Breakfast and Weekend Brunch Spots in Chicago, Illinois

1. Batter & Berries

Batter & Berries is a bright and inviting café that serves a hearty breakfast of creative pancakes, eggy omelets, and other treats along with gourmet sandwiches and lunch fare. Boasting brick flooring and eclectic décor, the quirky café-style eatery offers a relaxed spot to begin the day over sweet classics such as caramel French toast topped with caramel sauce, candied walnuts, and maple butter or chicken-stuffed sweet potato waffles stacked with fried chicken breast and smothered in hot nutmeg sauce and house-made maple butter. The Lincoln Park café is BYOB for mimosas, so take along a bottle of bubbly for fun. 2748 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614-1321, Phone: +1 773-248-7710,

2. Kanela Breakfast Club

If you feel like having something different for breakfast, head to your neighborhood Kanela. They are popping up all over Chicago, introducing Chicagoans to a modern spin on American breakfast favorites together with some Greek-inspired treats. They serve lunch too. Their “clubs” are small and unpretentious but are always packed with happy eaters, buzzing with chatter and the clatter of dishes. The food is local and organic with a delightful Mediterranean flavor.

Try the Goat Cheese Omelette with whipped sun dried tomato pesto, goat cheese, and arugula on toast or Avocado Toast with avocado spread and avocado slices, black and white sesame seeds, pickled red onion, sunflower seeds, kale slaw, red pepper flakes, and vegan tartine.

Kanela Breakfast Club , 502 E Illinois St, Chicago, IL 60611, Phone: 312-380-0071

3. Bongo Room

Located on Milwaukee Avenue, The Bongo Room is a casual café that serves fresh, seasonal breakfast and brunch fare in a relaxed setting. Mornings are started with classics such as breakfast burrito, croissant sandwiches, and vegetarian croissant sandwiches along with a seasonally changing selection of made-to-order pancakes and French toast creations. Other breakfast items range from tomato scrambles and three-egg omelets with a range of fillings to breakfast sandwiches, all accompanied by freshly brewed coffee and tea. The Bongo Room can be found in three locations around the city and is open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, seven days a week. 1470 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60654, Phone 773-489-0690,

4. Breakfast House

Breakfast House is a family-friendly restaurant that offers high-quality homemade food in a casual setting. Located on Grand Avenue and open for breakfast and lunch throughout the week, the restaurant's menu ranges from classic breakfast staples, such as omelets, chicken and waffles, French toast, and cornmeal cakes to new plates with a Latin twist like chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and frittatas. Freshly roasted coffee is provided by Intelligentsia coffee and served in a variety of ways from espresso to macchiato, along with fresh juices and imported teas.

1800 West Grand Avenue (at Wood Street), Chicago, IL 60622, Phone: 312-997-2400,

5. Eggy's Diner

Designed by Karen Herold of the renowned 555 International, Eggy's Diner is a hip neighborhood café in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood that boasts a 1960s “Mayberry” feel. Exuding a contemporary and approachable ambiance, the casual café-style diner features a new age soda fountain and serves all-day breakfast, lunches, family-style dinners, and decadent desserts with a fresh, lighter approach. Focusing on freshness, local ingredient sourcing, and seasonality, the menu features classic breakfast dishes such as egg Benedict, omelets, homemade pancakes as well as biscuits and gravy, pastrami hash, and chicken and waffles. 333 E Benton Place Suite 103, Chicago, IL 60601, Phone: 773-234-3449,

6. Eleven City Diner

Located in the South Loop in a building that was once home to a printing press and then a bank before it became one of the city’s favorite diners, Eleven City Diner is a traditional Jewish deli that serves a variety of deli-style fare in a casual diner setting. Boasting neon lights and the crackle of WWII-era tunes, the diner takes patrons back in time to the 1940s and 1950s with leather-button booths where bowls of matzoh ball soup and latkes can be enjoyed. The deli serves a variety of deli-style fare such as gargantuan gourmet sandwiches, fresh salads, mac and cheese, melts, and Reubens along with drinks from an authentic soda fountain, house-brewed root beer, and floats. 1112 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605, Phone: 312-212-1112,