Brunch in this town has come a long way. From Vietnamese-Lao mornings in Northeast to French bistros in Linden Hills, you can have a slow weekend meal in pretty much any register you want. Some of the best ones are quieter than they sound.
Christina Nguyen’s Northeast restaurant turns brunch into a Southeast Asian street-food morning. Roti canai, Hainan chicken rice, cocktails that arrive in actual coconuts. Weekend reservations vanish quickly, so plan ahead.
A bistro at 50th and Bryant that takes the neighborhood exactly as seriously as the neighborhood takes itself. Egg dishes built on real French technique, a pastry program with proper laminated dough, and a sun-filled room that makes you feel like you took a small vacation.
Downtown’s most reliable brunch since forever. The hash list is unreasonably long, the biscuits are fluffy and serious, and the staff treats hangovers like a medical condition they have been trained for.
A converted vintage Fodero diner car serving brunch food that looks like a 1950s magazine ad and tastes nothing like one. The Tots Bravas and the dutch-baby pancake are the dishes most worth the trip.
Steven Brown’s neighborhood spot has been quietly excellent for over a decade. Brunch is small, focused, and very dialed in. The fried egg sandwich is the kind of thing you start craving on Wednesday.
Sunday brunch at Mucci’s reads like a love letter to your nonna. Fried calzones, breakfast pizzas with farm eggs, Bloody Marys that should come with their own zip code. The patio is one of West Seventh’s best.
Ann Ahmed’s modern Lao restaurant runs a brunch service that looks nothing like anyone else’s. Khao soi, sticky rice, grilled mango, and a room you remember after you leave.
Alex Roberts’s rotisserie does Sunday in a register no one else does. Slow-cooked pork, rice and beans, a sides menu that turns brunch into a long lazy proposition. Both locations are equally good.
A small St. Paul cafe that quietly out-brunches half its more famous peers. Vietnamese coffee, hash heavy with crisped potatoes, a patio that fills by 9:30. Tip your server, the line will be longer next time.