Best Breakfasts in Dallas

If restaurant meals in Dallas were a family, brunch would be the youngest sibling — the one who gets all the attention. Breakfast, on the other hand, is the responsible oldest sibling, getting up early and doing all the chores.

It’s time to prove we love all our children equally and tell you how proud we are of the breakfast options in Dallas. A few months ago, we told you about the best places to get barbecue for breakfast. Just over six months ago, we gave you our top breakfast sandwich suggestions.

That’s just the start when it comes to standout morning meals around town. First off, we have a whole set of overachievers that serve breakfast all day.

Get an Ol’ Number 7 or fluffy pancakes at any Norma’s Cafe or get cheese blintzes or lox and eggs at three locations of Cindi’s New York Delicatessen till 8 p.m. At Ellen’s, you can eat pancake pot pie or shrimp and grits any time they’re open, and the same goes for the pumpkin pancakes and the piled-high chicken, bacon and waffles at Maple Leaf Diner.

For this list, though, we looked for places that reward early risers. At 10 of the best restaurants for breakfast in Dallas, you can get biscuits or power bowls at sunrise or French toast and bacon at a more leisurely hour. But don’t show up looking for breakfast for dinner. At these places, if you snooze, you lose, at least where breakfast food is concerned.

AllGood Cafe

2934 Main St. (Deep Ellum) Breakfast served 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Of course, you can get AllGood’s celebrated chicken-fried steak on a breakfast plate with eggs and a breakfast 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 the Deep Ellum staple. And who wouldn’t want to start the day in a place that tells you everything’s all good?

Bread Winners

3301 McKinney Ave. (Uptown); 5560 W. Lovers Lane (North Dallas); 8687 N. Central Expressway (NorthPark Center); 4021 Preston Road, Plano. Hours vary by location
Last week, Bread Winners celebrated its 27-year anniversary, and they’ve been honored as the best brunch location many times over the years. But we call it breakfast when you can eat it at 8 a.m. on a weekday.

From the French Ham Benedict to the Farmhouse Scramble, options and serving sizes are plentiful. We’ve told you their cinnamon rolls are delicious as are all the baked goods. The best breakfasts here start with brunch tots or bakery treats like pigs in a blanket or homemade muffins for the table.

Bubba's Cooks Country

6617 Hillcrest Ave. (Park Cities). Breakfast served 6:30 to 11 a.m. daily
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 their drive-thru, and we can't blame them, just bring your coffee along as the line can really stack up.

Caffè Lavazza at Eataly

Eataly, NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central Expressway, Suite 2172 (North Dallas). Open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Breakfast served until noon.
If you want to feel like you’re breakfasting in Italy, check out Caffè Lavazza on the first floor of Eataly. Start your day with a made-to-order traditional cappuccino and nibble on Italian cornettos (croissants) or other breakfast pastries for a light breakfast.

For heartier appetites, try a breakfast sandwich on those cornettos. The Cornetto Uova e Pancetta is made with egg and pancetta while the Cornetto Buongi has pancetta, egg and cheese.

Crickles and Co.

4000 Cedar Springs Road, Suite E (Oak Lawn). Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The website for this popular brunch spot in Oak Lawn says breakfast is their favorite meal of the day, so you can get it any time the place is open. Of course 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 Crickle’s Sandwich is made with cream cheese and a pork sausage patty on toasted raisin bread. Both are served with cheesy skillet potatoes.

Dream Cafe, Uptown

2811 McKinney Ave. (Uptown). Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
For more than 30 years, Dream Cafe served some of the best breakfasts in Dallas in its comfy spot in The Quadrangle. With the restaurant now settled into new digs a few blocks away, the breakfasts and brunches you love continue.

Healthy oatmeal and granola bowls lead off while popovers, beignets and avocado toast take care of your deeper carb cravings. A vegan breakfast satisfies with scrambled tofu, salsa, corn tortilla strips, soy cheese, pico de gallo and guacamole served with wheat tortillas and black beans and brown rice on the side.

Other options include Norwegian smoked salmon on the New Yorker, grilled rib-eye on the British steak and eggs and over-easy eggs, Jack cheese and ancho and tomatillo salsas on the huevos rancheros.

Jonathon's Diner

1619 N. Beckley Ave. (North Oak Cliff). Open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday - Sunday.
While Jonathon's Oak Cliff is a frequent answer to "Where should we get brunch?” Jonathon's Diner opens a bit earlier and offers the same delicious menu. 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.

Mama's Daughters' Diner

2014 Irving Blvd. (Design District) and additional locations in Irving, Plano, Lewisville and Forney. Dallas location is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Hours vary at other 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 $8.75 with sausage or bacon and $9.50 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 $5.50 on the No. 2 Mama’s Daughters Special. It’s just a dollar more with bacon or sausage.

The Market at Bonton Farms

6907 Bexar St. (Southeast Dallas). Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday
We can all feel good about the work urban farm Bonton Farms is doing to create jobs and bring healthy options to a food desert. You can also feel good about breakfast at The Market at Bonton Farms because it’s made with fresh foods from the farms and local partners.

Farm eggs, smoked sausage and red pepper gravy flavor sweet potato hash, while avocado toast gets taken to a new level with goat cheese, herbs and pickled carrots on grilled sourdough. Real men can order quiche here since it’s called egg pie, so ask about the weekly flavor.

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery

8041 Walnut Hill Lane (The Hill), 3211 Oak Lawn Ave. (Oak Lawn) plus locations in Addison and Fort worth. Open 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Don’t hit the snooze button if you want to say yes to lavender latte and strawberry shortcake pancakes at Snooze. These are just two of the summer menu items available for a limited time.

This popular spot makes eating breakfast cool with unique twists on traditional breakfast served up in a mid-century modern time warp. Vegetable lovers can load up the Spuds Deluxe (hash browns covered with eggs, melted cheeses and scallions) with meats, faux meats, seafood or more veggies.

The Snooze Breakfast Burrito is the have-it-your-way of breakfasts; it’s a flour tortilla filled with cage-free scrambled eggs, hash browns, house black beans, cheddar and Jack cheeses and topped with pico de gallo and your choice of green chile or ranchero salsa. Enhancements you can add include barbacoa or chorizo, avocado or mushrooms, tofu or Soyrizo and more.