New East Bay Breakfast Spots

While it seems every new restaurant offers its spin on weekend brunch, where’s one supposed to get bacon, eggs, and toast at 10:30 a.m. on a Wednesday? The intrepid East Bay restaurant industry seems to have taken the hint, as a flurry of locally owned breakfast joints—we’re talking weekday eggs from early morning into the afternoon—opened in the last year or so.

Not only can you now get the standard pancakes, omelets, and avocado toast Monday through Friday (as well as on weekends), but these newcomers have diversified their menus with offerings like tres leches French toast, bulgogi omelets, loco moco, breakfast enchiladas, ube pancakes, and nearly every twist on eggs Benedict that you can imagine.

Clearly scratching a culinary itch in Walnut Creek, the Breakfast Club has seen big crowds since opening earlier this year on Ygnacio Valley Road near Heather Farm Park. Owner Spiro Tsaboukos, who has run a sister restaurant in San Jose for seven years, takes an unapologetically maximalist approach to the menu, which is packed with scrambles, skillets, omelets, Mexican breakfast dishes, a whopping 11 variations on eggs Benedict, and eclectic specials like Korean fried rice and breakfast mac and cheese (the “Liquid Breakfast” section also provides six mimosas and five Bloody Marys).

This free-flowing, global perspective on breakfast is increasingly common. While Model Bakery, forthcoming in Walnut Creek, focuses on more standard breakfast fare, like baked goods and breakfast sandwiches, Sweet Maple’s planned Walnut Creek expansion frequently inserts Asian ingredients into the mix. The menu at Emeryville’s contemporary Korean American breakfast concept, the Sunday, is peppered with items like bulgogi, kimchee, and Korean wings, while a hint of Thai influence reflects the heritage of owner Wanee Devakula at the Hangout in Pleasant Hill.

Husband-and-wife team James and Denica Freitas started Denica’s Real Food Kitchen in Dublin 25 years ago as a small bakery-café known for its oversize cinnamon rolls. Their mission has only grown. Launched in Pleasanton late last year, their fourth and biggest restaurant features an updated, modern interior, while the menu showcases the expanding horizon of what constitutes breakfast in the East Bay. Alongside traditional offerings, Denica’s serves dishes such as ube and soufflé pancakes, kalua pig hash, and even a breakfast carbonara. Their Pleasanton location is also the first to have a full bar, although Denica says their core model remains providing an affordable day-dining option for families.

“It’s hard to go out when you have kids,” she says. “I’ve definitely seen an evolution in the Bay Area where parents may be more inclined to go out for breakfast versus dinner these days.”

Javier Ramos saw a similar family-friendly niche to be filled when he launched his first restaurant, Eggy’s Neighborhood Kitchen, inside Epicurious Garden on Berkeley’s north Shattuck Avenue. The Eggy’s team makes everything from scratch, from the five-hour braised beef in the birria tacos to the chipotle aioli in the breakfast burrito. With the aid of social media, Ramos has also tapped into another customer base: the nearby UC Berkeley campus. The diverse menu offers everything from poke nachos to chicken and waffles. Meanwhile, Eggy’s tres leches French toast—made with buttermilk and cinnamon-battered challah bread, berry jam, powdered sugar, and tres leches sauce—went viral on TikTok.

“We wanted to create something for the neighborhood but that also reflects UC Berkeley,” Ramos says. “It’s a school that’s really diverse with people from all over the country and the world.”

An international, scratch-made, family-friendly, social media–fueled breakfast? That’s a trend we can get behind.

Sugar Rush

Indulge your sweet tooth with creative twists on classic breakfast items.

The Breakfast Club - Walnut Creek

S’mores pancakes and salted pecan pretzel waffles are options in the Breakfast Club’s “Sweets” section.

Denica’s Real Food Kitchen - Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, Castro Valley

Denica’s griddles up soufflé and pink guava pancakes, along with banana and blueberry options.

Eggy’s Neighborhood Kitchen - Berkeley

Eggy’s offers a Belgian-style churro waffle topped with fresh berries, cinnamon powdered sugar, and a drizzle of dulce de leche.

The Hangout - Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek

Owner Wanee Devakula’s cha thai pancakes are topped with velvety Thai tea sauce.

The Sunday - Emeryville

The croffles (waffles made with croissant dough) come with ice cream and shredded brunost brown cheese.

Benedict Gone Wild

The only constants for these versions are eggs and hollandaise.

100 Chile Benny - Denica’s Real Food Kitchen

This decidedly Mexican spin features chorizo, avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro, and a 100-chili hollandaise.

Bulgogi Benedict - The Sunday

The Sunday’s signature Benedict includes ample portions of traditional Korean marinated barbecued rib eye.

Chorizo Bene - Eggy’s Neighborhood Kitchen

Homemade chorizo and chipotle hollandaise star atop the eggs and Acme sourdough.

Crispy Chicken Benedict - The Hangout

Tempura-fried chicken adds oomph, and a hollandaise with Asian seasoning and sriracha gives some kick.

Surf and Turf Benedict - The Breakfast Club

It’s just one of the kitchen’s 11 Benedicts—but boasting fresh crab, shrimp, and rib eye steak, it may be the most over the top.