Lakeview’s diner institution, Russell’s, has been legendary for breakfast and bloody Mary’s for most of its 25-year run. The breakfast options are absolutely top-notch, 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 homemade country gravy, and save room for the housemade pies.

It was rough times without Pagoda Cafe breakfast tacos during the pandemic, but the beloved 7th ward stand is back and better than ever. Arguably the top breakfast taco destination in town, here they’re made with potatoes, egg, and cheese on a Mawi tortilla — with either house-refried beans, bacon, turkey bacon, or tofu — and served with green hot sauce. 

Cozy Mid City charmer Wakin’ Bakin’ cranks out incredible breakfast options everyday from biscuits and gravy to numerous morning sandwiches and a queso burrito (get it with gravy) starting at 7 a.m. It also serves fresh baked bread and offers neighborhood delivery — even for breakfast! Open Thursday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Chef Shermond Esteen Jr. won’t divulge the secret to his fluffy French toast, fragrant with cinnamon — ask and he’ll just give you a slow smile and nod his head. That’s turkey sausage on the plate; no pork is served at this friendly Claiborne Avenue spot, which also dishes steak and eggs, shrimp and grits, and an all day menu of sandwiches, salads, and platters. Nonno’s serves Esteen’s homemade pastries sometimes too.

Who Dat Cafe is a fine locals’ joint on a quiet Marigny corner that serves the wonderful meal of breakfast Friday through Tuesday 7 a.m. until 3 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.

Britten and David Carboni moved their breakfast and lunch eatery from the CBD to the Marigny once the pandemic kept all the office workers at home. Louise took over the Cake Cafe spot and locals have embraced the newcomer, enjoying the likes of breakfast burritos, veggie bagels and shrimp and grits.

Breakfast “geaux cups” are a thing at this homespun Bywater charmer, coffee cups filled with the likes of shrimp and grits or biscuits and hot sausage gravy. All the pastries at Bywater Bakery are outstanding, as are the savory hand pies in flavors like gumbo and crawfish étouffée. Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day but Wednesday. Sidewalk music on the weekends is lovely.

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 Thursday through Monday and there’s generally a wait on the weekends.

Good lucking finding another French Quarter white tablecloth restaurant open at 9 a.m. for breakfast. Brennan’s has been doing it up for more than 70 years, and its Creole menu includes eggs Hussarde, eggs Sardou, ricotta pancakes, and so much more. Please don’t forget to order a brandy milk punch. Serving Thursday through Sunday, with courtyard tables available.

This iconic Uptown greasy spoon, which opened in 1946, is known for waits out the door and a slew of diner-fare including omelets, grilled pecan pie, the orange Julius, and cheeseburgers. The inside of this legendary Carrollton Avenue diner has a counter with seating that winds through the restaurant. Camellia Grill is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. so breakfast can be for dinner too.

This well-worn breakfast joint lives up to its name, earning a loyal following for straightforward platters of rib-sticking fare. Expect reliably good breakfasts that don’t break the bank, served all day. Open most days at 7 a.m.; closed Sundays.

The Trolley Stop Cafe is a classic breakfast joint, a family-friendly, St. Charles Avenue streetcar-themed landmark that offers old-school menus and vibes. It was the subject of a Gordon Ramsey 24 Hours to Hell and Back revamp in 2019, which seems to have resulted in some solid improvements, and it serves an expansive, extremely reasonably-priced breakfast menu from 7 am. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday.

In its heyday, the Silver Whistle Cafe in the Pontchartrain Hotel on bustling St. Charles Avenue was the place for power brokers to do deals over coffee and eggs. The renovation of the Pontchartrain also brought back the cafe’s giant, other-worldly blueberry muffins and other standouts like the egg and arugula sandwich on a croissant, the breakfast po’boy, and the creamy, decadent grits and the hash browns fried in duck fat. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m.

Megan Forman’s wonderful bake shops knock breakfast out of the park with egg sandwiches, house-made granola, and house-cured salmon bagels with lemon-caper cream cheese. Besides amazing baked goods, Gracious serves the likes of a warm cheddar and green onion biscuit breakfast sandwich with cured ham and a perfectly cooked egg. Another swell option is egg, pepper jack, pulled pork, cilantro chimichurri sauce on a flaky laminated biscuit. Three locations open for 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and at 8 a.m. on the weekends. The Prytania Street location has ample space and seating, and an expanded menu.

This follow-up to nationally buzzed-about Turkey and the Wolf offers similarly unexpected, playful, and delicious offerings. Molly’s is focused on breakfast rather than the lunch and sandwich menu at its sister restaurant, with dishes ranging from an English muffin breakfast sandwich (pork patties, hashbrown, onions, American cheese, and ketchup), to a deviled egg tostada (cotija whipped egg mousse, refried beans, cilantro, lime, red onion, pickled peppers, spicy peanut salsa), to collard greens and grits. Open Thursday through Monday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Magazine Street’s quirky, always-slammed diner is known for their Slammer options, a hangover-helper made with hashbrowns and scrambles of various sort (eggs, chili, tofu, etc.). Slim Goodie’s also offers “slammers” for the starving, huge portions of breakfast goodness.