I live for weekend brunch! When my husband and I started dating, our pinnacle date was always Sunday morning brunch at a new spot. Now, on my third year here, we’ve been all over the city and have come up with our list of the best brunch spots in San Diego. Whether you’re an omelet person or a French toast person, there’s something for everyone!

Fig Tree Café

With 2 San Diego locations in Point Loma and Pacific Beach, Fig Tree Café combines craft and care into some of the best brunch the city has to offer. You can’t go wrong with their seasonal juice mimosa flights and their house coffee. My husband Mitchell and I are French toast fanatics and Fig Tree’s Berry Compote French toast is our all-time favorite! The California omelet is also amazing and you should definitely upgrade your potatoes with arugula and parmesan truffle oil!

Breakfast Republic

This local chain is another contender for the best brunch spots in San Diego because of their modern barn aesthetic and huge portion sizes! 8 of their 10 locations are in San Diego, but my personal favorites are North Park and Pacific Beach. This is the perfect spot for indecisive eaters because you can get a flight of just about anything from French toast to pancakes, and even eggs benedict on seasonal occasions. My favorite menu items are the Portuguese Linguisa Sausage Scramble, the Lemon Coconut pancakes, and the Breakfast Republic Latte.

The Henry

This Coronado Island location gives me all the feels with it’s white tile and worn driftwood décor. I especially love The Henry’s dedication to local ingredients and house-made juice, sauces, and seasonings. This is a really fun girl’s day spot because of their mimosas. They always have the most unique varieties of juice made on site like yuzu, strawberry mango, and pineapple orange. The California bowl and the caramel apple French toast are incredible too!

Craft Kitchen

My husband and I call this our neighborhood favorite! When we want great brunch but don’t want to drive 20 minutes, we go to La Mesa Craft Kitchen. Recently, they re-vamped their menu and WOW it’s so yummy! Try the brioche French toast with berry compote, vanilla-maple yogurt drizzle, and granola for a perfectly textured toast experience. The carnitas hash with avocado crema is also amazing and filling. The food is delicious, affordable, and served by some of the kindest staff in the city!

Morning Glory

In all honesty, this spot’s food is not one of my favorites, BUT their aesthetic and menu item names are. They have a dang Moet Champagne VENDING MACHINE! How much fancier can it get?? Located in the heart of Little Italy, you’ll be paying Los Angeles prices. But again, the space itself is open-air, pink velvet beauty! Some of the best menu items are “Millennial Tears” ($15 vegan ciabatta avocado toast), and the $15 fluffiest soufflé pancakes. Order the “Socialist Republic of Coffee Cocktail” for a good laugh.

Hash House A Go-Go

The quaint Hillcrest neighborhood is home to the original location that can now be found in some of the fanciest Las Vegas Strip Hotels. Hash House A Go-Go should win the award for “weirdly delicious” in the best brunch spots in San Diego. They have an obsession with sticking meat in your drinks… But honestly, the strip of bacon in my orange juice is 100% worth it for the HH Scrambles. Try anything on the menu – a lot of it is award winning food – and be prepared to take 2/3rds of it home because the portions are GIANT.

Sugar & Scribe

Brain child of Chef Maeve, winner of Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship, this is artisanal dining at it’s finest. Sugar & Scribe definitely excels with it’s baked goods like house made bread used for the Berry or Nutella French toast dishes. I would also highly recommend several of their drinks like the charcoal latte or the mimosa flight featuring unique juices like hibiscus rose, and lemon lavender. Each dish is beautifully plated with tiny edible flowers.

Janet’s Cafe

A cozy, casual diner-like experience with something for everyone. An East – county classic, you’ll find tons of local regulars here instead of the fancier options. The food is always good, and you can count on solid service every time. You have to try their cinnamon roll French toast! A giant house made cinnamon roll, sliced in 3 skinny slices, dipped in egg wash batter, and fried like French toast, plus a cream cheese frosting to top it off. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

This list of best brunch spots in San Diego was limited to 8 because otherwise, I could talk about 25+ more! There’s so many small businesses that focus on local ingredients and unique menu items, all with that beloved modern California beach aesthetic! If you’re looking for more San Diego inspo, check out these articles or join my email list to stay up to date on the latest events!