4 Best Breakfasts in the Bay Area


Starting the day off right requires a proper breakfast, and there’s no better place to find the best breakfasts than in the Bay Area. From award-winning restaurants and bakeries to little-known mom-and-pop establishments, there’s early-morning gold right around the corner.

Bouchon Bakery

Thomas Keller’s Yountville Bouchon Bakery makes exceptional breads and pastries that are known the world over. Nicholas Bonamico, the bakery’s pastry chef, also makes croissants, pain au chocolat, muffins, cakes, tarts, cookies and breakfast items that are meant to savor. The breakfast menu contains items like ham, cheese and egg croissants; ham and Gruyere sandwiches; almond croissants; sticky buns and maple pecan scones.

Hole in the Wall Restaurant

The Hole in the Wall Restaurant in Sebastopol is a no-frills establishment with wooden chairs and tables and a few sparse photographs of the local seaside. True to its name, the Hole in the Wall is difficult to find because it’s hidden away in the corner of a retail mall. Chef Adam Beer runs the place and has experience working at the French Garden and The Village Bakery. The breakfast menu at Hole in the Wall includes simple comfort food like short rib hash, biscuits with mushroom gravy and a New Orleans scramble. Customers also rave about the Dutch baby, a German pancake that’s topped with apples and caramelized sugar.


Plow began as a small neighborhood breakfast joint in Portero Hill, but now there are regular lines out the door. The building is small, and Plow doesn’t take reservations or seat parties with more than six people, but small parties willing to wait will be greatly rewarded with an exceptional breakfast. The philosophy behind Plow is to create a space where friends and family can spend time together around high-quality California fare. The breakfast menu includes items like almond flour, pumpkin and lemon ricotta pancakes; French toast; Dungeness crab scrambles; breakfast sandwiches and egg dishes.


Mama’s in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood has been serving breakfast for over 50 years. Breakfast is served at Mama’s Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The casual family restaurant is bright with yellow walls and flowers on every table. Mama’s breakfasts are always made to order, and each comes with homemade jam. The breakfast menu includes dishes like omelets, Benedicts, French toast, pancakes, scrambles and other egg dishes. The weekend breakfast menu also includes Dungeness crab omelets.

SF Insider