Brunch in Phoenix

4000 N. Drinkwater Blvd. Central Scottsdale

480-970-4444

Celebrity chef Jose Garces’s modern Mexican restaurant inside The Saguaro hotel in Old Town Scottsdale is big, colorful, and lively with a spectacular to so-so “modern Mexican” menu of small plates featuring twists on the street food of Mexico City and Mexican Barbacoa (barbecue). Take in the display of brightly painted Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) skull masks, the bar with over 100 varieties of tequila, and a eclectic array of bright pink, glitter,plaid and floral patterns on tables, seating, and walls, then start with the refreshing yellowfin tuna ceviche, the lively Chilango Chop salad, or rich green pozole afloat with pieces of pork belly with crispy skins and littleneck clams. Then, move into excellent offerings like the trio of tender pulled pork street tacos, creamy poblano corn rice, and Yucatan-style smoked chicken. Read our review.

32 articles

Vovomeena

1515 N. 7th Ave. #170 Central Phoenix

602-252-2541

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Recommended, Best Of, Sponsor

This breakfast and brunch restaurant is a refreshing change in the sea of ordinary chain restaurants at Seventh Avenue and McDowell Road. Diners walk up to the counter to order dishes such as Pain Perdu, French toast made of banana bread pudding and topped with whisky caramel, and Tortilla Espanola, a traditional thick Spanish egg-and-potato omelet that looks like a savory slice of cake. If you’re feeling especially ravenous, try the B.M.O.C., a smoked pork chop with a waffle, two eggs, a Portuguese doughnut, and apple-maple syrup. A coffee counter that serves everything from flights of Japanese cold brew to refillable cups of regular Joe. Add a buttermilk pancake or Portuguese doughnut — a small, sweet, cakey concoction sprinkled with powdered sugar — to any order, and thank the breakfast gods for the home-cooked fare.

31 articles

Bar En Gril

110 S. Val Vista Dr. Gilbert

480-539-0884

American, Appetizers, Bar Food, Brunch

More casual sports bar than family dining environment, this former Native New Yorker in a Gilbert strip mall serves up satisfactory bar eats such as pizzas, wings, sandwiches, and salads amid the glow of numerous TVs in a spacious, sparse atmosphere. In addition to breakfast on Sundays, with offerings like breakfast pizzas and French toast, the kitchen stays open until midnight throughout the week. There are meaty wings slathered in sauce, pizzas with nice, crunchy crusts, and decent appetizers such as warm pretzel chunks. The food's not going to win any awards, but it'll do for game-time grub paired with a cold beer or two.

1 article

Berdena's

7051 E. Fifth Ave., Suite I Central Scottsdale

480-256-1403

Coffeehouse, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Best Of

Berdena's is a cozy specialty coffee shop serving organic and local coffees, pastries, and food (when possible). Think honey lavender latte, cardamom rose, and fresh squeezed orange juice, plus quick breakfast options like cinnamon toast and smashed avocado toast.

4 articles

Bertha's Cafe

3134 E. Indian School Rd. East Phoenix

602-955-1022

American, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Sandwiches, Coffee Shops, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Whether this cute breakfast and lunch café in Phoenix is a dessert shop with an affordable savory side or a casual eatery with a sweet twist is more a question of semantics than of taste. Courtesy of Beth Goldwater (who is married to the grandson of the late five-term Arizona senator and 1964 presidential nominee), Bertha's serves up a tidy, affordable selection of simple and straightforward sandwiches and salads made with fresh ingredients and house made sauces. And thanks to a dessert case packed with homespun indulgences like thick chocolate brownies, decadent peanut butter cookies, and Goldwater's signature cheesecakes (some of the best in the Valley), a sweet ending -- or beginning -- to your meal is just a finger point away. Read our review.

16 articles

Blue Sage

5350 E. Marriott Dr. North Phoenix

480-293-5000

American, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Buffet, Mexican, Southwestern, Tex-Mex, Recommended

It's a creation by nationally renowned chef Mark Miller, but don't expect to see him - this is a corporate spin-off that simply hints at his famous Coyote Cafe of Santa Fe. Some dishes are first-rate, like soups and steaks. Others are resort fare fancied up with lots of spice.

1 article

Bonfire Grill and Bar

7210 E. 2nd St. Central Scottsdale

480-945-6600

American, Brunch, Bars and Clubs

Chef Matt Carter of Zinc Bistro and The Mission created this Scottsdale restaurant's menu of American dishes with hints of the extravagant, heavy on the skewers and starches, and approachable enough, in ingredients and in price, to appeal to a wide range of diners. Open for lunch, dinner, and a weekend brunch, a lavish interior of dark wood and dim lights plays home to tasty wood-fired fare like jalapeño poppers, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin and pineapple skewers, and chicken and biscuits. There are several stellar sides as well including variations of mashed potatoes (all delicious), charred onion bread pudding with cheddar, and a cast-iron cornbread with cheesy grits.

2 articles

The Bread and Honey House

4801 E. Indian School Rd. #4 East Phoenix

602-825-1048

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Best Of

7 articles

Breakfast Club

4400 N. Scottsdale Rd. Central Scottsdale

480-222-2582

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Expect a wait on weekends, even into the early afternoon sometimes. This is Old Town Scottsdale, after all, and the young, sunglasses-and-flip-flops crowd at the Breakfast Club is the very same contingent that keeps local nightlife meccas in business. Clearly, they have good taste, from the looks of the menu, which includes old-fashioned standards alongside some interesting variations on pancakes and eggs Benedict. We usually go for the cinnamon challah French toast or the spicy huevos con masa, washed down with a cup of strong coffee.

4 articles

C3 Kitchen

15147 N. Scottsdale Rd. North Scottsdale

480-998-2880

American, Breakfast, Brunch, Deli, Sandwiches

1 article

Chompie's Deli Restaurant, Bagels, Bakery & Catering

3481 W. Frye Rd. Chandler

480-398-3008

American, Deli, Sandwiches, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Burgers, Cafe, Dessert, Diner, Soups, Traditional, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Fresh off the plane from Gotham, just started your long-distance subscription to the New York Times, and in desperate need of a bialy with a schmear? Perhaps you're peckish for a knish or a toasted bagel with a side of chopped liver? Chompie's has got you covered, pallie, like the isle of Manny-hanny with concrete. What else do your East Coast taste buds desire? A little chicken soup with kreplach? Chilled borscht with sour cream? Latkes with applesauce? A corned beef sammy with a pickle? Chompie's proffers these delicacies as well as more prosaic eats like meat loaf, tuna salad, turkey breast and so on. No wonder serious fressers call Chompie's their home away from home.

45 articles

Chompie's Deli Restaurant, Bagels, Bakery & Catering

4550 E. Cactus Rd. North Phoenix

602-710-2910

American, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Burgers, Cafe, Deli, Dessert, Diner, Sandwiches, Soups, Traditional, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Fresh off the plane from Gotham, just started your long-distance subscription to the New York Times, and in desperate need of a bialy with a schmear? Perhaps you're peckish for a knish or a toasted bagel with a side of chopped liver? Chompie's has got you covered, pallie, like the isle of Manny-hanny with concrete. What else do your East Coast taste buds desire? A little chicken soup with kreplach? Chilled borscht with sour cream? Latkes with applesauce? A corned beef sammy with a pickle? Chompie's proffers these delicacies as well as more prosaic eats like meat loaf, tuna salad, turkey breast and so on. No wonder serious fressers call Chompie's their home away from home.

49 articles

Cocomo Joe's

28244 N. Tatum Blvd. Cave Creek

480-538-8008

Asian, Brunch, Caribbean, Pan-Asian, Seafood, Music Venues, Menu

1 article

The Compound Grill

7000 E. Mayo Blvd. #21, 21 North Phoenix

480-585-5483

American, Brunch, Health, Organic, Specialties, Vegetarian, Music Venues, Menu, Slideshow

6 articles

Crackers and Company Cafe

1325 N. Greenfield Rd. Mesa

480-924-9977

American, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Traditional, Menu

Founded in 1984, Crackers draws all walks of life for its all-day breakfast menu and lunch items, from egg skillets and pancakes, to sandwiches, to sweets like bread pudding and scones. The restaurant now has three popular restaurants in the East Valley, but with so much made-from-scratch goodness on the menu, we wish it would expand even more.

Davanti Enoteca

6316 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale Paradise Valley

480-659-1800

Brunch, Italian

31 articles

Duza's Kitchen

2243 N. 12th St. Central Phoenix

480-252-3787

American, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Best Of, Menu

Duza’s Kitchen, a cozy café in the middle of Phoenix’s historic Coronado neighborhood, finds chef Mensur Duzic (formerly the executive chef at Phoenix Children’s Hospital) crafting classic breakfast and lunch entrees with a keen fine dining sensibility. Duzic’s menu of inventive, globally-inspired breakfast and lunch fare features locally sourced veggies and import meats and cheeses, many presented with impeccable flair. Crab and shrimp Benedict updates the brunch classic with a chipotle-spliced hollandaise sauce and succulent jumbo shrimp. A build-your-own-sandwich option features an array of well-seasoned, juicy meats, including a winning pulled pork and smoked brisket. Lighter options include a sweet and spicy quinoa farm-stand salad, a well-balanced bowl that brings new life to the often-bland protein.

1 article

El Palacio Mexican Restaurant

2950 E. Germann Rd. Chandler

480-802-5770

Brunch, Mexican

El Palacio Mexican Restaurant is part of a small, family-run chain with deep roots in Mohave County. The only Valley-based outpost of the chain is situated in a suburban Chandler shopping center. The impressively sprawling menu – seven pages brimming with all manner of Mexican dishes – doesn’t make up for the lack of fresh, flavorful fare. Appetizers like “donkey bites” – deep-fried cheese-and-chorizo bites – are creative, but also very oily and mostly dull in flavor. Dinner specials like fajitas are fine, if unexceptional, and regional Mexican dishes like mole poblano are downright sacrilege: the mole arrives soupy and extra-sweet. Other specials, including the so-called “Mexican Flag” enchilada trio, offers better overall flavor.

13 articles

Fred's at Barneys New York

4500 N. Scottsdale Rd. Central Scottsdale

602-337-6111

American, Brunch, Mediterranean, Recommended, Menu

Given the high-fashion merch that Barneys is famous for, Fred's is suitably geared toward the ladies-who-lunch crowd - as expected, there are a lot of salads and lighter bites like tuna tartare. What's surprising, though, is how much Fred's also caters to a hungrier clientele, with hearty pastas, entrees, and pizzas. Sunday brunch is also a delight.

1 article

Gluttons

203 E. 7th St. Tempe

480-966-3314

Asian Fusion, Brunch, Burgers, Chinese, Italian, New American

1 article

The Good Egg

3110 N. Central Ave. Central Phoenix

602-248-3897

American, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Best Of, Menu

We used to go to a wrap stand until we tasted The Good Egg's Garden of Eden Wrap, a tasty mélange of cucumbers, carrots, red onion, mushroom, lettuce, tomato, avocado, low-fat mayo and imported Swiss cheese that's full of taste but not calories-so we can have two and still stay on our diet. When we're not being diet-conscious, we order up the Lumberjack Frittata (for lunch or breakfast!), because we can't find this combination of ham, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers anywhere else. We know why it's called the Good Egg!

3 articles

Hot Bagels & Deli

34640 N. N. Valley Parkway Anthem

623-516-2888

Breakfast, Brunch, Deli

1 article

Hyatt Regency Phoenix

122 N. Second St. Central Phoenix

602-252-1234

American, Asian, Brunch, New American, Pan-Asian, Southwestern, Traditional, Hotels and Resorts, Best Of, Menu

18 articles

Il Terrazzo

6000 E. Camelback Rd. Central Scottsdale

480-423-2530

Brunch, Contemporary, Italian

Fine dining never looked or tasted so great as at this Phoenician Resort restaurant. Crisp white linen table cloths and serious table service (there's even a wine steward!) don't intimidate us-in fact, nothing can keep us from Il Terrazzo's Orechiette, made with shrimp, smoked bacon and spiced with fennel and basil bread crumbs. The Berkshire Pork Chop, seared in aged sherry and served with trumpet mushrooms, English pea pesto and carrot, is a favorite, and you'll really feel uptown dining on Veal Marsala, served with Cremini mushrooms, spinach, and roasted potatoes. Don't miss the bread pudding with rum raisin sauce and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Fancy, but affordable.

1 article

JOJO Coffeehouse

3712 N. Scottsdale Rd., #110 Central Scottsdale

480-906-6100

Coffee Shops, Coffeehouse, Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch

JOJO Coffeehouse is a breakfast and brunch restaurant that also offers signature coffee and espresso drinks. Not your typical coffee shop, they also have a great selection of craft beers, wine, mimosas, sangria, and kombucha drinks. JOJO Coffeehouse is quickly becoming one of the hottest new restaurants for breakfast and brunch in Old Town Scottsdale. Enjoy great food and listen to live coffeehouse music of every genre in this one-of-a-kind rustic farmhouse farm-to-table restaurant. Conveniently located on North Scottsdale Road and Second Street

1 event

La Petite France

7001 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale Paradise Valley

480-922-3727

Brunch, Crepes, French

Serving a menu of reasonably priced regional specialties from France, including scrumptious dishes of traditional Alsatian cuisine influenced by next-door Germany, this unpresumptuous restaurant, featuring breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Scottsdale's Seville Shopping Center, seems to have gathered all the charms of its homeland and gathered them into a single, neighborhood French bistro plopped down in an upscale shopping mall. Don’t miss the choucroute royale with homemade, Riesling-braised sauerkraut, an assortment of French pate, and the flammekueche, the Alsatian answer to pizza.

5 articles

Mel's Diner

1747 W. Grand Ave. Central Phoenix

602-252-8283

American, Diner, Brunch, Traditional, Best Of

Mel’s Diner, long a local staple, offers more than a link to the '70s TV show Alice, which was set there. The chicken fried steak and eggs breakfast brings big flavors and generous portions of meat, potato, and gravy. Hashed browns are transcendent: fluffy on the inside, crispy-brown on the outside, precisely as they should be prepared. Potatoes are clearly Mel’s forte. The side of country potatoes that come with the gyro omelet are mini masterpieces, their soft centers clad in crisp, buttery skins. The omelet itself folds eggs around snappy feta cheese and mildly spiced gyro meat. Even the accompanying bagel is super-fresh. Lunch is also good here: Burgers and gyros and chicken sandwiches; milkshakes, too.

6 articles

Michael's Restaurant-Citadel

8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Rd. North Scottsdale

480-515-2575

American, Brunch, Eclectic, International, Italian, Menu

1 article

Morning Squeeze

4233 N. Scottsdale Rd. Central Scottsdale

480-945-4669

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Cafe

The brightest spot of this average breakfast and lunch restaurant in Scottsdale (formerly Jimmy Woo's) is its digs. Sporting a colorful, modern dining area, large bar, and open patio with a street view; it’s perfect for a cup of coffee and a little people watching, but better eats can be found elsewhere.

6 articles

Ncounter

7000 E. Mayo Blvd., #1032 North Phoenix

480-476-8787

Breakfast, Brunch

Orange Table

203 E. 7th St. Tempe

480-967-2006

American, Breakfast, Brunch, Burgers

2 articles

Over Easy

211 E. Warner Rd. Gilbert

480-507-3447

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Recommended

Leave it to chef Aaron May from Sol y Sombra, DC Ranch's celebrated wine-and-tapas place, to transform a drab former Taco Bell into a hip, vibrant nook that's part retro greasy spoon and part neighborhood hotspot. Along with breakfast staples like pancakes, omelets, and corned beef hash, the menu has some craveable items that set it apart, from The Over Easy (toasted brioche with spinach, bacon sauce, and egg), to razz cherry scones with honey and crème fraiche. And if you're into chicken-fried steak, the scrumptious version here will keep you coming back for more. Read our review.

10 articles

Over Easy

6451 E. Southern Ave. Mesa

480-832-3447

Breakfast/Brunch, Brunch, Recommended

Leave it to chef Aaron May from Sol y Sombra, DC Ranch's celebrated wine-and-tapas place, to transform a drab former Taco Bell into a hip, vibrant nook that's part retro greasy spoon and part neighborhood hotspot. Along with breakfast staples like pancakes, omelets, and corned beef hash, the menu has some craveable items that set it apart, from The Over Easy (toasted brioche with spinach, bacon sauce, and egg), to razz-cherry scones with honey and crème fraiche. And if you're into chicken-fried steak, the scrumptious version here will keep you coming back for more. Read our review.

10 articles

Brunch in Phoenix

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