From bagels to dim sum, these are Boston's 12 best breakfasts

Boston Globe

09-07-2025

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Brookline Lunch
Jamal and Manal Abu-Rubieh at Brookline Lunch.
It is a family affair at this Palestinian-owned, cash-only spot that — name notwithstanding — serves breakfast and lunch. Run by members of the Abu-Rubieh family, it's frequented by a loyal clientele that might as well also be relatives. The baklava pancakes steal the show, and no diner-style joint serves veggie portions as fresh or as big. But it's the hospitality that makes this place locally famous. New customers walk in as strangers and out as members of Brookline Lunch's sprawling, boundless, always-satisfied family. A new Brookline location is in the works at the former site of the Busy Bee on Beacon Street.
Address:
9 Brookline Street, Cambridge
Phone:
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Coffee Turco
Coffee Turco.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff
You can come to this cute little Allston cafe for baklava, panini, or waffles with all the toppings. But the best reason to come is the Turkish breakfast — specifically, the serpme breakfast for two. Bring a friend and share this bountiful spread of cheeses (feta, kashkaval, string cheese, grilled halloumi, mozzarella) and breads (the bagel-shaped simit; pogaca, buns filled with cheese), plus jam, honey, labneh, Nutella, red pepper relish, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Skillets come filled with eggs: there's the omelet with spicy sujuk sausage; or try menemen, which is scrambled eggs with tomatoes and peppers. Of course there's thick, strong Turkish coffee, served with a few sweets on the saucer. Turkish delight, indeed.
Address:
483 Cambridge Street, Allston
Phone:
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Exodus Bagels
Exodus Bagels in Roslindale.
The best bagels in Boston come from a takeout window on a little side street in Roslindale. Exodus sells them by the bag, with a selection of cream cheese from sriracha to bacon-everything, as well as in sandwiches with egg and cheese, vegan carrot lox, house-made roast beef, whitefish salad, and more. The bagels, with their perfect density and chew, come in all the classic flavors plus a few riffs (jalapeño-cheddar, vegan everything). Try the Lil Fishy — a half-order of lox with horseradish-dill cream cheese, cucumbers, and pickled onions — on an 'everywhere bagel,' an award-worthy invention with seeds embedded on both sides. Order online before you head over, and be prepared for some options to sell out early.
Address:
2 McCraw Street, Roslindale
Phone:
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The Friendly Toast
Chicken and waffles at The Friendly Toast.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
This quirky, retro-style chain of all-day brunch restaurants has expanded all over the 'burbs and New England, but the Friendly Toast is fun wherever you find it, with a creative and punny approach to drinks (Bohemian Raspberry Mimosa) and dishes (Some Like It Tot, get it?). The food is quality and the menu vast — waffles, a half dozen kinds of eggs Benedict, burgers, and chicken sandwiches — but what's underrated is its versatility: It's a fun place to take your mom for brunch, bring out-of-town guests, or even have a casual work breakfast. Arrive hungry — you're definitely leaving overstuffed and happy.
Address:
35 Stanhope Street, Back Bay
Phone:
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Milkweed
Milkweed in Mission Hill.
Nora Bailey
Milkweed is Mission Hill's down home treasure, and now it's in Dorchester too. This is the kind of food cooked by moms who store family recipes in their souls. A little boy loves Lucky Charms and wants them in his pancakes? Done. Elevated Hamburger Helper in the form of a sirloin mac and cheese? You got it. From breakfast to dinner, Milkweed keeps bellies full. Save a little room for Holly's Love Muffins.
Address:
1508 Tremont Street, Mission Hill
Phone:
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The Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery
In Union Square, an area that grows trendier each time a new stall opens at Bow Market, The Neighborhood is, well, a neighborhood mainstay. Chatty owner Sheila Borges-Foley oversees the family-run spot, where lines curl down the block for big breakfasts with a Portuguese twist: pancakes with linguica, fried bananas, and a signature Newark Portagee breakfast sandwich, stacked with eggs, sauteed onions and peppers, and chorizo on a homemade roll.
Address:
25 Bow Street, Somerville
Phone:
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Richy's
Richy's
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Tucked between residential and industrial areas in Hyde Park, locals flock to Richy's for its heaping portions of bacon, eggs, and corned beef hash, as well as lunch staples. You'll also get a serving of nostalgia: residing in a space that was once a pharmacy, this cash-only spot retains the feel of a five-and-dime, complete with a classic lunch (or breakfast, if you will) counter.
Address:
1461 River Street, Hyde Park
Phone:
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Rifrullo Café
Rifrullo Café.
At this little Brookline Village spot, a few doors in from busy Route 9, every menu item is beautifully turned out, from poached eggs with homemade sourdough to a lemony kale and tofu salad. The cafe's centerpiece is a curvy, hot-pink leatherette couch that owner Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky inherited from her grandparents. Bobby Mendoza runs the kitchen and can take the simplest ingredients and turn out a treasure.
Address:
147 Cypress Street, Brookline
Phone:
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Sunny Girl
Kevin Eduard White
An English muffin is usually a drab affair, but Sunny Girl's delicate and yeasty homemade rendition is a revelation. Perch at one of the cute mint-green tables outside, bite into their O.G. breakfast sandwich, and marvel at the spongy tenderness as egg yolk races down your arm. (You will need napkins. Lots of napkins.) Or, if you're feeling fancy, try the truffle shuffle with black truffle pecorino and a springy basil gremolata. Be prepared for lines on weekends.
Address:
252 Commercial Street, North End
Phone:
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Verveine Cafe & Bakery
Verveine Cafe & Bakery
Brooke Elmore
Gluten-free never tasted so good, thanks to this partnership between pastry expert Monica Glass and star restaurateur Ken Oringer. The longtime colleagues, both of whom have experience with celiac disease, craft an entirely gluten-free menu — a headliner is a beguiling chili breakfast biscuit layered with ethereally fluffy eggs and a sharp spread of Fresno, piquillo, and habanero pepper jam — all in a boisterous, white-tiled space that recalls a Paris boulangerie. Their savory, jolting iced black sesame latte is like drinking stars.
Address:
298 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Phone:
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Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe
This longtime Chinatown favorite continues to excel at dim sum any time. Up a flight of stairs, the crowded dining room isn't glamorous, but you didn't come for the decor. The draw is the food — steamer baskets filled with meaty shumai, flavorful chicken feet in black bean sauce, spicy salted turnip cake, sweet fried sesame balls filled with eggy custard. The menu of around 50 dim sum keeps diners coming back for more.
Address:
10 Tyler Street, Chinatown
Phone:
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