The Best Breakfast Restaurants in New Orleans

For some, it’s sitting alone with a coffee and pastry at a favorite outdoor cafe, grabbing a well-wrapped breakfast burrito before work, or gathering with friends for a lingering meal accompanied by a breakfast cocktail or two. New Orleans offers a rich array of breakfast spots worth an early-morning roll out of bed, including neighborhood favorites known for local specialties, diners serving American classics, and iconic destinations that will turn any morning into a celebration.

For the purposes of this map, we’re distinguishing breakfast restaurants from coffee shops; here is a guide to New Orleans’s favorite coffee shops. And if it’s brunch you’re seeking, here’s a guide to some delicious options.

These are our top picks for where to enjoy the most important meal of the day in New Orleans. Locations are listed geographically from south to north.

Breakfast is something different to everybody. For some, it’s sitting alone with a coffee and pastry at a favorite outdoor cafe, grabbing a well-wrapped breakfast burrito before work, or gathering with friends for a lingering meal accompanied by a breakfast cocktail or two.

New Orleans offers a rich array of breakfast spots worth an early-morning roll out of bed, including neighborhood favorites known for local specialties, diners serving American classics, and iconic destinations that will turn any morning into a celebration. For the purposes of this map, we’re distinguishing breakfast restaurants from coffee shops; here is a guide to New Orleans’s favorite coffee shops. And if it’s brunch you’re seeking, here’s a guide to some delicious options.

These are our top picks for where to enjoy the most important meal of the day in New Orleans. Locations are listed geographically from south to north.

Cafe Malou

Attached to Octavia Books by an ingenious set of revolving bookshelves, this lovely breakfast and lunch café Uptown is a beacon of hospitality and charm. Owner Mani Dawes lives in the Uptown neighborhood and brings a world of experience to the table.

Baked eggs anchor the menu, from the classic with thick cut bacon and toast to the wildly popular baked grits a la carbonara. There are open-faced toasts including the Well Dressed Shrimp adorned with cukes and creme fraiche and a croque me somethin’ mister made with country ham and raclette cheese.

Open every day 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Slim Goodies Diner

Magazine Street’s quirky, always-slammed diner is known for their Slammer options, a hangover helper made with hashbrowns and scrambles of various sorts (eggs, chili, tofu, and more).

The sink hole three-egg omelet packed with tons of meat, cheese, and vegetables is a local favorite.

Molly’s Rise and Shine

This breakfast sister restaurant to the always buzzing Turkey and the Wolf is not to be missed — Molly’s offers a similarly unexpected approach to breakfast.

Dishes range from an on-brand Grand Slam McMuffin (sage pork sausage, hashbrowns, onions, American cheese), to less expected options, like the carrot yogurt, a light and refreshing bowl of yogurt, granola, fruit, carrot marmalade, herbs, and lemon zest. Both are customer favorites that have stayed on the menu, but expect swaps and specials here.

Bearcat Cafe

This friendly neighborhood Uptown cafe celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, pioneering what was back then a rare vegan-friendly menu for breakfast and lunch. It’s since expanded to another location downtown and Bearcat Baked for pastries on Julia.

Non-vegans will find plenty to enjoy, including dishes like the Cat Day, a build of fried chicken, sunny side egg, and crawfish cream sauce on a biscuit. Vegan options include a tofu scramble, and a Vegan Ranchero made with black beans and cashew crema.

There’s reliably a line on weekends.

Surrey's Café & Juice Bar

A favorite for breakfast and brunch, this funky little gem was serving specialty juices before it became popular. Surrey’s Cafe makes a mean migas and Costa Rican breakfast, though lots of New Orleans flavor can be found on the menu.

The house-made corned beef hash is a must. Open Thursday through Monday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. expect a small line on weekends.

Please-U Restaurant

This well-worn breakfast joint lives up to its name, earning a loyal following for straightforward platters of filling fare, served well into the afternoon.

Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day but Sunday.

Cafe Porche & Snowbar

This cozy cafe known for super-thick, fluffy French toast topped with fruit combines two New Orleans pastimes: breakfast and sno-balls. It’s only open on weekends, making it a hot ticket, but a visit to this spot is a memorable one defined by both quality and warm service.

Breakfast classics come with the choice of bacon or smoked sausage, and there are cocktails too. Vegan red beans are always on the menu.

Two Chicks Cafe

If you’re staying or working near the Convention Center, Two Chicks should be a regular destination for breakfast or lunch.

And if you’re not, it’s well worth the detour anyway. It’s a sunny, spacious spot serving up a simple but high-quality menu of sweet and savory crepes, omelets, eggs Benedict, pancakes, parfaits, healthy juices, and bloody Marys.

There’s also a second location in the CBD.

The Camellia Grill

This iconic Uptown greasy spoon, which opened in 1946, is known for waits out the door and traditional diner fare. That includes a huge breakfast menu with omelets every kind of way, as well as coconut cream pie, overstuffed po’ boys, and cheeseburgers.

The inside of this legendary Carrollton Avenue diner has a counter with seating that winds through the restaurant.

Commerce Restaurant

There’s one solid bet for a local breakfast in the heart of the Central Business District, and that’s Majoria’s Commerce, a classic daytime diner that’s been in the same Sicilian immigrant family for more than 50 years. It’s a true mom-and-pop spot, serving Southern morning-time specialties with a Cajun influence all day.There’s a full bar, too.

Jimmy J’s Cafe

This under-the-radar French Quarter gem is locally owned, with a kitchen that doesn’t disappoint. Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day but Tuesday, this funky cafe serves a range of eggs Benedict (including pork chops with garlic pepper cream sauce), flavored French toast, and breakfast bowls built atop fried potatoes or grits.

Breakfast burritos too. Quarters are tight but cute — there might be a wait.

Mena’s Palace

Another French Quarter breakfast go-to has been around since the 1950s at the corner of Chartres and Iberville. Try a shrimp Creole omelet, a ham and egg sandwich on French bread, grits with tasso, or an excellent beignet.

The lunch menu includes Creole dishes like red beans and rice along with salads, pasta, and fried seafood platters and po’ boys. Typically open Thursday through Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Brennan's

What a treat, a French Quarter white tablecloth restaurant open at 9 a.m. for breakfast. Brennan’s has been setting the morning bar high since 1926, celebrating its 80th birthday this year.

The Creole menu includes eggs Hussarde, eggs Sardou, ricotta pancakes, and so much more. Please don’t forget to order a brandy milk punch. There’s an $80 prix fixe menu as well as a la carte service.

Stanley of New Orleans

Breakfast is served from 8 a.m. through the afternoon Thursday through Monday at this creative French Quarter gem off Jackson Square. Chef and owner Scott Boswell makes an eggs Benedict with fried oysters, house-made boudin, and Velveeta croquettes, pancakes served with Louisiana cane syrup, and omelets sandwiched into a po’ boy.

Say yes to bacon and cheese grits.

French Toast

Cara and Evan Benson have grown their cafe portfolio to include three locations of Toast, along with Tartine Uptown and the gluten free bakery and cafe Hen House in Gretna.

From French Toast on Decatur in the Quarter to the popular locations by the Fairgrounds and on the West Bank, Toast offers its namesake topped with the likes of prosciutto, honey, and herbed ricotta, and savory crepes along with egg sandwiches, French toast, and omelets.

Wakin’ Bakin’

Cozy French Quarter charmer Wakin’ Bakin’ cranks out incredible breakfast options every day from biscuits and gravy to numerous morning sandwiches and a queso burrito (get it with gravy) starting at 7 a.m.

Elizabeth’s

Home of praline bacon and some of the best bloody Marys in town, this Bywater breakfast icon does morning comfort food right — from fried chicken livers and eggs to breakfast po’ boys. It also serves breakfast calas, a New Orleans specialty of deep-fried rice balls.

Elizabeth’s is open from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, and there’s generally a wait on the weekends.

Casamiro

James Beard-nominated chef Ana Castro and her sister Lydia Castro opened Casamiro in April, a Mexican breakfast and lunch cafe in Bywater, a short stroll from their highly-lauded restaurant Acamaya.

Casimiro serves the traditional foods of the sisters’ childhood in Mexico City, from chilaquiles in red or green salsa, tamales, house-made tortillas, and charro beans, brothy pinto beans flavored with smoked meat like local andouille sausage. Open Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ruby Slipper

Ruby Slipper cafe cofounder and New Orleans native Jennifer Weishaupt opened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and now the breakfast and lunch spot has grown to more than 35 locations across Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The local original spots remain wildly popular, with locations including Marigny, French Quarter, CBD and Uptown.

Expect well executed Southern classics including beignets, fried green tomatoes, biscuits and gravy, and an entire menu of Benedicts. Great drinks too.

Who Dat Cafe

Who Dat Cafe is a quaint locals’ joint on a pretty Marigny corner that serves a wonderful breakfast Thursday through Monday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Here find perfectly cooked eggs, friendly service, and excellent coffee alongside omelets named Da Mandeville and Da Cajun, soft shell crab eggs Benedict, and specials like blueberry croissant French Toast and crab pie.

It’s all pretty much as good as breakfast gets, and the setting is spiced up by plenty of Dr. Bob art.

Up & Adam Eatz

This Mid City restaurant doubles as a brunch spot and coffee shop. A menu of Louisiana classics features fried catfish and grits, loaded omelets, and chicken biscuits, best paired with a cold glass of orange juice or a strong espresso.

If you’re in a hurry, there’s also a grab-and-go coffee window. Breakfast cocktail specials are common.

Biscuits & Buns on Banks

A huge menu of breakfast options at this Mid City spot includes classics and specials, from hearty servings of fruit-covered French toast to house-made fried andouille hash cakes. The biscuits at Biscuits & Buns really are outstanding.

Oh, and that wafflewich is a mighty fine riff on a breakfast sandwich. There’s a Lower Garden location too at 1133 Margaret Place.

Pagoda Cafe

Perhaps the top breakfast taco destination in town, this beloved 7th Ward stand makes theirs with potatoes, egg, and cheese on a Mawi tortilla — with either house-refried beans, bacon, turkey bacon, or tofu — best enjoyed served with house-made green hot sauce.

• Order delivery from Grubhub
• 1430 N Dorgenois St # 7, New Orleans, LA, 70119, US
• (504) 644-4178
• Visit website

Buttermilk Drop Bakery

Buttermilk Drop Bakery isn’t just a bakery.

It’s been a Treme favorite for more than 15 years now, best known for its buttermilk drop — a crispy fried treat that’s a donut hole’s cooler cousin. But the local fave also serves a succinct menu of affordable breakfast items to a nonstop line of regulars.

Expect the straightforward classics: grits, hash browns, omelets, meats, and pancakes, usually packed to go in a Styrofoam clam shell.

Russell’s Marina Grill

Lakeview’s stalwart diner institution has been legendary for breakfast and bloody Marys for more than 40 years.

The endless breakfast options are completely satisfying, from fried chicken and waffles to a slew of egg specialties. Try the restaurant’s staple, the Egg Saints #33 with a grilled biscuit, alligator sausage, grilled tomatoes, poached eggs, and house-made country gravy.

And save room for the pies. This place is crazy busy — figure in time to find a parking spot and wait on line most weekends.

Crack’d Brunch

Actor, comedian, musician, and NPR Le Show host Harry Shearer is crazy about breakfast. And his favorite spot in his adopted hometown is Crack’d on Sophie B.

Wright. He calls it one of the best breakfast places anywhere, with “killer eggs, amazing duck bacon, equally amazing lamb sausage, a lovely room, and a lovely crowd.” In other words, Crack’d turns breakfast up to 11.