Best Breakfast and Brunch in East Austin
August 25, 2026
|
East Austin is kinda famous for its breakfast tacos, but we have much more to offer in the morning-meal department! From pancakes to pop tarts to poutine, we’ve got it all. With so many great options right here in our neighborhood, you’re bound to find the perfect place to start your day off right.
Best Breakfast in East Austin
East Austin wakes up early. These are our everyday picks, open most or all days of the week, from scratch-made breakfast tacos at 7am to farm-to-table brunch at 10.
Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop
About half a mile east of the hotel on East Cesar Chavez St, Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop is pastry chef Amanda Rockman’s first solo bakery, with a daily case that usually features her kouign-amann, rip-and-dip bagels with schmear, and an almond croissant built on frangipane. Coffee is made on a La Colombe espresso base. Get there early because bakery items sell out on weekends. Open Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat-Sun 8am-7pm.
Cenote
Cenote has been feeding East Austin since 2012. After relocating from East Cesar Chavez to a bigger location on East 7th St in September 2025, the woman-owned cafe is back with migas, chilaquiles, full breakfast plates, and a new cocktail menu alongside coffee. Open Sun-Tue 7am-4pm, Wed-Sat 7am-9pm.
Paperboy
This nationally recognized restaurant with food trailer origins now has a brick and mortar on East 11th St. At Paperboy, get your morning going with the b.e.c. (smoked bacon, pimiento cheese, jalapeño jam, sunny egg and arugula on a sesame challah bun), steak and eggs, granola bowl and more. Add a guava and cream cheese danish or a blueberry lemon pop tart for something sweet! Open at 8am daily.
Hillside Farmacy
Located in a restored 1920s pharmacy on East 11th St, Hillside Farmacy takes a farm-to-table approach to brunch, with weekend standouts like bruleed Texas ruby red grapefruit and buttermilk pancakes made with Mexican vanilla. Open Wednesday and Thursday from 10am, Friday through Sunday from 9am. Weekend brunch runs until 3pm.
Veracruz All Natural
Veracruz All Natural has been making scratch tortillas in East Austin since 2008, and the taco bus is out on Webberville Rd. We send guests for the migas taco on corn with a watermelon agua fresca. Open Mon-Wed 7am-3pm, Thu-Sun 7am-9pm.
Gati Cafe
A real hidden gem, Gati Cafe, just south of the Heywood Hotel on East Holly St., recently began serving an impressive menu of vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous breakfast items. The shop opens at 8am daily with espresso drinks from local roaster Greater Goods, plus gluten-free baked goods like cinnamon rolls and coffee cake, and larger breakfast plates like vegan biscuits and gravy and Singaporean laksa, a spicy noodle curry with fish cakes and shrimp. Pair breakfast with a scoop of their famous coconut milk ice creams for an extra treat! Open daily 8am-10pm.
Our Team Knows Every Spot on This ListWe’re a MICHELIN-rated boutique hotel at 1609 E. Cesar Chavez, walking distance from many of these breakfast spots. Book your stay and our concierge team will point you to the right place for your morning. |
Counter Cafe
Counter Cafe is a great little diner-style café on East 6th St. serving Southern-style breakfast and brunch items prepared with quality ingredients from local urban farms. Menu items include a crab cakes benedict, Southern Poached Eggs with stone ground cheese grits and braised collard greens, and biscuits and gravy. Lighter options include granola with locally made fruit, and a quinoa porridge featuring fresh berries, pears and pecans. Beer, wine and mimosas served daily, 7am to 3pm.
Sawyer & Co.
Sawyer & Co. is an updated mid-century modern café with a Cajun bent, located about a mile and a half east of the Heywood Hotel on East Cesar Chavez St. Menu favorites include benedicts, scrambles, pancakes and a New Orleans-style French toast called Lost Bread. Breakfast is served weekdays until 3pm and on weekends from 9am until 3pm. Pair your meal with a mimosa, bloody Mary or hurricane!
Juan in a Million
For more than 45 years, Juan Meza and his family have been serving up original, homemade Mexican specialties to the Austin community. Juan in a Million is known worldwide for three things: Juan’s hearty handshake; the restaurant’s appearance on Man vs. Food; and the singular Don Juan taco, an enormous, heaping pile of eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese atop a soft flour tortilla.
Upon ordering, the server will ask, “How many?” referring to how many extra tortillas you want to order, because this plate of melty goodness easily makes three or four tacos. The Don Juan along with additional Mexican breakfast items are served daily, 7am to 3pm from its East Cesar Chavez St. location.
Snooze
Frittatas, French toasts, inventive pancakes, and so many egg benedict options! Snooze is a brunch-centric diner that’s open early in the morning and has a charming retro vibe. The menu is sustainably focused and sensitive to many food allergies or diets. Added bonus: full cocktail menu. Snooze is open daily from 6:30am to 2:30pm, and until 4pm on weekends. It’s located six blocks from the Heywood Hotel in the Plaza Saltillo area.
Industry
Industry is a casual scratch kitchen that’s a great place to catch live music, watch sports, or enjoy brunch any day of the week. The restaurant serves its brunch menu from 9am Monday through Friday and 10am on weekends, with breakfast bowls, sandwiches, sides, and classic breakfast plates. Brunch drinks include the signature Industry Bloody Mary, Oax Mex, a spiced chocolate oaxacan drink with mezcal, and bottomless mimosas on Sundays. Industry is located in the Plaza Saltillo area on E. 5th St., which is about a half mile from the Heywood Hotel.
Weekend Brunch in East Austin
Most of the spots above serve a full weekend brunch alongside their weekday breakfast. The restaurants below are some of our favorites for a special brunch on only weekends.
Suerte
Suerte serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays in a cute, contemporary setting. This MICHELIN-recommended spot was also named one of “Eater’s 18 best new restaurants in America” in 2018 for its inventive Interior Mexican specialties. Sample brunch selections include a salmon tostada with spiced goat cheese, caper-chile relish and fried cilantro, or the cachete de res, a grilled beef cheek with beef tallow beans, salsa de arbol, fried egg and pickled onions. Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-3pm. Reservations recommended.
Launderette
Launderette is a MICHELIN-recommended favorite among Heywood Hotel guests. Serving hip, stylish and innovative takes on American dishes, the weekend brunch is not to be missed. Buttermilk pancakes are served with blueberry maple compote and crème fraîche.
The Turkish Eggs with labneh, charred eggplant purée and urfa chili oil on focaccia are worth the trip on their own. And you can’t go wrong with the classic plancha burger with American cheese, special sauce and pickles on challah. Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays 11am-2:15pm, with a full bar for cocktails. Reservations recommended.
The Cavalier
Cavalier is a family-owned bar and Southern-style kitchen close to the Heywood Hotel and a great East Austin brunch spot. Their weekend brunch was voted “Best of ATX 2021” by Austin Monthly readers, and their bloody Mary was voted “Best in Austin” at the 2019 Austin Bloody Mary Festival. You can’t go wrong with the shrimp and grits, poutine tots or chicken and waffles. Brunch is served Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-3pm at their location on Webberville Rd.
Stay in East Austin and Start Your Mornings RightWe’re a MICHELIN-rated boutique hotel at 1609 E. Cesar Chavez, and our concierge team has eaten at every spot on this list. Book your stay and we’ll help you find the perfect morning. |
More from Heywood Hotel