The best breakfast in NYC

Open in the East Village since 1938, this venerable, 400-square-foot lunch counter long ago passed out of the hands of the Jewish immigrants who established it and is now run by a Polish Catholic and an Egyptian Muslim. Nevertheless, the slim restaurant still serves the kosher dairy dishes it has always been beloved for, such as a rotating selection of excellent hot (mushroom barley, split pea) and cold (borscht, cucumber) soups, and boiled or fried pierogi stuffed with cheese, potatoes or sauerkraut and mushrooms.

No matter the hour, this pint-size Japanese café—which specializes in comfort food like toast with natto or egg, tofu smoothies with matcha and uni spaghetti—has a lot to love.

The Malaysian café is now bigger and (arguably) better with an all-day menu of affordable small plates and snacks like nasi lemak in a new cutesy location down the block.

The pandemic pop-up turned sandwich counter to iconic Williamsburg Jewish food destination is here for your sweet and savory breakfast needs. An ever-changing selection of pastries and deli counter items compliments the full-service menu boasting a Middle Eastern breakfast platter, labneh yogurt parfaits and plenty of seasonal specials to look forward to. The tahini and oat milk frozen cold brew shouldn’t be skipped! 

A sit-down offshoot of Yuji Haraguchi's Kinfolk Studios and Whole Foods counters, the chestnut-walled restaurant specializes in ichi ju san sai—a traditional Japanese meal of one soup and three side dishes—for breakfast and lunch, with options like broccoli rabe shiraae (tofu-and-sesame-dressed salad), roasted Spanish mackerel and miso soup with ramp stalks.

At Buvette, Jody Williams has just enough space to feed her strong neighborhood following. As at Gottino (which still operates a few blocks away without her), the approach is small but exacting. She's filled every nook with old picnic baskets, teapots and silver trays, among other vintage ephemera. Breakfast standouts include a walnut-cranberry toast smeared with honey butter and pure bee pollen. 

Highlighting the nuances of Mexican and Central American cuisine through high-end dishes, the meal remains approachable.  The Noho hot spot is slick but not overly styled: Save for verdant accents and magical-realism decals by artist, Rachel Levit Ruiz. The cooking is simple but feels radical, showcasing a bounty of fresh Mexican and Central American ingredients prepared expertly and made healthyish. 

At this Down Under java joint, Aussie expats Henry Roberts and Giles Russell dedicate a large wall to framed prints from local photographers. Camp out at natural-wood studio tables, where you’ll find room to spread a sketchbook or portfolio amid clay pots of cacti. The flat white is the most well-known of Australian coffees, but the shop’s true darling is the Outback cap. Served alongside chocolate-covered Tim Tam cookies, the espresso is dusted in cocoa powder, which rises to the top of the intricate fern-patterned foam head.

Chef Patch Troffer completely reinvented the menu, focusing for the first time on Japanese-American farm food. For breakfast, that means excellent sour cabbage pancakes and an egg sandwich with pickled chilli mayo.

Inspired by Los Angeles all-day cafes like Gjelina and Sqirl, Gertie is a gorgeous 70-seat spot off the Lorimer L train, that's luncheonette-style dining made for today's scene. 

The dim-sum juggernaut from chef-owners Mak Kwai Pui and Leung Fai Keung—which has five locations in its native Hong Kong and another 39 sites worldwide—became the world’s least-expensive Michelin-starred restaurant when it surprisingly scored a sparkler in 2009 for its freshly made pork buns and translucent shrimp dumplings.

Pilar Cuban Bakery is all about carbo-loading. At the decade-old Pilar Cuban Eatery’s Bed-Stuy sister spot, owner-chef Ricardo Barreras rethinks breakfast with underused-in-NYC Cuban ingredients. 

A breakfast cart worth seeking out, this family-run food truck opens at 6 a.m. on weekdays to dole out egg-centric Mexican breakfasts. Find some of the best breakfast tacos and burritos in the entire city at the northeast corner of 52nd St andPark Ave.

Russ & Daughters has been serving lox, herring and other specialty foods since 1914, and its Super Heebster of horseradish dill cream cheese, wasabi-flavored roe and sublime whitefish-salmon salad form a holy trinity with an unholy name.

At some restaurants, bread is an afterthought—baskets of chalky, uninspired dinner rolls shuffled out with chilled, foil-wrapped butter. This is not that restaurant, and it’s certainly not that bread.At this follow-up to the lauded Philadelphia restaurant, High Street on Market, idea of bread as mere mealtime filler has been obliterated. 

Grab one of Danny Meyer's signature cruellers or an egg sandwich at this essential New York bakery. Keep in mind, each location only has a few seats.

The legendary eatery has relocated from again to the new Essex Market at Essex Crossing, but still churns out kitchen-sink dishes such as pumpkin-pistachio–peanut-butter–cinnamon pancakes and chicken-burrito soup. There are over a hundred options on the menu. More pancake-styles than you've ever even heard of. 

Joining a growing number of restaurants whose chefs left behind their high-end pedigrees in favor of more fun, laid-back takes on comfort food, Sam Yoo has pivoted from Momofuku Ko and Torrisi to debut a greasy spoon of his very own. While the new Two Bridges restaurant is decked out in the leather-covered swivel stools, doily-like curtains and stained-glass lamps of yesteryear, the menu offers all-day eggs, pancakes and other nostalgic classics that are updated with global accents, alongside more plant-based options than is typical of these retrofitted spots.

Rice that’s boiled until it softens to mush, congee is simple to make, but styles and toppings differ from Myanmar to Taiwan and China. Although it’s not hard to find in, say, Flushing, across the city, new Asian-inspired restaurants rarely revisit this traditional breakfast dish. An East Asian general store with bites at the counter, Maya Bed-Stuy may not serve the single best congee in the city, but it’s an entirely noteworthy experience, updated with quinoa, avocado and other good additions you see in fashionable grain bowls.The menu is the result of a sweet collaboration between owner Layla Chen and chef Matthew Tilden, the man behind the beloved SCRATCHbread bakery.

An Upper West Side classic since 1908, this old school Jewish appetizing shop should be a staple in any New Yorker’s morning routine, at least once in a while. Order from an extensive menu of omelets and eggs with smoked fish, cheese blintzes, challah toast and signature platters to share with all the Ashkenazic goods piled high. 

“Smør” means “butter,” which is fitting, as smørrebrøds—open-faced toasts with buttered rye bread—are this shop’s signature.

At this SoCal-inspired café, the lineup can change weekly. Expect colorful plates with equal parts Japanese, South American and Mediterranean influences like a bonito-chili–spiced black-rice bowl loaded with sweet potato and eggplant, and braised chicken in stick-to-your-ribs apricot couscous. In the early hours, start your day with love toast made with housemade tahini, raspberry, mint and honey or Encino man with sweet potatoe, za'atar, bacon, escarole, sunny side egg and alfalfa sprouts.

Is there a more distinctly New York (or at least NYC- beloved) dish than the bagel? Maybe. During morning hours? Absolutely not. The fact is that we do this weekend wakeup must—or afternoon stomach-padder, depending on how last night went—better than anyone. And although Tal Bagels provides by no means the most calming bagel experience in New York—for that, head to High Street on Hudson or Sadelle's—OG New Yorkers know that they're best eaten hunched over on park bench or at a bagelry counter top anyway. And we can't think of a better spot than this.

With locations in Hell’s Kitchen and Astoria, Mom’s is there for you no matter where you wake up. Hangover-busting staples include signature mac and cheese pancakes, a pancake burrito and more hybrid morning creations worth getting out of bed for. 

The beloved Bourke Street Bakery Sydney café, debuted in NoMad with its first-ever New York expansion. Pastries and cakes include lemon curd tarts, carrot cake, ginger crème brûlée, as well as New York-only treats like a PB & J roll. But their savory sausage rolls—lamb and harissa, pork and fennel, as well as a vegetarian-friendly version made with eggplant, chickpea, feta and mint—are what they've come to be known for. 

It’s one of the city’s best bang-for-your-buck and an essential primer to New York dining. With each cheong fun doused in sweet soy sauce, there are few restaurants this comforting. 

A throwback to the artsy East Village of decades past, this 24-hour Ukrainian diner is famous for such authentic savory grub as borscht, kielbasa and pierogi. House-made treats like blintzes, rugelach, poppy-seed bread and wheatberry pudding will send your sweet tooth (or toothless sweetie) to heaven.

This trendy New American restaurant has been a breakfast hotspot since 2009, and serves its signature folded egg sandwich, smoked salmon with lemon caper cream cheese and more until 4pm.