch meat—even when you exclude bacon and sausage.

This Rainier Beach cafe has the kind of warm energy where you might spark up a conversation with someone reading a Roxanne Gay novel, and suddenly you’re trading family banana bread recipes. Not to mention that the dining room is bursting with great vegetarian and vegan food. There are savory biscuits topped with thick thyme gravy that screams “November.” The vegetable hash is a hodgepodge of whatever’s in season finished off with a drizzle of vibrant herb-infused oil that looks like green watercolor. And if the sit-down brunch you had planned turns into a quick coffee and pastry because life gets busy, that works at Redwing too. Join the groups of cyclists who had the same idea, and grab an orange roll or cayenne mocha. 

By night, Heyday is a neighborhood spot serving burgers, fries, and shakes. But by day (on the weekend, at least), it serves a brunch we’re very much into. You’ll find standard brunch stuff like pancakes and eggs, but the slightly more inventive options are our favorites—try the cornmeal johnnycakes with cheddar and scallions, or the pork belly barley bowl that sounds like a plated yawn but is rich and tasty enough to get out of bed for.

If you feel like ordering Mickey Mouse pancakes and egg foo young for breakfast, Young's comes in handy. This White Center diner serves American classics alongside a full lineup of Chinese and Thai dishes, and it’s perfect for a Sunday morning when no one can agree on what to eat. There’s powdered sugar-topped french toast and omelettes with hash browns. But then there’s also Mongolian beef and crab rangoons. The best thing is hidden in fine print on the menu—the “loco moco style” option on the hamburger steak entree. It’s an extra two dollars, but that’s a small price to pay for greatness in the form of a charred patty over soft white rice and topped with grilled onions, a runny egg, and brown gravy that floods the entire plate.

If Frasier Crane lived in Seattle and was a real person, Lola is definitely where he would eat brunch with Niles and commit some kind of social faux pas. While it’s casual enough for a meal with your friends, it would also be the perfect place to bring your family to meet your new significant other over some Mediterranean breakfast. And if things get awkward, order the cinnamon doughnuts with vanilla bean mascarpone and fruit compote, and shove a whole one directly into your mouth. You can’t say the wrong thing if you’re too busy enjoying pristinely-fried dough holes coated in warm baking spices.

If you have the stamina to put your name on the waitlist and hover around Pike/Pine until a table’s ready at Oddfellows, you’ll be met with charming bistro surroundings and some ridiculously good soft-scrambled eggs swirled with cheese and herbs. It’s served with a big biscuit and tart homemade jam that we’d like to petition to have bottled. And if you’re still sad about Tallulah’s 2019 closure, you can get the same plate-sized pancake topped with honey-whipped ricotta and sour lemon curd.