MIAGuide
The 10 Best Breakfast Spots In Miami
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
Whether you’ve accidentally stayed out all night at a club that never closes or are faking a sick day and want something beyond cereal, it's nice to have a handy list of reliably great breakfast spots. And that's exactly what this guide is for. Some of these Miami restaurants are dedicated exclusively to breakfast and some just do the early morning meal justice. These are our favorite breakfasts in Miami.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
If you’re in the mood for a breakfast that involves bread, Caracas always makes sense. The MiMo cafe can get busy on the weekends, but we have never regretted waiting for their excellent mushroom toast. The Venezuelan bakery works well for any and all laidback breakfast plans—and has a takeout-only location in Doral if you happen to be closer to that and want the best cachitos in town.
Chug’s is a great mix of vintage and modern. It has the DNA of a classic diner, but serves food that's exciting and interesting. The interior has a familiar diner aesthetic, with booths, counter seating, and laminated menus you can flip through on each table. The food is the main reason you come here, though. It’s a great call for a quick coffee and pastelitos, but also works if you want to eat like a bear preparing for hibernation. If you’re trying to do the latter, make sure to get the excellent cast iron pancake or La Completa, a hefty plate of three eggs, potatoes, and Cuban toast.
This MiMo food-truck-turned-bagel-shop makes the best bagels in Miami (and the occasional rogue baked good, like rugelach or knishes). Just know it’s pretty much all takeout and you have to order on the early side because they sell out a lot (especially on weekends). You can pick from around eight bagel sandwiches. We’re partial to the King Guava, a salty/savory work of bagel art that includes guava jam, crispy potato sticks, and a fried egg. El Bagel has two locations: one in MiMo and another in Coconut Grove. Both are near parks where you can have a bagel picnic (Legion Park or Morningside Park in MiMo and Peacock Park or Kennedy Park in Coconut Grove).
Jimmy’s is a classic, and one of our absolute favorite diners in Miami. It does all the things a great diner is supposed to do. There are leather booths that suck you in like quicksand and counter seating where you can comfortably dine solo and chug coffee. You can get an order of eggs with hash browns and sausage links for under $10, then come back for lunch and grab a patty melt on rye. But dinner isn’t an option at Jimmy’s—it closes around 4pm—even though they shot that dinner scene in Moonlight here.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Zak can be a bit nuts during busy season, but we still firmly believe the Kosher bakery is worth braving even the winter Wynwood crowd. Inside Zak’s hospital-white walls, there’s a rotating cast of croissants, danishes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and traditional Jewish baked goods like boureka and babka. And prepare for delicious dishes between various forms of bread—like an outstanding salmon Reuben or BLT croissant made with salmon bacon. The restaurant is open every day except Saturdays for Shabbat, and they take reservations too.
As long as it’s not Sunday—the one day a week this classic Cuban restaurant is closed—Enriqueta’s is a great breakfast option. Breakfast specials (like eggs with a protein, Cuban toast, and cafe con leche) are well under $10. There's also a novela of big sandwiches. We generally go with the pan con bistec or the croqueta preparada, which is basically just a Cubano with croquetas stuffed inside.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
MLK is a Liberty City classic with a steady stream of regulars who all seem to be on a first-name basis with the staff. The menu leans Southern soul food with a little bit of a Caribbean seafood influence. Anything on the menu with the word “fried” in it is the move—especially the fried fish options. The wings and waffles are also really good. This is a big takeout spot, but there are tables inside in case you want to eat there.
It’s not a gallery and they don’t sell donuts. It’s a narrow breakfast spot with low vinyl stools that overlook a griddle—and it’s also been a Key Biscayne institution since 1972. The walls are covered in photos of Key locals, and the counter’s footrest has indented footprints from regulars. Service is fast and friendly, the pancakes are fluffy, and the coffee is strong. But you can’t go to the Donut Gallery without ordering the Ted’s special. It’s an open-faced sandwich with ham, bacon, tomato slices, American cheese, and two fried eggs on an English muffin.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
Jackson Soul Food is a classic Miami spot and an Overtown institution. As the name implies, they’re known for soul food, and they’ve got a big selection of simple breakfast dishes like eggs and sausage, pancakes, and some breakfast sandwiches. But one of the best things you can get here is their fried catfish, which works just fantastically as a breakfast dish, especially if you get a couple of eggs and bacon on the side.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
Stadium Diner is a Miami Gardens diner that gets its name due to its proximity to Hard Rock Stadium. So keep it in mind if you’re looking for somewhere to eat before or after a Dolphins game. But it’s also just a great diner. Service is quick, the menu will take you 90 minutes to read, and the interior is pure nostalgia, with walls covered in old-school Miami sports memorabilia. There’s counter seating for solo diners and bouncy booths for bigger groups. We like the lunch items a bit more than the breakfast dishes—particularly the patty melt—although they do make the best diner pancakes we’ve had in Miami.