24 Best Brunches in Austin, Texas

Brunch should not be confused with breakfast tacos – that will be a separate post. Brunch involves a menu full of eggs, pancakes, french toast, avocado toast, and a lovely table to sit at and have your choice of mimosa or coffee, etc. I will admit that sometimes, I have a hard time finding a place to eat at noon in Austin that has breakfast food. I am always eager to try somewhere new, but these have become my go-to favorites. Let me know if I’m missing yours!

The List

Better Half | Blue Apsara | Bouldin Creek Cafe | Carpenters Hall | Cisco’s | David Doughie’s | El Alma | Epicerie | Ezov | Gati | Josephine House | June’s All Day | Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum | Lutie’s | Mattie’s | Mercado Sin Nombre | Oseyo | Paperboy | Proud Mary | SugarWolf | Taco Flats | Tamale House | Texas French Bread | Uptown Sports Club

1. Bouldin Creek Cafe – A vegetarian favorite. Beware of the tofu eggs, and stick to the real deal! Get the Zucchini Migas Plate with black beans and whole wheat tortillas. YUM!

2. Oseyo – Oseyo’s warming and enriching brunch menu is worth leaping out of bed for and perfect for big groups to share and enjoy the discovery of Korean brunch. Go for the Hot Pot Ramyun, a standout with its incredible chicken broth, which I personally prefer over pork broth, and it’s a fun play as they keep a flame burning under the pot at the table and you serve your individual bowls with tongs. Start the meal with the Black Sesame Pumpkin Swirl Bread, which reminded me of a pancake starter since it’s served with butter and maple syrup. The gorgeous lighting in the dining room and well-curated space is just the right style to make you feel at home, yet out and special.

3. June’s All Day – You might be obsessed with the outstanding wine list and June’s Brut Rosé here, but don’t let that pinhole you into only going during happy hour. Go for the Breakfast Chalupa topped with egg whites, avocado, and ricotta salata, and if you always look for an omelette for brunch, this is my favorite one in town. It’s fluffy yet firm and stuffed with boursin.

4. Epicerie – Not only does this French bistro and grocery have incredible cookies and laminated pastries, but an ever-changing menu of French favorites and seasonal dishes. Owner Sara McIntosh brings French-Louisiana inspiration to dishes like the Gnocchetti pasta, Burgers and Frites, and Beef Tartare. Although the flavor changes often, the Quiche has a custardy egg filling that’s taller than any other quiche I’ve seen before, wrapped up in a tender, buttery crust, and their seasonal salad is consistently fresh and full of great produce. The summer version holds fresh, bright peaches, plus arugula, goat cheese, nuts, and high-quality honey. It’s a great place for lunch with all the nice lighting and the casual-yet-cute cafe atmosphere without overdoing it. Don’t leave without ordering my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie topped with sea salt or the Funfetti one!

7. Mattie’s – A 23-acre historical piece of land in Bouldin Creek with live peacocks running amok makes this place feel Southern and old Austin. It began as a farmhouse and now is known for some of the best biscuits in town. It feels like a perfect post-church brunch spot as it’s sophisticated and comfortable, with great crowd-pleasing brunch dishes.

9. Taco Flats – The tortillas here are super floury, and you could easily just eat one and be full, but we all know that’s no fun! I prefer breakfast tacos here over dinner. Go for the Black & Green with grilled jack cheese, refried black beans, scrambled eggs, guacamole, and grilled onion. Just make sure you order one with their refried black beans.

11. SugarWolf – The long-awaited SugarWolf hails from the Guy + Larry restaurant group, known for the heavy hitters of Restaurant Francois, Red Ash, ATX Cocina, J. Carver’s, and beyond. Because they operate all of these restaurants already, they can pull off this grandiose scale of laminated pastries, sandwiches, sourdough, focaccia, salads, and a full coffee bar in such a magnificent way operationally. Open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, this is the ideal downtown brunch spot for a gooey cinnamon roll, great turkey sandwich, and incredible Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (available starting at 11 a.m.).

13. El Alma – El Alma is Tex-Mex, but it feels less sloppy and more grown up. I LOVE their enchiladas topped with the Smoky Tomatillo, but other options are Tomato Chipotle, Mole Verde, and Black Bean Sauce. They’re probably my favorite in town! The rice here wins my full support with a little more flavor than typical yellow rice. Vegetarians, y’all rejoice! Order the Ancho Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Spinach as well, and you’ll be super full and satisfied. For more brunchy items, they serve Chilaquiles, Steak & Eggs, and a whole list of breakfast tacos.

14. Paperboy – Paperboy is simply THE place to go for brunch and lunch. It can be impossible to get a weekend reservation, but maybe you’ll have better luck for a weekday meeting at their new South Lamar location! You’ll find basic brunch dishes, but I don’t mean that in a negative way, just in the way of being able to order exactly what you want with a fun local crowd. They serve toasts, pastries, sandwiches, burgers, salads, and bowls. I like the Kale Salad with chickpea, sweet potato, basil pesto, sunflower seeds, soft boiled egg, and parmesan, but the two biggest standouts are the Chocolate Chip Pancake (so fluffy that it seems it was made in a deep skillet) and the Migas.

15. Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum – This is a great way to shake it up from your classic brunch dishes. Known for their soup dumplings, I’d slurp my brunch any day here. My favorite dumpling (which actually isn’t made with soup) is the Shrimp Har Kaw, which is beautifully made to almost resemble a seashell.

16. Cisco’s – Willie Nelson and Lyndon B. Johnson used to eat here, so you probably should, too. The back rooms are full of historic photos on the walls and on the tables, and the front room has a nice countertop area with some colored and white tiles looking onto 6th Street. The only things you should be ordering here are the Buttered Biscuits — make sure to ask for them to be buttered — and the Migas.

17. David Doughie’s – This New York-style shop will satisfy your bagel brunch fix. Order the David Doughie’s Egg Sandwich, and don’t forget to add Zhug!

18. Carpenters Hall – The wide open seating here makes for a unique dining experience, and it’s pretty easy to get in without a reservation needed too far in advance. The Cheeseurger is top-notch, but they also serve more breakfast-type dishes like a Crab Cake Benedict, Sourdough Waffle, Cold Smoked Salmon, and Steak and Eggs.

20. Blue Apsara – This little ‘ol food truck serves Cambodian cuisine that straddles dishes you’d be familiar with, such as Vietnamese-like rice paper rolls and bahn mi, plus Thai curry. The Jungle Curry is what I keep dreaming about as it seems lighter in coconut milk texture than most curries, and still very flavorful. A vegetarian dish, it’s simmered with coconut curry, lemongrass, vegetables, basil, and kaffir lime leaves, then served with rice. I love pickled veggies so definitely recommend a side order of these for $3. The curry and soft Bahn Mi blew me away!

21. Uptown Sports Club – Aaron Franklin’s non-BBQ spot pays homage to the original Uptown Sports Club in its East Austin building. It feels exactly like Louisiana and has nice exposed brick, plants, and a cool loose “L” shape to the room with half booths and table seating behind the bar. My favorite dishes at this Texas and Louisiana-inspired spot are the Raw Bar, Double Cheeseburger with the saltiest fries I’ve ever had, Grilled Redfish on the Half Shell, a Cherry Jubilee Freeze, and the El Jardinero Cocktail. They have TV’s so you can expect the Longhorn game to be on the screen in the fall.

22. Tamale House – The Migas are covered in chips and queso, and I would’ve liked it to be a little more egg heavy, but the restaurant lives up to its name as the Chicken Tamale is rad!