There has never been a better time to eat breakfast at St. Louis restaurants — even if you don’t typically wake up at the crack of dawn. The past few years have seen a boom of new options for bagels and biscuits, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, pancakes and French toast.
As I continue my research for next year’s 10th-anniversary edition of the STL 100, I sought out the best breakfast dishes across the metro area right now. I had intended to name the 10 best, but my travels demanded a longer list of 20 can’t-miss dishes. A couple of notes: • I focused on restaurants where breakfast dishes are available whenever the restaurant is open.
In other words, I didn’t consider weekend-only brunches at restaurants that mainly serve lunch and/or dinner. • I did not include doughnuts or other individual pastries in this list. My choices aren’t strictly savory (hence the pancakes and French toast), but I did concentrate on full meals.
• As always, the availability and price of each dish is subject to change. Here, in alphabetical order by restaurant, are the 20 best breakfast dishes in St. Louis right now.
The DeLox Sandwich at Bagel Union Remember St. Louis’ Year of the Bagel? It was just last year, actually. Bagel Union in Webster Groves, from the team behind the great Union Loafers, has become so indispensable since its January 2023 debut that it feels like an institution.
You don’t need much more than a bagel and a schmear here, though for the full Bagel Union experience I’m going to order the DeLox sandwich on an everything bagel with lox, cream cheese and accents equally expected (dill, red onion, capers) and brilliant (lemon oil). WHERE: 8705 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves MORE INFO: 314-320-7556; bagel-union.com HOW MUCH: The DeLox sandwich is $13 closed and $19 open-faced.
The Prosciutto Sandwich at Baked and Boiled Bagels Baked and Boiled Bagels opened its storefront last year in Soulard, part of the aforementioned Year of the Bagel in St. Louis, though owner Alex Pifer was already making a name for her proper water bagels thanks to pop-ups and the Tower Grove Farmers Market. Like the two other bagel shops on this list, Baked and Boiled can delight you with nothing more than a fresh, chewy bagel (with or without cream cheese), but for a sensational breakfast (or lunch) sandwich, the shop pairs Volpi prosciutto with a tangy, subtly sweet goat cheese-fig spread on your choice of bagel.
WHERE: 1801 South Ninth Street MORE INFO: 314-5717-9017; bakedboiled.com HOW MUCH: The prosciutto bagel sandwich is $10. Biscuits and gravy at the Biscuit Joint I have already mentioned St.
Louis’ bagel boom, but the rising number of great biscuits in the area is just as compelling. Leading the way is the Biscuit Joint in Midtown, where chef Elliott Brown crafts buttery, golden-brown biscuits transcendent whether on their own, sandwiching egg and sausage or smothered in gravy. Brown has cooked at some of St.
Louis’ best restaurants, which is especially apparent with those gravies: hearty pork sausage, schmaltzy roasted-chicken with paprika oil and elegant mushroom with a breeze of fresh sage. WHERE: 2649 Washington Avenue MORE INFO: 314-769-9434; Instagram.com/biscuitjoint HOW MUCH: An order of biscuits and gravy costs $8 for one biscuit, $14 for two.
Eggs benedict at Bowood by Niche Does anything say “restaurant brunch” more than eggs benedict? Bowood by Niche in the Central West End invigorates the dish with two different swanky upgrades to the duo of poached eggs and hollandaise. The restaurant’s classic eggs benedict substitutes prosciutto for the Canadian bacon and toasted sourdough for the English muffin. The Maryland Crab Benedict omits bread entirely and sets the poached eggs atop meaty crab cakes and smothers it all in a ticklishly spicy Cajun hollandaise.
Both versions belong on this list. WHERE: 4605 Olive Street MORE INFO: 314-454-6868; bowoodbyniche.com HOW MUCH: The eggs benedict with prosciutto is $19.
The Maryland Crab Benedict is $25. The BBQ Breakfast Burrito at Clara B’s Kitchen Table I considered telling you to order anything for breakfast at Clara B’s Kitchen Table — and you can’t go wrong at Jodie Ferguson’s remarkable food truck and Belleville restaurant (inside LongStory Coffee). But to understand what has made Ferguson’s Southern fare a mainstay of my STL 100, order her BBQ breakfast burrito.
This is packed nearly to bursting with smoky, tender beef brisket that can hold its own against St. Louis’ best barbecue joints, with gently cooked eggs, ideally tender potatoes (not a given when it comes to breakfast burritos), red onion, cheese and barbecue sauce. WHERE: 732 South Illinois Street, Belleville MORE INFO: 618-416-1812; clarabskitchentable.
com HOW MUCH: The BBQ Breakfast Burrito is $15. Stone-ground grits at the Clover and the Bee Like its sibling Webster Groves restaurants Olive + Oak and O+O Pizza, the Clover and the Bee finds the sweet spot of elegance and everyday appeal. Among the options from its counter-service breakfast menu is a subtly swanky take on grits that also nods to shakshuka.
The grits themselves are luscious with the cheddar cheese folded into them, and the Clover and the Bee tops this with two perfect poached eggs — their runny yolks turns the grits even more luscious — and a rustic tomato sauce. WHERE: 100 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves MORE INFO: 314-942-1216; thecloverandthebee.com HOW MUCH: The stone ground grits costs $15.
Empanadas at Coffeestamp Brothers Patrick and Spencer Clapp opened their cafe Coffeestamp in the summer of 2020 in Fox Park. Pandemic headwinds notwithstanding, Coffeestamp earned a following for its coffee and its Central and South American-inspired fare. (It has even opened a outpost at Washington University.
) Savory empanadas are the standout dish. The golden-brown hand pies make for a terrific breakfast, whether they are a traditional morning dish like the baleada (scrambled eggs with red baked beans, cotija cheese and fried plantains) or a straightforward combination of ham and cheese. WHERE: 2511 South Jefferson Avenue MORE INFO: 314-797-8113; coffeestamp.
com HOW MUCH: Empanadas are $4.75 each. Hand pies at Damn Fine Hand Pies Remember what I wrote earlier about this list not including doughnuts? Repeat that to yourself as a mantra as I describe the new Shaw cafe Damn Fine Hand Pies , where Madeline Hissong and Gene Bailey do turn out exceptional doughnuts.
Today, we’re here to talk hand pies, more specifically the savory hand pies: dill cream cheese (with everything-bagel seasoning on the crust), or sausage and gravy. The star of any Damn Fine hand pie is the crust itself. Hissong uses laminated dough, and the flaky, buttery crust crackles just like a croissant as you eat it.
WHERE: 4000 Shaw Boulevard MORE INFO: Instagram.com/damnfinehandpies HOW MUCH: The hand pies are $11 each. The huevos con chorizo burrito at El Jarocho The huevos con chorizo burrito at El Jarocho , a taqueria and Mexican grocery store in Manchester, is the Platonic ideal of the breakfast burrito.
There are four essential components, two of which are in the name: fluffy egg and a generous portion of peppery chorizo. The rice and beans don’t merely fill out the plump burrito; both are tender and subtly seasoned. For heat, drizzle your burrito with El Jarocho’s fearsome salsa rojo or habanero salsa.
Good news for late risers: El Jarocho’s breakfast burritos are available all day. WHERE: 25 Stonegate Center, Manchester MORE INFO: 636-226-4448; eljarochotaqueria.com HOW MUCH: The huevos con chorizo burrito is $8.
75. The slinger at Fleur STL I’ve lived in St. Louis for more than 20 years now without developing much love for slingers.
If only Tim Eagan had opened Fleur STL sooner. At Eagan’s brilliant reinvention of the old Eat-Rite space just south of downtown, the slinger begins with the same quarter-pound prime-beef patty that stars in the diner’s top-notch double cheeseburger. The usual slinger components — egg, chili, cheese, potatoes — are in perfect proportion to the patty.
The crowning touch is a nest of fried onion “hay” that crunches in every bite. It looks fancy. It eats like what it is: the best slinger in town.
WHERE: 622 Chouteau Avenue MORE INFO: fleurstl5.godaddysites.com HOW MUCH: The slinger is $16.
Pancakes at Grand Pied Tony Collida has made the same pancake recipe at restaurants for years, including currently at his Grand Pied in Tower Grove South. He freely gives the recipe’s source: “The Joy of Cooking.” I’m not going to try to replicate it at home.
Collida’s buttermilk pancakes attain the ethereal eggy texture of a souffle, while their golden-brown surfaces remain crisp slathered with seasonal fruit jam, butter and housemade whipped cream. I’d call these grown-up pancakes, but Grand Pied’s pancakes for kids are the same, just with the toppings on the side. WHERE: 3137 Morganford Road MORE INFO: grandpied.
com HOW MUCH: The plate of three pancakes is $15. The sausage, egg and cheese biscuit at Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats The honey-glazed buttermilk biscuit at Meredith and Michael Shadwick’s Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats in Kirkwood is a towering specimen on its own. Stack a sausage patty, egg and cheese on a halved Honey Bee’s biscuit, and you have one of St.
Louis’ most overwhelming — and best — breakfast sandwiches. Honey Bee’s basic sausage, egg and cheese biscuit is impressive enough, but the recent Whole Hog Smashie sandwich special ascends to an even higher realm thanks to a sausage made from heritage-breed pork cured, seasoned and ground in-house. WHERE: 200 North Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood MORE INFO: 314-650-0762; honeybeesbg.
com HOW MUCH: The standard bacon, egg and cheese biscuit is $10. The Whole Hog Smashie is $14. French toast at June’s Breakfast + Patio After returning to the metro area from San Francisco, Liz and Jon Welzbacher thought the old house at the summit of Shiloh Station Road would be ideal for a community gathering place.
The charming vibes of June’s Breakfast + Patio make it a compelling destination for the community and beyond. A compact breakfast menu includes a fine breakfast sandwich with pork sausage, egg, cheese and both whole-grain mustard and garlic mayonnaise, but I’m going to advocate for the French toast as well, thick brioche slices that retain their form in a cinnamon-sugar custard topped with a seasonal fruit compote (strawberries when I visited a few months ago). WHERE: 430 South Main Street, Shiloh MORE INFO: junesinshiloh.
com HOW MUCH: The French toast is $13. The I WANT IT ALL sandwich at Lefty’s Bagels Lefty’s Bagels , which brothers-in-law Scott “Lefty” Lefton and Doug Goldenberg opened last year in Chesterfield,embraces the traditional role of the bagel in Jewish culture. It packs an impressive amount of that culture into a single sandwich, the appropriately named I WANT IT ALL.
(The capital letters are merited.) Between halves of one of its lovely glossy, chewy bagels, Lefty’s layers your choice of corned beef or pastrami, egg, sauteed onions and, yes, a potato latke. WHERE: 13359 Olive Boulevard, Chesterfield MORE INFO: 314-275-0959; leftysbagels.
com HOW MUCH: The I WANT IT ALL sandwich is $12.75. Norwegian pancakes at Milque Toast Pancakes make fewer appearances on this list than you might expect.
As much as I like them, few examples — see Grand Pied above — exceed the ordinary. And even very good pancakes can be too heavy. Consider instead the Norwegian-style pancakes at Colleen Clawson’s cozy Milque Toast in Benton Park.
These resemble crepes more than traditional American flapjacks, though they have enough substance you don’t need to roll them around an elaborate filling. Clawson sensibly tops them with a fruit preparation (e.g.
apple compote or blueberry coulis) and yogurt. WHERE: 2924 South Jefferson Avenue MORE INFO: 314-833-0085; milquetoastbar.net HOW MUCH: The Norwegian pancakes cost $16.
The Almost Made It to Nashville sandwich at the Shack The Shack has grown tremendously from its humble (and long closed) original home near St. Louis University to a breakfast-lunch empire with multiple locations in the metro area and Kansas City. The menu offers more breakfast options than anywhere else on this list, but I seek out the Shack for the Almost Made It to Nashville, which sandwiches crisp, moderately spicy Nashville hot chicken with tangy comeback sauce and pickles on a buttermilk biscuit.
This is a very good breakfast (or lunch, for that matter) sandwich to begin with, but an add an egg to take it to the next level. (For the record, I omit the pickles when I add an egg.) WHERE: Multiple locations, including 13645 Big Bend Road, Valley Park MORE INFO: 636-529-1600; eatatshack.
com HOW MUCH: The Almost Made It to Nashville is $12.99. Adding an egg costs $1.
49. The sesame-seed bialy with lox at Songbird A controversial, if hedged statement: the exceptional breakfast sandwich at Songbird (egg, cheese and optional bacon with honey and sea salt), the sandwich that built a fan base at the Tower Grove Famers Market years before the cafe opened in Forest Park Southeast, might not be my favorite dish here. To be clear, I love the Classic sandwich.
But I love Songbird’s sesame-seed bialy (sort of like a bagel, though not boiled, and lacking the bagel’s hole) with silky house-cured Scottish salmon lox, cream cheese, capers, pickled onion and a sieved egg maybe a skosh more. My heart is big enough for both. WHERE: 4476 Chouteau Avenue MORE INFO: 314-781-4344; songbirdstl.
com HOW MUCH: The sesame-seed bialy with lox is $15. Carne adovada and barbacoa at Southwest Diner A focus on the food of New Mexico and the broader Southwest has always set Jonathan Jones and Anna Sidel’s Southwest Diner apart. Your choices are so numerous and compelling that here I am going to recommend a meat rather than a dish — or, rather, meats.
Southwest Diner offers two meat options that further distinguishes the restaurant, the dusky red-chile spice of carne adovada (pork shoulder) and the fork-tender succulence of barbacoa. Either makes a perfect accompaniment to the restaurant’s signature egg dish, Jonathan’s Famous Fiery Scramble, and carne adovada is also available as its own plate with two eggs your way, home fries and tortillas. WHERE: 6803 Southwest Avenue MORE INFO: 314-260-7244; southwestdinerstl.
com HOW MUCH: Jonathan’s Famous Fiery Scramble is $10.50; the carne adovada plate is $12.25.
The Breakfast Sendvic at Telva at the Ridge Telva at the Ridge , the new Webster Groves café from Loryn and Edo Nalic and the Balkan Treat Box team, is a blockbuster, and it would probably still be a hit if it only served its Breakfast Sendvic, the clubhouse favorite for my favorite single dish (breakfast or otherwise) of 2024. The bread is as vital as another restaurant’s bagels or biscuits, a miniature version of Balkan Treat Box’s wood-fired somun. This smoky, char-spotted bread cradles nothing more than the essentials: egg, cheese and, if you like, beef bacon or the Bosnian beef sausage sudzuka.
The Sendvic itself is essential. WHERE: 60 North Gore Avenue A, Webster Groves MORE INFO: 314-395-2760; telvastl.com HOW MUCH: The Breakfast Sendvic is $11 with beef bacon or sausage, $9 without.
The breakfast burrito at Yolklore Since 2016, Yolklore in Crestwood has become a breakfast go-to thanks to chef Mary Hancock's thoughtful approach to classic breakfast fare. (Keep an eye out for her elegant Nest Egg, an original signature dish that is now an occasional weekend special.) Yolklore’s breakfast burrito is a terrific example of how to put your own stamp on a dish without overdoing it, with subtle tweaks (chorizo made in house with turkey, a jalapeño-ranch sauce as accent) alongside its scrambled eggs and tender potatoes.
Yolklore even stocks frozen breakfast burritos so you can take some home. WHERE: 8958 Watson Road, Crestwood MORE INFO: 314-270-8538; yolklore.com HOW MUCH: The breakfast burrito is $10.
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