Bebop (formerly the Admiral Bird) is a funktastic West Seattle diner with a flower shop in the back and a rack of neon-pink hoodies in the front. It’s like if a car with too many bumper stickers became a restaurant, and we’re not complaining. The crispy and sometimes eccentric waffles (one variation has Coco Pebbles baked into it, another is called the Kate McKinnon) are satisfying, the bacon is perfectly cooked, and the vibes are family-friendly. Bebop also hosts events like a monthly sober brunch and a silent reading party.

Formerly the much-loved Porkchop & Co, this Ballard shop was reborn as a breakfast spot during the pandemic lockdown era. The perfectly chewy bagels are excellent across the board, with offerings like bagels topped with za’atar and shichimi togarashi (a Japanese chili pepper and spice blend). There are also great bagel sandwich options, like the Nick and Nora, a riff on avocado toast with chili crisp. Beyond bagels, the shop serves satisfying one-pound breakfast burritos with fillings like Oaxacan cheese and guajillo chili salsa, and J Kenji López-Alt-approved biscuit sandwiches. In 2024, Rachel’s expanded into Lake City’s Elliot Bay Brewing.

This little shack-sized joint on Leary Way has a hidden gimmick: All of the ingredients are sourced from places so close that co-founder Sam Thompson, a former professional endurance runner, can jog to them. The biscuit sandwiches here have none of the asceticism associated with long-distance running, however: We love the one with fried chicken, sausage gravy, and sweet onion mustard; another fan favorite is the Che, SBC’s version of a Cuban sandwich. But these biscuits are so good it almost doesn’t matter what you put between them — flaky, warm, with just a hint of sweetness.

Originally the first location of local chain Patty’s Eggnest, this diner changed its name after being sold to Pete and Voula Sideris decades ago. There are Greek items on the menu but you can’t go wrong with the diner classics, like the elegantly light pancakes or the corned beef hash. On the weekends, it fills up fast — everyone wants that Saturday morning diner feeling, and that’s exactly what Pete’s, nee Patty’s, delivers.

When Beth’s Cafe closed (at times seemingly for good) during COVID, it left a 12-egg omelet-sized hole in Seattle’s diner scene. After reopening with limited hours in 2023, Mason Reed (who also co-owns Tim’s Tavern) and Tim Crawley took over ownership in 2024. He made two important changes. First was reinstating the ultra late-night hours that Beth’s reputation has long been focused on (Beth’s is now open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). He also made some subtle but impactful menu improvements. The coffee is now from Seven Coffee Roasters, using more locally sourced ingredients, and more sauces are made from scratch. The ethos is still no-frills, but now there’s more quality to go with the bodacious omelet and all-you-can-eat hash browns quantity. 

Hudson has been slinging southern-inflected breakfasts in this circa-1931 brick roadhouse since 2009, and its atmosphere is understatedly timeless. The horseshoe-shaped bar is the ideal place to sit with an order of some of the city’s best chicken fried steak, which is topped with rare-in-Seattle country gravy (peppery white gravy sans sausage). The shrimp and cheddar grits and the brisket omelet are stars, too. And speaking of rare-in-Seattle, a Monte Cristo might be just the thing if you want something truly old-school. [Heads up: true to its roadhouse form, Hudson is 21+ only]

You come to Mas for the mess. This tiny Fremont spot with a gravel parking lot has two incredible breakfast options: loaded Tex-Mex style burritos with chorizo, potatoes, and all the fixings, and perfect breakfast sandwiches. The sausage sandwich is meaty, slightly sweet thanks to the aioli and huge caramelized onion slice, and has a crunchy green chile in it — the type of sandwich an Egg McMuffin wants to be when it grows up.

This bite-sized restaurant inside Analog Coffee (get it? B-side?) is one of those “hidden gems” that’s hardly hidden — everyone knows about the breakfast sandwich here by now, surely? Ham, Beecher’s cheese, daikon pickles, charred onion aioli, and as the star ingredient, a thin omelet-y slice of egg dotted with scallions. Like much of what B-Side does, it’s casually impressive and shockingly good.

This U District biscuit shop offers the kind of biscuits that breakfast lovers dream of — pillowy interior, crispy exterior, flaky bite. The “fast break,” Morsel’s signature sandwich, is a behemoth stack of eggs, fatty bacon, and cheddar cheese on a biscuit of your choice that’s smeared with earthy tomato jam. You can also opt to grab one of its buttermilk biscuits plain with butter and jam on the side; there’s strawberry balsamic jam, chocolate hazelnut jam, and raspberry jam, among others. Morsel usually has gluten-free biscuits available.

This community-oriented coffee shop across the street from the light rail station is an old-school sort of hangout spot, with local artists on the wall, pop music flowing from the speakers, and a Seattle Public Libraries machine by the door that dispenses short stories. The good vibes come with hearty breakfast sandwiches and an even heartier biscuits and chorizo gravy dish. There are lots of flavored mochas and lattes, but the best drink might be the Cafe Cola, which is Topo Chico, espresso, and chocolate.

This cafe from a pair of Canlis alums, Crystal Chiu and Melissa Johnson, has been impressing Capitol Hill diners with its pastries, many of which are gluten-free. In an elegant glass case in the cafe, creations like smoked black tea shortbread topped with a puffed kamut brittle line up next to classics like galletes filled with seasonal fruit. For something heavier, you can order the egg and cheese sandwich the Seattle Times christened the best in town.

This diner is famous for its French Toast but it’s worth checking out the rest of the menu, which leans on vegetables and herbs more than ordinary traditional meat-and-potatoes diner fare. Whatever you do, get the biscuit — the only possible criticism we could make is that its texture is a bit scone-like, but if there’s a biscuit-scone convergence happening, we are here for it.