Minneapolis has hundreds of brunch spots, but most serve mediocre eggs and overpriced mimosas. These eight are different — restaurants that take breakfast seriously, source good ingredients, and create spaces worth lingering in on Sunday morning.
We spent six months eating brunch across every neighborhood. We tried the pancakes, the eggs benedict, the avocado toast. We evaluated coffee quality, wait times, and whether bottomless mimosas are actually worth it. Last updated January 2025.
1. Hell's Kitchen
Downtown • $$ • Creative American, wild rice porridge, famous peanut butter
Hell's Kitchen has been Minneapolis's brunch destination since 2002. The menu is ambitious — wild rice porridge, lemon ricotta hotcakes, bison sausage, house-made peanut butter so good they bottle and sell it. The space is edgy-industrial: exposed ducts, metal chairs, art on every wall. It feels like eating in a gallery. The wait on weekends can hit two hours, but the food justifies it. This is Minnesota ingredients treated with creativity and respect.
Pro Tip
Order the Mahnomin Porridge (wild rice porridge with blueberries and cream). It's the most Minnesota dish in Minneapolis, and it's delicious. Go on a weekday to skip the wait.
2. French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
Uptown • $$ • Organic, farm-to-table, extensive menu
French Meadow has been serving organic, farm-to-table brunch since 1985 — back when "farm-to-table" was a weird hippie concept, not a marketing term. The menu is enormous: vegan options, gluten-free options, classic American breakfast, European pastries, smoothies, and the best bread in Minneapolis (they've been baking it in-house for 40 years). The atmosphere is bright and airy, with windows overlooking Hennepin Avenue. This is Uptown at its best — healthy without being preachy, quality without pretension.
Pro Tip
Get the Eggs Florentine and a pastry. The bakery is the real star here — take home a loaf of their sourdough. It'll ruin you for grocery store bread forever.
3. The Freehouse
North Loop • $$ • Gastropub brunch, craft beer, local ingredients
The Freehouse is a North Loop gastropub that takes brunch as seriously as it takes beer. The menu is comfort food elevated: duck hash, breakfast poutine, biscuits and gravy made with house-made sausage. Everything is sourced from Minnesota farms — eggs, meat, vegetables, even the flour for the bread. The atmosphere is industrial-chic: exposed brick, big windows, communal tables. Pair your breakfast with one of their 200+ craft beers. Yes, beer with breakfast. You're an adult.
Pro Tip
Try the Breakfast Poutine — fries topped with sausage gravy, cheese curds, and a fried egg. It's ridiculous and perfect. Get a Minnesota-brewed IPA with it.
4. Al's Breakfast
Dinkytown • $ • Classic diner, counter seating only, cash only
Al's Breakfast is Minneapolis's most famous breakfast spot, and also its smallest. The entire restaurant is 14 counter stools. That's it. It seats 14 people. The line stretches down the block on weekends. And it's worth it. Al's has been serving pancakes, hash browns, and eggs since 1950 in the same tiny space with the same basic menu. It's cash only, counter seating only, and they'll rush you if there's a line. The pancakes are perfect. The hash browns are crispy. The coffee is strong. This is what a diner should be.
Pro Tip
Go on a weekday morning around 9am to minimize the wait. Order the blueberry pancakes and hash browns. Bring cash. Don't linger if people are waiting — this is a high-turnover operation.
5. Bachelor Farmer
North Loop • $$$ • Nordic-inspired, cardamom rolls, upscale
Bachelor Farmer does Nordic-inspired brunch in a restored warehouse building. The menu leans Scandinavian — open-faced sandwiches, cured fish, pickled vegetables — but adapted for Minneapolis tastes. The cardamom rolls are legendary: warm, sweet, buttery, the kind of pastry that makes you understand why people stand in line at bakeries. The space is beautiful: exposed brick, blonde wood, plants everywhere. This is fancy brunch without the stuffiness.
Pro Tip
Make a reservation — weekends book out days in advance. Order the cardamom rolls immediately when you sit down. Get at least two orders. You'll regret not getting more.
6. Colossal Cafe
St. Anthony Main • $ • River views, patio seating, breakfast all day
Colossal Cafe sits on the Mississippi River in St. Anthony Main, with a patio that overlooks the water. The food is straightforward breakfast — eggs, pancakes, burritos, sandwiches — executed well with quality ingredients. Nothing revolutionary, just good breakfast in a great location. The patio is the move: sit outside on a summer morning, order the chilaquiles, watch the river, and remember why you live in Minneapolis. This is peak Sunday morning.
Pro Tip
Go on a weekday in summer. Patio seating by the river. Chilaquiles and an iced coffee. Bring a book. Stay for two hours. This is what weekends are for.
7. Kramarczuk's
Northeast Minneapolis • $ • Eastern European, sausages, pierogi
Kramarczuk's is an Eastern European deli and restaurant that's been in Northeast Minneapolis since 1954. The brunch menu is Ukrainian soul food: sausages, pierogi, potato pancakes, eggs served with rye bread. Everything is made in-house — they've been making their own kielbasa for 70 years. The atmosphere is no-frills: cafeteria-style ordering, communal tables, zero pretension. This is immigrant food culture at its most authentic, served by a family that's been doing it for three generations.
Pro Tip
Order the Breakfast Combination — eggs, sausage, potato pancakes, and rye toast. Add a side of pierogi. This is comfort food that weighs about three pounds and costs $12.
8. Birchwood Cafe
Seward • $$ • Farm-to-table, organic, community-focused
Birchwood Cafe has been serving organic, locally-sourced brunch in the Seward neighborhood since 1995. This is Minneapolis's original farm-to-table restaurant, committed to sourcing from local farms and supporting sustainable agriculture. The menu is vegetable-forward but not exclusively vegetarian: grain bowls, seasonal frittatas, house-made granola, and sandwiches on bread from a local baker. The atmosphere is warm and community-oriented — the kind of place where regulars know each other and the staff remembers your order.
Pro Tip
Try the seasonal bowl — it changes based on what's available from local farms. The ingredients are so fresh and well-prepared that vegetables actually taste interesting.
Brunch Culture in Minneapolis
Minneapolis takes brunch seriously. The city has cold, dark winters, so when the sun comes out and temperatures rise above freezing, people celebrate by eating pancakes on patios. Weekend brunch isn't just a meal — it's a ritual, a social event, and a way to justify day-drinking mimosas.
The best brunch spots reflect Minneapolis values: quality ingredients, reasonable prices (mostly), and unpretentious atmosphere. Even the fancy places don't take themselves too seriously. This is a city that invented the Juicy Lucy — it's not going to get precious about eggs benedict.
Brunch Wait Times
Minneapolis brunch waits peak between 10am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Expect 45-90 minutes at popular spots. Weekday brunch is significantly less crowded. Most places don't take reservations for brunch.
