A good breakfast place tells you a lot about a town. These ten, all in our directory, cover very different mornings, and we note where details such as hours or menus were not available.
Best Cafe & Bar, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Best Cafe & Bar has served visitors to Hot Springs National Park since 1933, and its building has been restored to its original look. Breakfast goes beyond the basics: crème brûlée French toast with molasses butter and macerated berries, eggs Benedict with shaved country ham and homemade biscuits and gravy. Hours are listed as Wednesday to Monday from 7 AM to 2 PM, with an evening service you should confirm by phone.
Sunliner Diner, Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sunliner Diner runs a 1950s-style room with breakfast all day. The Avocado Benedict, candied bacon and a Banana Split Shake are the items people mention most.
Snow City Cafe, Anchorage, Alaska
Snow City Cafe has served downtown Anchorage since 1998. The Kodiak Benedict uses a king crab cake, and the Tundra Scramble mixes eggs with reindeer sausage, peppers, mushrooms and cheddar. Baked goods are made from scratch.
Bread & Butter Cafe, Tucson, Arizona
Bread & Butter Cafe makes biscuits, bread and cinnamon rolls from scratch and keeps about 15 pie flavors by the slice, including Prickly Pear Meringue.
Three Bear's Cafe, Heber-Overgaard, Arizona
Three Bear's Cafe is a family-owned cafe on AZ-260 where the breakfast pot pie is a favorite and pancake flavors change by month or season, with peach, lemon curd and caramel apple as examples.
The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis, Tennessee
The Arcade Restaurant opened in 1919 and is the oldest restaurant in Memphis. Breakfast is served all day, and the sweet potato pancakes are the dish that put it on the map.
Yosemite Falls Café, Clovis, California
Yosemite Falls Café on Shaw Avenue is a big, family-friendly cafe with a very wide menu. Omelettes are made with three eggs and come with hashbrowns, country potatoes, diced apples or fruit and toast. Mexican-style breakfast plates and traditional favorites are also listed.
Cafe 431, Phenix City, Alabama
Cafe 431 is a coffee shop and cafe near the Georgia border that opens early, from 6:30 AM to 1:45 PM, and appears near the top of local breakfast lists. A detailed menu was not available when we wrote the page, so call (334) 291-1250 or check its social media for the day's offerings.
Ruth's Cafe, Birmingham, Alabama
Ruth's Cafe is a Black-owned breakfast and brunch cafe in North Birmingham known for hearty home-style plates, with turkey wings and oxtails often mentioned alongside dressing and yams. It is closed on Mondays. Reviews are mixed, and one directory shows a different address, so confirm the location before you go.
Cafe Bassam, San Diego, California
Cafe Bassam is a coffee and tea house on Fifth Avenue, described as the oldest coffeehouse in San Diego, with antiques and vintage rifles on the walls. The menu is light, with panini, soups, a cheese plate and baklava, and nobody rushes you.
How to choose
- Sweet breakfast: Best Cafe & Bar, Sunliner Diner, Three Bear's Cafe.
- Something local: Snow City's reindeer sausage, Arcade's sweet potato pancakes.
- A place to linger: Cafe Bassam.
- Pie for breakfast: Bread & Butter Cafe.
Hours, menus and prices change. Each restaurant page lists the phone number we have; call ahead before a long drive, especially on holidays.