Ascension Coffee
Multiple LocationsSometimes places make you choose between a good breakfast and good coffee. Ascension gives you both. Their all-day menu has a roster of breakfast gold. How do you choose between the Aussie bacon and egg roll, steak hash or brunch burger with house pickles and spicy ranch? If you’re there on a weekend, there’s crab cake Benedict and churro French toast tossed into the mix. They always have something interesting or exciting going on when it comes to the coffee menus, like the doki sunrise, a Kyoto-style cold brew made with orange juice, cardamom and sparkling water. Dallas hasn’t caught quite up to this new coffee trend, but Ascension sure has.AllGood Cafe
2934 Main St. (Deep Ellum) You can get AllGood’s celebrated chicken-fried steak on a breakfast plate with eggs and a side, but the all-day cafe also does a great job with Tex-Mex breakfasts like borracho biscuits and South Austin migas. Pancakes, omelets, egg sandwiches and breakfast tacos complete the breakfast menu. Comfort food first thing in the morning tastes even better in the familiar comfortable surroundings of this Deep Ellum favorite.Bread Winners
Multiple Locations Bread Winners has been a Dallas winner for three decades. The options and serving sizes are plentiful — from the French Ham Benedict to the Farmhouse Scramble. The best breakfasts here start with brunch tots or bakery treats like pigs in a blanket or homemade muffins for the table. Be sure to indulge in a cinnamon roll.Breakfast Brothers
Arlington and Dallas locationsBreakfast Brothers is loved for its well-seasoned Southern breakfast dishes and flair — like the catfish and grits dish with two tender strips of fish with a side of gravy, two eggs and Texas toast. The red velvet waffles are popular, as are the pancakes, which have those delicate crispy edges (more pancakes need crispy edges). Be sure to use the "Join Waitlist" link on the website (for either location), as lines can get quite long on the weekends. Bubba's Cooks Country
6617 Hillcrest Ave. (Park Cities)If your definition of breakfast includes biscuits, there’s no better place to rise and shine than Bubba’s Cooks Country. Add grits or hash browns to bacon and egg breakfasts, or just go for pancakes. People love the drive-thru, and we can't blame them. Just take your coffee along, as the line can really stack up.Cindi's New York Deli
Multiple Locations
Cindi's has been around for decades, and it's no wonder. This old-school New York deli and diner serves breakfast all day. The pastrami omelet is popular, as are the German pancakes (thin crepes topped with lemon butter and powdered sugar). Cheese blintzes and latkes are also fun international options. Salmon is flown in weekly from Nova Scotia for the lox. There's so much here that the hardest part is deciding what to get: so go with a group and order lots to share.Chubby's
11331 E. Northwest Highway and 7474 S. Cockrell Hill RoadChubby's has been known for its friendly service and gluttonous breakfast options since it opened in 1987. You definitely want to start with a stack of the Famous Banana Nut Pancakes served with warm maple syrup. Go ahead and follow that up with a massive steak-topped omelet. The reasonable prices won't ruin your morning, but the serving sizes might.Crickles and Co.
4000 Cedar Springs Road (Oak Lawn) Crickles and Co.'s website says breakfast is their favorite meal of the day, so you can get it whenever the place is open. You’ll go there for pies, cakes and cookies, but don’t miss out on special breakfast dishes like the Very Berry Waffle, specialty omelets or egg tacos. A Texas Cackleberry Sandwich has dollops of house-made spicy pimento cheese on eggs and applewood bacon stacked on jalapeño toast. The Crickles Sandwich is made with cream cheese and a pork sausage patty on toasted raisin bread.
Jonathon's Diner
1619 N. Beckley Ave. (North Oak Cliff) and 5337 Forest Lane Jonathon's Diner is a breakfast institution. Danger Dogs (pancake-battered turkey sausage links) are a long-time favorite, and the fried chicken and waffles might be the best in town. Other choices range from a simple two-egg breakfast to the All in One Waffle with bacon baked inside and scrambled eggs, pork sausage, caramelized onions, green chiles and cheddar on top.La Nueva Fresh & Hot
9625 Webb Chapel RoadWhen a breakfast skillet just won’t do, a cheesy breakfast burrito on a house-made tortilla definitely will. La Nueva Fresh & Hot is a restaurant and tortilleria that serves killer breakfast tacos and burritos, among other Mexican favorites. If a burrito isn’t your thing, they also have chilaquiles, migas and huevos rancheros that all come out of their kitchen piping hot. Weekend mornings render long lines, but having patience is worth every bit of food that comes out of the kitchen. The green salsa here is a force of its own, and luckily, they sell it by tub. Mama's Daughters' Diner
Multiple Locations Sometimes an old-fashioned breakfast hits the spot, and Mama's Daughters' Diner has been slinging made-from-scratch breakfast for more than 60 years. Both the vibe and the prices feel retro, with the Mama’s No. 3 priced at just $10.25 with sausage or bacon and $12.25 with ham. It’s a breakfast for the hungry with two eggs, a choice of grits or hash browns, plus homemade biscuits and gravy. French toast and pancake lovers can get their favorite morning starter with two eggs for $6.75 on the No. 2 Mama’s Daughters' Special.Maple Leaf Diner
12817 Preston Road We don’t know when Canada got their hands on American breakfast, but they proved our predispositions wrong at Maple Leaf Diner. Their chicken bacon and waffles were featured in Paula Deen’s magazine, the steak waffle on Food Network’s Incredible Edible America and many other of their most popular menu items have a cameo somewhere on Food Network. They serve Canadian staples, American favorites (including diner food) and freshly baked pies. Sounds like next weekend’s plans, eh?Oddfellows
316 W. Seventh St. (Bishop Arts) What do a brisket hash, duck bacon sandwich and prosciutto bagel have in common? They’re all heavy hitters on Oddfellow's daytime menu. It has the perfect mix of breakfast and lunch, including freshly squeezed juice and homemade lemonade. Picky? Don’t worry. The a la carte classics, two for $9 pancakes and OG eggs have you covered. They have deviled eggs, too.Original Market Diner
4434 Harry Hines Blvd. We love the old diner vibes and hospitality at Original Market Diner, built in 1954 as a classic drive-in. We also don't mind the Express For Less Menu on Mondays through Fridays with big plates of comfort food at very friendly pricing (between $8 and $11). The place closes at 3 p.m. daily but opens at 6 a.m., when real people eat breakfast. Fun fact: they serve wine and beer and have homemade desserts. Be sure to check out the daily specials.Tribal All-Day Cafe
263 N Bishop Ave.We don’t usually partake in cashew cheese or plant milk; however, we admire Tribal All-Day Cafe’s commitment to healthy (mostly) plant-based breakfast offerings. House-made macadamia ricotta is the star of their biscuit board for the table. Breakfast tacos, burritos, and a classic breakfast with local sourdough toast are where they don’t shy away from eggs and dairy. Most of the menu can be made completely custom with their long list of extras and sides like walnut and mushroom “sausage”, lox and vegan cashew queso. Best of all, the coffee’s great too.
The coffee cups at Xaman Cafe are part of the mystique at this spot along Jefferson Boulevard.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
