clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
Breakfast dishes on a table
A spread at Fox Run Café.
Hard Knoch PR

21 Breakfasts in Denver Worth Waking Up For

From scrambles and skillets to Armenian and Japanese pastries

View as Map
A spread at Fox Run Café.
| Hard Knoch PR

Maybe it’s because they’re rising at the crack of dawn to go hiking or hit the slopes; maybe they’re facing rush hour en route to the DTC or navigating the endless construction on I-70 to get to the airport on time. Or maybe it’s just because they’ve got the wake-and-bake munchies. Whatever the reason, Denverites sure do love a hearty breakfast. So bring on the Benedicts, burritos, bagels, and bloodies: These 21 daytime destinations, organized from north to south, make a meal worth getting out of bed for.

Note: While this map touches on brunch spots and bakeries, readers interested in those categories will find much more to their liking here and here. In addition, they’ll want to keep their eyes peeled for chef Carrie Baird’s much-anticipated Fox & The Hen, slated to open in April.

Have another favorite? Send us a tip.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; the latest data about the delta variant indicates that it may pose a low-to-moderate risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Sunny's

Copy Link

This Sunnyside nook is a bit of an open secret among its neighbors for its warm and friendly vibe as well as its creative takes on morning fare. Roasted-veggie latkes, for instance, are drizzled with scallion sour cream alongside eggs any style; the Aji Benedict comes with homemade chorizo on Peruvian-style potato cakes; and the BELT sandwich substitutes coffee-cured pork belly for bacon while throwing eggs, pickles, and cherry-pepper sauce into the bargain.

Eggs, chorizo, tomato, avocado, and Boursin stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches
The Good Night at Sunny’s features eggs, chorizo, tomato, avocado, and Boursin stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
Ruth Tobias

Sassafras American Eatery

Copy Link

Against a quaint Victorian backdrop, this Southern fixture strikes a nifty balance between the down-home and the extravagant in dishes like eggs Benedict with fried green tomatoes, goat cheese, and jalapeño cornbread; the breakfast mac and cheese with bacon, sausage, and a poached egg; and fried chicken and waffles with both duck-fat gravy and bourbon-pecan syrup. Equally elaborate spiked coffee drinks and Bloody Marys start the day off right.

The chicken fried eggs and buffalo hash with free-range buffalo smoked over pecan wood, six-minute eggs, and jalapeno cornbread all topped with a Fresno chili Hollandaise at Sassafras.
Bison hash and chicken-fried eggs at Sassafras.
Jonathan Phillips

The Bindery

Copy Link

Tuesday through Friday, this all-day LoHi favorite begins breakfast service at 8 a.m., when staples like brown butter–blueberry pancakes; duck–sweet potato hash; and avocado toast with beet hummus, goat cheese, and pistachio za’atar are supplemented by all manner of baked goods from the market. Weekend brunch, meanwhile, also starts at a relatively early 8 a.m. with an even more elaborate menu featuring the likes of ham-and-cheese Dutch babies with mustard gelato and the Hestan, a three-egg cheese omelet with black beans, plantains, shishito peppers, and poblano-cilantro charmoula.

Veggie hash with a sunny egg and quinoa
Seasonal hash at The Bindery.
Ruth Tobias

HashTAG

Copy Link

Bubbly yellow decor sets the mood for a morning feast that, by all accounts, must start with the cast-iron cinnamon roll. Balance it out with the relatively healthful hangover pho or smoked salmon–avocado toast. Or, go for the gusto and get the French’wich (bacon, ham, and cheddar on French toast with syrup and powdered sugar) or the Tijuana Benedict with adobo pork shoulder and chipotle Hollandaise. Either way, a cocktail like the Fro J with vodka, OJ, Sunny D, and Galliano will help it go down easy.

Overhead shot of several breakfast plates and drinks
A spread at HashTAG.
Rachel Adams Photography

Stowaway Kitchen

Copy Link

This cozy, artsy RiNo cafe gathers inspiration from all over the world — Japan, the Eastern Mediterranean, Colorado farms — to build a menu that’s as eclectic as could be. Think black rice–banana porridge with mango and passion fruit; sourdough waffles with pineapple, pandan jelly, and ube panna cotta; and mushroom–herb hummus tartine with pomegranate and pistachio za’atar, plus daily baked goods like blueberry-blackberry scones with Earl Grey frosting and saffron-honey doughnuts with orange-blossom custard.

Mushroom tartine with a poached egg and beet hummus
A seasonal dish of mushroom tartine with a poached egg and beet hummus at Stowaway Kitchen.
Ruth Tobias

The Original

Copy Link

Airy, cheery, and packed on weekends — especially during its monthly drag brunch, the Saturday Serve — this Rally Hotel joint serves Instagram-worthy concoctions like doughnut sliders, “breakfast dogs” (pancake-battered sausages), and a humdinger of a breakfast burrito. Meanwhile, there’s no hunger that the chicken-fried steak with eggs and potatoes can’t appease.

Five breakfast dishes on a table
A spread at The Original, aka The OG.
Sage Restaurant Concepts

Rosenberg's Bagels & Delicatessen

Copy Link

At this Five Points fixture — which also has a branch in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace — lox, sable, sturgeon, schmears, and all the fixings make the most of bagels that are themselves made with water whose mineral content replicates that of New York; the same goes for sandwich combos like the Jersey Boy with Taylor ham, fried eggs, American cheese, and ketchup or the Heebster with whitefish salad, wasabi-flavored roe, and scallion cream cheese.

Bagel with gravlax, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, and capers
The Standard with gravlax, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, and capers at Rosenberg’s.
Ruth Tobias

Café Miriam

Copy Link

This charming little French-inspired cafe at the edge of City Park is known for crêpes both savory and sweet: The Royale with Cheese contains prosciutto, Brie, fig jam, and balsamic vinegar, for instance, while the Dulce de Leche combines its namesake ingredient with Nutella, caramel, and French vanilla ice cream. Pastries, croissant sandwiches, hot chocolate, and a full espresso bar also await.

Crêpe with powdered sugar and a cappuccino
Savory and sweet crêpes dominate the daytime menu at Café Miriam.
Café Miriam

Onefold

Copy Link

Duck-confit congee and fried rice with lap cheong and eggs on the one hand, breakfast tacos on homemade tortillas and loco moco on the other, plus Vietnamese coffee and Screwdrivers to wash it all down: That’s Onefold in an East-West nutshell. Long waits have been a given at the tiny Uptown flagship since it opened; in response, the owners debuted a more spacious Union Station satellite a couple of years back.

Savory rice porridge with egg
Onefold’s signature congee.
Ruth Tobias

La Machaca de Mi Amá

Copy Link

The enormous menu at this all-day Mexican joint in Aurora covers all the basics — burritos, chilaquiles, menudo — but its highlights hail from the owners’ home state of Sinaloa, so start with a plate of huevos scrambled with machaca (dried beef) or chilorio (pork in chile sauce) to get a true feel for the place.

Eggs scrambled with beef on a plate with refried beans and fried potatoes
Se hizo la machaca at La Machaca de Mi Amá.
Ruth Tobias

Denver Biscuit Co.

Copy Link

Anything with fried chicken is a sure bet at this homegrown chain — and it’s even better alongside an oatmeal stout–infused Bloody Mary or breakfast sangria. Waits are inevitable, but the Instagram shots of towering biscuit sandwiches make the time well spent. (For other locations, click here.)

Biscuit sandwich with a sausage patty, a fried egg, apple butter, and maple syrup
The Dahlia comes with a sausage patty, a fried egg, apple butter, and maple syrup.
From The Hip Photo

Fox Run Cafe

Copy Link

No gimmicks, no fuss — just skilled and thoughtful cooking at this East Colfax daytime darling. Not a detail goes overlooked, be it the honey butter accompanying the griddled banana bread, the peanut dukkah on the avocado toast, or the juicy carnitas gracing the breakfast sandwich. The waitstaff is equally attentive amid the bustle, too.

Fox Run’s lemon-ricotta pancakes with mixed-berry jam, brown sugar–oat streusel, and maple butter on a wooden table with orange juice, coffee, and an assortment of other breakfast dishes.
Fox Run’s lemon-ricotta pancakes with mixed-berry jam, brown sugar–oat streusel, and maple butter.
Hard Knoch PR

El Taco de México

Copy Link

Three words: chile relleno burritos. They’re the ultimate hangover cure at this beloved taqueria, which also serves up huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, and more from 7 a.m. onward.

Burrito stuffed with rice, beans, and a chile rellno
El Taco de Mexico’s famous chile relleno burrito.
Ruth Tobias

Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

Copy Link

While proliferating around the West, this local chain has become a hall-of-famer on the Denver daytime-dining scene. The pineapple upside-down pancakes, breakfast pot pie, and Bella! Bella! Benny with prosciutto, cream cheese hollandaise, and balsamic glaze count among the most famous signatures on its extensive menu, but seasonal and daily specials keep regulars’ interest (as does an array of Bloodies and coffee cocktails).

A close-up of a plate of pancakes with butter and syrup next to a cup of coffee at Snooze
Snooze built its regional empire on pancakes.
Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

Moxie Eatery

Copy Link

It’s all about the egg sandwiches at this cute little Baker counter: Served on English muffins, the creative combos range from the Lamb I Am with lamb sausage, feta, red onion, and cumin yogurt to the Breakfast Torta with sharp cheddar, black beans, avocado, and pico de gallo.

Two different egg sandwiches on English muffins
Moxie Eatery’s Breakfast Torta (front) and Lamb I Am sandwiches.
Ruth Tobias

Olive & Finch

Copy Link

Like its snug Uptown sibling, this sunny, more spacious Cherry Creek cafe has perfected the art of fast-casual breakfast, turning out skillet hashes, tartines, composed plates like shakshuka and huevos rancheros, and sandwiches like the Broseph — combining scrambled eggs, pastrami, Swiss, caramelized onions, jalapeños, and horseradish aioli on a brioche bun — with aplomb all day long. The display case, meanwhile, is chock-full of muffins, croissants, sticky buns, and more (including tarts and cakes for those who live by the credo “life is short, eat dessert first thing in the morning”); downtown denizens can also stock up on those sweet and savory pastries along with drinks from the coffee bar at the new Little Finch.

Olive & Finch’s housemade pop tarts
Olive & Finch’s housemade pop tarts.
Olive & Finch

El Borrego Negro at Re:Vision

Copy Link

And now for something completely different: In preparation for his Sunday morning pop-up, chef Jose Avila sources meat from a local sheep ranch and tends overnight to the outdoor pit that yields his extraordinary barbacoa (a weekend breakfast tradition in parts of Mexico). Then he sells it by the pound with all the fixings — tortillas, onions, cilantro, green and red salsa, lime wedges, and, best of all, bone broth with chickpeas — for a feast unlike any in town. Follow him on Instagram for details and prepare to show up at 9 a.m. sharp.

Takeout barbacoa accompanied by consommé, tortillas, onions, cilantro, and green and red salsa
El Borrego Negro’s barbacoa by the pound comes with consommé, tortillas, onions, cilantro, green and red salsa, and horchata.
Ruth Tobias

Zaidy's Deli & Bakery

Copy Link

This local institution issues happy, hearty wake-up calls in the form of latkes with sour cream and applesauce; cheese blintzes topped with fruit compote; challah French toast with caramelized bananas; Reuben-inspired omelets with corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing; and much more — all with a free side of nostalgia for old-school deli culture.

An onion bagel with whitefish salad at Zaidy’s
An onion bagel with whitefish salad at Zaidy’s.
Ruth Tobias

In a picture-perfect space on Old South Pearl, this vegetarian-friendly cafe conjures the modern Southwest through its menu as well as its decor. Among its bestsellers is the giant, slaw-topped farmer’s burrito stuffed with scrambled tofu, hash browns, green chile, and more; other top hits include the lox-and-egg wrap with spiced, mashed avocado and cashew crema and the chilaquiles with housemade chips. Pair it all with the creamy café de olla (or a guava mimosa for kicks).

Enchiladas in bean sauce with coffee drink
Enfrijoladas with café de olla at Hoja.
Ruth Tobias

Tokyo Premium Bakery

Copy Link

Just down the street from Hoja, this Japanese bakery-cafe has earned itself a huge cult following with a delightful selection of treats both sweet and savory accompanied by matcha lattes. Among the latter, popular items include bacon-and-egg tarts, sausage rolls, and beef-curry buns; in the former category are red-bean doughnuts, Earl Grey–flavored croissants, and the prettiest fruit danishes around. Lines out the door aren’t unheard of, so come early.

Bacon-stuffed French bread with a matcha latte
Bacon pain d’epi and a matcha latte at Tokyo Premium Bakery.
Josie Sexton

House of Bread

Copy Link

This lovely Armenian bakery-cafe is a must-visit for the ajarski alone: A bread boat filled with eggs, feta, and, optionally, the cured beef called basturma, it’s a bang-up way to start the day. But there’s so much more to try, including pastries like ponchik, custard- or jam-stuffed doughnuts; luscious coffee drinks seal the deal.

Bread boat filled with egg and cheese center
House of Bread’s ajarski.
Ruth Tobias

Sunny's

This Sunnyside nook is a bit of an open secret among its neighbors for its warm and friendly vibe as well as its creative takes on morning fare. Roasted-veggie latkes, for instance, are drizzled with scallion sour cream alongside eggs any style; the Aji Benedict comes with homemade chorizo on Peruvian-style potato cakes; and the BELT sandwich substitutes coffee-cured pork belly for bacon while throwing eggs, pickles, and cherry-pepper sauce into the bargain.

Eggs, chorizo, tomato, avocado, and Boursin stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches
The Good Night at Sunny’s features eggs, chorizo, tomato, avocado, and Boursin stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
Ruth Tobias

Sassafras American Eatery

Against a quaint Victorian backdrop, this Southern fixture strikes a nifty balance between the down-home and the extravagant in dishes like eggs Benedict with fried green tomatoes, goat cheese, and jalapeño cornbread; the breakfast mac and cheese with bacon, sausage, and a poached egg; and fried chicken and waffles with both duck-fat gravy and bourbon-pecan syrup. Equally elaborate spiked coffee drinks and Bloody Marys start the day off right.

The chicken fried eggs and buffalo hash with free-range buffalo smoked over pecan wood, six-minute eggs, and jalapeno cornbread all topped with a Fresno chili Hollandaise at Sassafras.
Bison hash and chicken-fried eggs at Sassafras.
Jonathan Phillips

The Bindery

Tuesday through Friday, this all-day LoHi favorite begins breakfast service at 8 a.m., when staples like brown butter–blueberry pancakes; duck–sweet potato hash; and avocado toast with beet hummus, goat cheese, and pistachio za’atar are supplemented by all manner of baked goods from the market. Weekend brunch, meanwhile, also starts at a relatively early 8 a.m. with an even more elaborate menu featuring the likes of ham-and-cheese Dutch babies with mustard gelato and the Hestan, a three-egg cheese omelet with black beans, plantains, shishito peppers, and poblano-cilantro charmoula.

Veggie hash with a sunny egg and quinoa
Seasonal hash at The Bindery.
Ruth Tobias

HashTAG

Bubbly yellow decor sets the mood for a morning feast that, by all accounts, must start with the cast-iron cinnamon roll. Balance it out with the relatively healthful hangover pho or smoked salmon–avocado toast. Or, go for the gusto and get the French’wich (bacon, ham, and cheddar on French toast with syrup and powdered sugar) or the Tijuana Benedict with adobo pork shoulder and chipotle Hollandaise. Either way, a cocktail like the Fro J with vodka, OJ, Sunny D, and Galliano will help it go down easy.

Overhead shot of several breakfast plates and drinks
A spread at HashTAG.
Rachel Adams Photography

Stowaway Kitchen

This cozy, artsy RiNo cafe gathers inspiration from all over the world — Japan, the Eastern Mediterranean, Colorado farms — to build a menu that’s as eclectic as could be. Think black rice–banana porridge with mango and passion fruit; sourdough waffles with pineapple, pandan jelly, and ube panna cotta; and mushroom–herb hummus tartine with pomegranate and pistachio za’atar, plus daily baked goods like blueberry-blackberry scones with Earl Grey frosting and saffron-honey doughnuts with orange-blossom custard.

Mushroom tartine with a poached egg and beet hummus
A seasonal dish of mushroom tartine with a poached egg and beet hummus at Stowaway Kitchen.
Ruth Tobias

The Original

Airy, cheery, and packed on weekends — especially during its monthly drag brunch, the Saturday Serve — this Rally Hotel joint serves Instagram-worthy concoctions like doughnut sliders, “breakfast dogs” (pancake-battered sausages), and a humdinger of a breakfast burrito. Meanwhile, there’s no hunger that the chicken-fried steak with eggs and potatoes can’t appease.

Five breakfast dishes on a table
A spread at The Original, aka The OG.
Sage Restaurant Concepts

Rosenberg's Bagels & Delicatessen

At this Five Points fixture — which also has a branch in Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace — lox, sable, sturgeon, schmears, and all the fixings make the most of bagels that are themselves made with water whose mineral content replicates that of New York; the same goes for sandwich combos like the Jersey Boy with Taylor ham, fried eggs, American cheese, and ketchup or the Heebster with whitefish salad, wasabi-flavored roe, and scallion cream cheese.

Bagel with gravlax, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, and capers
The Standard with gravlax, cream cheese, tomato, red onion, and capers at Rosenberg’s.
Ruth Tobias

Café Miriam

This charming little French-inspired cafe at the edge of City Park is known for crêpes both savory and sweet: The Royale with Cheese contains prosciutto, Brie, fig jam, and balsamic vinegar, for instance, while the Dulce de Leche combines its namesake ingredient with Nutella, caramel, and French vanilla ice cream. Pastries, croissant sandwiches, hot chocolate, and a full espresso bar also await.

Crêpe with powdered sugar and a cappuccino
Savory and sweet crêpes dominate the daytime menu at Café Miriam.
Café Miriam

Onefold

Duck-confit congee and fried rice with lap cheong and eggs on the one hand, breakfast tacos on homemade tortillas and loco moco on the other, plus Vietnamese coffee and Screwdrivers to wash it all down: That’s Onefold in an East-West nutshell. Long waits have been a given at the tiny Uptown flagship since it opened; in response, the owners debuted a more spacious Union Station satellite a couple of years back.

Savory rice porridge with egg
Onefold’s signature congee.
Ruth Tobias

La Machaca de Mi Amá

The enormous menu at this all-day Mexican joint in Aurora covers all the basics — burritos, chilaquiles, menudo — but its highlights hail from the owners’ home state of Sinaloa, so start with a plate of huevos scrambled with machaca (dried beef) or chilorio (pork in chile sauce) to get a true feel for the place.

Eggs scrambled with beef on a plate with refried beans and fried potatoes
Se hizo la machaca at La Machaca de Mi Amá.
Ruth Tobias

Denver Biscuit Co.

Anything with fried chicken is a sure bet at this homegrown chain — and it’s even better alongside an oatmeal stout–infused Bloody Mary or breakfast sangria. Waits are inevitable, but the Instagram shots of towering biscuit sandwiches make the time well spent. (For other locations, click here.)

Biscuit sandwich with a sausage patty, a fried egg, apple butter, and maple syrup
The Dahlia comes with a sausage patty, a fried egg, apple butter, and maple syrup.
From The Hip Photo

Fox Run Cafe

No gimmicks, no fuss — just skilled and thoughtful cooking at this East Colfax daytime darling. Not a detail goes overlooked, be it the honey butter accompanying the griddled banana bread, the peanut dukkah on the avocado toast, or the juicy carnitas gracing the breakfast sandwich. The waitstaff is equally attentive amid the bustle, too.

Fox Run’s lemon-ricotta pancakes with mixed-berry jam, brown sugar–oat streusel, and maple butter on a wooden table with orange juice, coffee, and an assortment of other breakfast dishes.
Fox Run’s lemon-ricotta pancakes with mixed-berry jam, brown sugar–oat streusel, and maple butter.
Hard Knoch PR

El Taco de México

Three words: chile relleno burritos. They’re the ultimate hangover cure at this beloved taqueria, which also serves up huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, and more from 7 a.m. onward.

Burrito stuffed with rice, beans, and a chile rellno
El Taco de Mexico’s famous chile relleno burrito.
Ruth Tobias

Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

While proliferating around the West, this local chain has become a hall-of-famer on the Denver daytime-dining scene. The pineapple upside-down pancakes, breakfast pot pie, and Bella! Bella! Benny with prosciutto, cream cheese hollandaise, and balsamic glaze count among the most famous signatures on its extensive menu, but seasonal and daily specials keep regulars’ interest (as does an array of Bloodies and coffee cocktails).

A close-up of a plate of pancakes with butter and syrup next to a cup of coffee at Snooze
Snooze built its regional empire on pancakes.
Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

Moxie Eatery

It’s all about the egg sandwiches at this cute little Baker counter: Served on English muffins, the creative combos range from the Lamb I Am with lamb sausage, feta, red onion, and cumin yogurt to the Breakfast Torta with sharp cheddar, black beans, avocado, and pico de gallo.

Two different egg sandwiches on English muffins
Moxie Eatery’s Breakfast Torta (front) and Lamb I Am sandwiches.
Ruth Tobias

Related Maps

Olive & Finch

Like its snug Uptown sibling, this sunny, more spacious Cherry Creek cafe has perfected the art of fast-casual breakfast, turning out skillet hashes, tartines, composed plates like shakshuka and huevos rancheros, and sandwiches like the Broseph — combining scrambled eggs, pastrami, Swiss, caramelized onions, jalapeños, and horseradish aioli on a brioche bun — with aplomb all day long. The display case, meanwhile, is chock-full of muffins, croissants, sticky buns, and more (including tarts and cakes for those who live by the credo “life is short, eat dessert first thing in the morning”); downtown denizens can also stock up on those sweet and savory pastries along with drinks from the coffee bar at the new Little Finch.

Olive & Finch’s housemade pop tarts
Olive & Finch’s housemade pop tarts.
Olive & Finch

El Borrego Negro at Re:Vision

And now for something completely different: In preparation for his Sunday morning pop-up, chef Jose Avila sources meat from a local sheep ranch and tends overnight to the outdoor pit that yields his extraordinary barbacoa (a weekend breakfast tradition in parts of Mexico). Then he sells it by the pound with all the fixings — tortillas, onions, cilantro, green and red salsa, lime wedges, and, best of all, bone broth with chickpeas — for a feast unlike any in town. Follow him on Instagram for details and prepare to show up at 9 a.m. sharp.