Breakfast in Grand Rapids

Wolfgang's

Serving Grand Rapids since 1977, this homey Uptown neighborhood restaurant is one of the city’s most cherished breakfast spots. No wonder: the menu is huge, the food is always fresh and the service is friendly. Open daily.

Real Food Café

“Real Food, Made From Scratch” is the calling card at this family-owned eatery, which serves breakfast through 2pm. Locations in Plainfield (northwest GR) and Alger Heights (southeast). Open daily.

Cherie Inn

Another longtime Uptown neighborhood favorite, the Cherie Inn is a European-style café specializing in homemade cuisine – including savory and sweet breakfast dishes, superbly prepared and served with care. Open Wednesday-Sunday.

Lucy's

This from-scratch restaurant in the Creston neighborhood (northeast of downtown GR) sources fresh ingredients from local farms to cook and bake scrumptious breakfast goodies. The menu includes many vegan and gluten-free options, and there’s also a kid’s menu. Open daily. 

The Westsider Café

Located just five minutes west of downtown GR, The Westsider Café offers a range of flavorful breakfast selections, including Polish kielbasa, Hispanic huevos rancheros and an Irish skillet, reflecting the ethnic heritages that helped build the city’s historic West Side. Open Wednesday-Sunday.

The Peppermill Grill

This Rockford restaurant has been nourishing breakfast lovers with rib-sticking goodness since 1997. The expansive (and very affordable) breakfast menu includes kid’s options for ages 12 and under. Breakfast is served through 2pm. Open daily.

Matchbox Diner & Drinks

Breakfast selections at this Uptown eatery include build-your-own omelettes and an assortment of “Brekky Bowls” served on a base of American Fries. Open daily at 7am, with early bird food & drink specials (like a $5 breakfast shot) offered from 7am-8am Monday-Friday.

MudPenny

The daily brunch menu at this “honestly good” restaurant and coffee bar in Ada offers a range of inventive breakfast dishes, including many vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Open daily. A second MudPenny location just five minutes south of downtown GR offers a similar but slightly different menu. Monday-Saturday.

Brown Butter Creperie and Café

Beginning as a food truck in 2015 and opening as a permanent restaurant in in Uptown GR two years later, the Brown Butter Creperie and Café has earned a fervent following for its gourmet sweet and savory French crepes – filled with such treats as Nutella, lemon curd, brie and prosciutto or ham and Swiss cheese – and Belgian waffles. Open Tuesday-Sunday.

Morning Belle

Local chain offers a breakfast/brunch menu that incorporates healthy and indulgent items – from a Glazed Doughnut Waffle to Avocado Toast – plus champagne and cocktails, and a special kids' menu. Three locations: Breton Village (southeast GR), Bridge Street (steps from downtown) and East Beltline (northeast). Open daily.

Bill’s Family Restaurant. Located a bit east of downtown’s Medical Mile, Bill’s is a diner-style restaurant serving breakfast anytime – well, anytime from 6pm-2pm, Monday-Saturday.

Cannonsburg Grist Mill. Breakfast is available all day (6:30am-1:30pm), every day, at this restaurant – which is also a deli, butcher shop, bakery and smokehouse. The exterior looks like an old country store; inside, you’ll enjoy delightful twists on country-style breakfast dishes.

Choo Choo Grill. Locally famous for its hamburgers, the Choo Choo Grill also packs in the patrons for breakfast starting at 7am Monday-Saturday. Be aware that seating is limited to 20 or so people, but you can always get takeout.

Doki’s Meat Market. Comstock Park is the setting for this family-owned business sure to please meat-loving breakfast aficionados. There’s French toast, pancakes, muffins, oatmeal and more for the rest of us. Tuesday-Saturday. 

Evergreen Inn Restaurant. Get a good old-fashioned breakfast, from biscuits and gravy to country omelettes to country fried steak and eggs, at this Rockford family fave. Tuesday-Sunday.

Fat Boy Burgers. 70-year-old burger joint also serves up a menu of mouth-watering breakfast dishes, from eggs benedict and country-fried steak to pancakes and a fried egg sandwich. Tuesday-Sunday.

Gaia House Café. Vegetarian restaurant offers a crowd-pleasing selection of meatless breakfasts, including a Pesto Cheese Omelettte, Veggie Stash and Cornbread French Toast. Open daily.

Graydon’s Crossing. Smoked Salmon Benedict, Ribeye & Mushroom Benedict, Shakshouka and Cheesecake French Toast are just some of the mouthwatering selections on the Saturday and Sunday brunch menu at this global pub.

Logan’s Alley. Open at 7am seven days a week, this neighborhood pub offers a “Brunch & Such” menu available all the way to closing time. Nursing a hangover? Try the Hangover Tots, smothered with cheese, sausage gravy, jalapeno peppers and an over-easy egg.

Ed Dunneback & Girls Farm. Start your weekends off right with breakfast on the farm, served from 9am-11 am Saturdays and Sundays. Selections include breakfast pizzas and mimosas from the farm’s Pink Barrel Cellars.

Morning Star Cafe. You’ll have to go all the way to Grand Haven – 40 minutes from downtown GR – to sample the Southwest-style breakfast dishes at this vibrant café. Local fans say it’s worth the drive! Open daily.

Mr. Burger. The breakfast menu hasn’t changed much since this fast-food restaurant opened its doors in 1967 – which is just what locals love about it. This is the original location on Lake Michigan Dr. (northwest GR) and there are six more around town: 28^th Street, Alpine Avenue, Northland Drive, Kentwood, Wyoming and Hudsonville. Open Monday-Saturday.

Murphy’s Family Restaurant. This Allendale eatery about 20 minutes west of downtown GR is treasured for its homestyle breakfasts, including bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, French toast, omelets and cinnamon rolls. Open Monday-Saturday, with an all-u-can-eat breakfast buffet Saturday morning.

The Nest Egg Café. Another Allendale breakfast spot, The Nest Egg offers a broad menu of from-scratch dishes made with locally sourced ingredients – omelets, pancakes, waffles, crab cakes, veggie has and much more. Monday-Saturday.

Pulaski Days. Not a restaurant but a celebration of Polish Heritage that takes place on an October weekend every year ­­­– and invites the public into historic west-side Polish halls for authentic breakfasts and more. Check out their Facebook page for Sunday breakfast options. 

Sally’s Famous Restaurant and Whatta Pizza. How famous is Sally’s? Enough so that Grand Rapidians make the one-hour drive to White Cloud for the Saturday and Sunday breakfast buffet. Save room for the homemade cinnamon rolls.

The Sovengard. This Scandinavian-style restaurant served a killer brunch on Saturdays and Sundays – and patrons look forward to the same when The Sovengard opens in its new Bridge Street location in summer 2024.

Basalt. “We’re like a diner, but better,” boasts this Uptown neighborhood restaurant, which offers a selection of Tex-Mex inspired breakfast dishes. Open Tuesday-Sunday.

Blacklist Bagels. You’ll have to follow Blacklist’s Facebook page to find out where and when this popup shop will appear next with its scrumptious New York-style bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Days and hours are limited.

Bobcat Bonnie’s. This Breton Village restaurant offers breakfast items on its “brunch & lunch” weekday menu and a full brunch (with cocktails) on Saturday and Sundays.  Regulars rave about the homemade cinnamon rolls.

The Commons. Just outside downtown, tucked into the ground floor of a historic Heritage Hill apartment building, this 70s-themed restaurant serves a weekend brunch that includes some classic throw-back breakfast dishes: pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, skillets and more.

El Globo. An authentic Mexican restaurant located a few blocks from Garfield Park, El Globo serves a breakfast of traditional fare from the Mexican state of Jalisco, including chilaquiles and many huevos dishes. Open Tuesday-Sunday.

Good Truckin’ Diner. Uptown neighborhood eatery serves breakfast all day long. Enjoy hearty pancakes, French toast, omelets, breakfast burritos and tacos, and more from 7am-3pm every day of the week.

Keiser’s Kitchen. Owned and operated by the same family since 1945, this Lowell restaurant offers homestyle cooking at its very best. Steak & eggs, biscuits & gravy, omelets, hash and other breakfast items are available all day. Open 7 days. 

OSKAR Scots. Located in Caledonia, about 20 minutes southeast of GR, OSKAR Scots offers an all-day breakfast menu categorized by what breakfast lovers consider the five basic food groups: bacon, omelets, pancakes, French toast, and biscuits & gravy. Open daily.

The Red Geranium. Two locations -- Gaines Township and Wyoming (southwest GR)-- serve up a variety of American breakfast favorites – omelettes, eggs Benedict, skillets and much more – 7 days a week.

Terra GR. Wood-fired Breakfast Pizza. Smoked Salmon Benedict. A Hair of the Dog Bowl filled with cheddar buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy. The weekend brunch menu at this Uptown restaurant is as inventive as it is delicious.

YoChef’s Café. Many of the breakfast items at this Kentwood café – and there are a lot of them – can be made “Group Size” for sharing at the table. Weekly specials and a kid’s menu add even more fresh-made breakfast choices. Tuesday-Friday.