Best Breakfast & Brunch in St Louis: A Local's Guide
Revised July 17, 2026
Where is the best brunch in St. Louis?
St. Louis breakfast is spread across the whole metro. For the city’s signature slinger (eggs and hash browns over a patty, smothered in chili and cheese), hit the South City diners: Courtesy Diner, Chris’ Pancake & Dining, and Southwest Diner. For modern brunch and benedicts, try Egg (Benton Park/Midtown), Rooster (Downtown/South Grand), and chef-driven Winslow’s Table in University City. For chicken and waffles, Grace Meat + Three (The Grove) and Elicious (Ferguson). Classic griddle houses include the reopened Uncle Bill’s (South City) and Spencer’s Grill (Kirkwood), plus cozy cafes like Living Room (Maplewood), Frontier Perk (St. Charles), and Café Birdie (Edwardsville, IL).
Keep reading ↓There’s a particular joy to a St. Louis weekend morning: no alarm, nowhere to be, and a diner counter or a sunny brunch patio calling your name. Maybe it’s a stack of pancakes in South City, a chicken-and-waffle plate out in Ferguson, or a plate of eggs piled high with hash browns and chili — the beloved local slinger — at a griddle house that’s been flipping them for decades. This is a city that takes its first meal seriously.
And it does it across the whole map. The best breakfast and brunch in the metro isn’t clustered in one fancy district — it’s spread from the retro diners of South City to the cafes of Maplewood and the Loop, out to Kirkwood and St. Charles, and across the river into the Metro East. Some spots are trendy and benedict-forward; others are unchanged since the 1980s and all the better for it.
So whether you’re a diner loyalist or a bottomless-mimosa brunch person, here’s where to eat the most important meal of the day around St. Louis.
📌 Planning a brunch run? Keep this — and share it.
Bookmark this guide and send it to your brunch crew — the friend who’s always “down for pancakes,” the family deciding on Sunday breakfast, the group chat that can never pick a spot.
Every share settles one more “where should we get breakfast?” debate. That’s the whole idea.
The Great St. Louis Slinger
If there’s one breakfast dish St. Louis can call its own, it’s the slinger — eggs and hash browns piled over a burger patty, smothered in chili, cheese, and onions. It’s glorious, it’s enormous, and every South City diner has its own version. Courtesy Diner ($) on Hampton is the classic 24-hour greasy-spoon home of the St. Louis slinger. Chris’ Pancake & Dining ($$), a Southwest Avenue institution since 1987, serves its version as the “Top of the Hill.” And Southwest Diner ($$) puts a green-and-red-chile Tex-Mex spin on it that’s worth the trip alone. Order one, share it, and understand St. Louis a little better.
Classic Diners & Griddle Houses
For breakfast the old-fashioned way, the metro’s classic diners still deliver. Uncle Bill’s Pancake House ($$) on South Kingshighway — a South City fixture — reopened in early 2026 under new ownership to the relief of every regular who’d missed it. Out in Kirkwood, the 1947 landmark Spencer’s Grill ($) does classic griddle breakfast from behind its glowing neon sign. These are the counter-stool, bottomless-coffee, know-your-order-by-heart kind of places that a good breakfast town needs — and St. Louis has kept them.
Modern Brunch & Benedicts
When the mood is a little more dressed-up — think benedicts, crepes, and a good Bloody Mary — the metro’s modern brunch spots step up. Egg ($$), with locations in Benton Park and Midtown, does inventive benedicts (the corn bread benedict is a favorite). Rooster ($$), downtown and on South Grand, is the European-cafe move — sweet and savory crepes and an award-winning Bloody Mary. And in University City near the Loop, chef-driven Winslow’s Table ($$$) does a from-scratch, market-driven breakfast that’s a cut above. This is the lane for a leisurely, lingering late morning.
Southern Breakfast & Chicken and Waffles
Some of the metro’s most soulful breakfasts come from its Southern kitchens. In The Grove, Grace Meat + Three ($$) turns out a chicken-and-waffle plate and catfish that have earned a devoted following. And out in Ferguson, Elicious Southern Style Breakfast & Brunch ($$) does a Black-owned Southern brunch — chicken and waffles included — that’s become a North County favorite. When you want your breakfast with a little soul, these are the plates to chase. (For more, see our full guide to soul food in St. Louis.)
Cafes & Coffeehouse Brunch
For a cozier, coffee-forward morning, the metro’s cafe-brunch spots are a pleasure. In Maplewood, Living Room Coffee & Kitchen ($$) pairs house-roasted coffee with wholesome breakfast plates in a genuinely relaxing room. Out on historic Main Street in St. Charles, Frontier Perk Cafe ($$) does scratch breakfasts and house-made pastries. And across the river in Edwardsville, Illinois, the bright, veg-forward Café Birdie ($$) brings a heartland-meets-West-Coast brunch to the Metro East. These are the slow-Sunday, second-cup-of-coffee kind of spots.
Breakfast Across the Whole Metro
Part of what makes St. Louis a great breakfast town is how evenly the good spots are spread. In South City, you’ve got the slinger houses — Courtesy, Chris’, Southwest Diner — plus Uncle Bill’s. In the Grove and Midtown, Grace and Egg. Up in University City, Winslow’s Table. In Kirkwood, Spencer’s Grill; in Maplewood, Living Room. Out in Ferguson and North County, Elicious. In St. Charles, Frontier Perk; and across the river in the Metro East, Café Birdie. Wherever you wake up in the metro, a good breakfast is a short drive away.
What St. Louis Does Best at Breakfast
A few things this city does especially well in the morning. The slinger, of course, is the hometown original — nowhere else does it quite the same. Gooey butter shows up on breakfast menus as gooey-butter pancakes and French toast, a sweet nod to the local bakery classic. Biscuits and gravy are done right at the Southern and diner spots (Southwest Diner makes its gravy from scratch). And chicken and waffles are a genuine strength here, with Grace and Elicious leading the way. Build a breakfast tour around those four and you’ve tasted what St. Louis mornings are all about.
Brunch Cocktails: Bloody Marys & Mimosas
For a lot of people, brunch isn’t brunch without a drink in hand, and the metro’s brunch spots deliver. Rooster is the standard-bearer here — its Bloody Mary has won local awards, and it’s the kind of thing people order a second of before the food even arrives. Beyond that, most of the modern brunch rooms on this list — Egg, Winslow’s Table, Café Birdie — do a proper mimosa and a well-made cocktail to go with the meal. If a leisurely, boozy late morning is the goal, aim for the trendier brunch spots rather than the classic diners, which are more about bottomless coffee than bottomless mimosas. Either way, a great brunch drink turns a meal into an event — the whole point of brunch in the first place.
Where to Take the Whole Family
Breakfast is the most kid-friendly meal there is, and St. Louis’s diners are built for it. The classic griddle houses — Chris’ Pancake & Dining, the reopened Uncle Bill’s, and Spencer’s Grill — are the low-key, everybody-gets-pancakes kind of spots where nobody minds a little noise and the menu has something for every age. Southwest Diner and Courtesy are equally easy with a crew. For a slightly calmer, cafe-style morning with the family, Living Room in Maplewood and Frontier Perk in St. Charles both work well. In St. Louis, a family breakfast out is one of the easiest, most affordable good times going.
A Word on Weekends: Come Early
One piece of local wisdom for any of these spots: on Saturday and Sunday mornings, the good ones fill up fast. The most popular brunch rooms — and the classic diners — can run a real wait by mid-morning, so if you don’t like standing around hungry, aim to arrive before 9 a.m. or push your meal toward the later end of the brunch window after the first rush clears. A weekday breakfast, if you can swing it, is an even calmer way to enjoy these places at their best. And always double-check hours before you go — several of the diners are breakfast-and-lunch only and close in the early afternoon.
What’s New for Breakfast
The breakfast scene keeps moving. The big story is the return of Uncle Bill’s Pancake House, reopened in early 2026 after an 18-month closure — a genuine feel-good comeback for South City. And Chris’ Pancake & Dining is expanding, with a third location planned for South County. In a category built on decades-old institutions, it’s a good sign that the classics are not just surviving but growing — so keep an eye out for new locations of your favorites.
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Breakfast and brunch are just one delicious slice of the St. Louis food story. For the bigger picture, see our guide to the best restaurants in St. Louis — and then go get yourself a slinger. Because at the end of the day, a great breakfast town isn’t about one famous spot; it’s about having a good diner in every neighborhood, a cafe worth lingering in, and a Sunday tradition you can call your own. On that count, few cities do it better than St. Louis — so pick a spot, bring your appetite, grab a friend or two, and make a proper morning of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a St. Louis slinger?
A slinger is St. Louis’s signature diner dish: two eggs and hash browns piled over a hamburger patty, then smothered in chili, melted cheese, and onions. It first appeared in local breakfast diners in the 1950s and remains a late-night and morning staple. Courtesy Diner, Chris’ Pancake & Dining, and Southwest Diner all serve well-loved versions.
Is brunch the same as breakfast?
Not quite. Brunch is a late-morning meal that combines a late breakfast and an early lunch — the word is a portmanteau of “breakfast” and “lunch.” Breakfast tends to be an earlier, more functional meal, while brunch is more leisurely and social, often stretching into the afternoon with a wider spread of both sweet and savory dishes.
Why is brunch better than breakfast?
Fans argue brunch wins because it’s unhurried and social — you can sleep in, linger over coffee or a cocktail, and choose from both breakfast and lunch menus in one sitting. It’s less about fueling up for the day and more about the experience of gathering with friends or family around a long, relaxed table.
Where can I get chicken and waffles in St. Louis?
Two of the metro’s best are Grace Meat + Three in The Grove, known for its Southern comfort cooking, and Elicious Southern Style Breakfast & Brunch in Ferguson, a Black-owned spot with a devoted North County following. Both do a proper crispy-chicken-and-fluffy-waffle plate worth the drive.
What are the best classic diners in St. Louis?
For old-school griddle breakfast, locals point to Courtesy Diner (Hampton and Laclede Station) for the slinger, Chris’ Pancake & Dining on Southwest Avenue, the newly reopened Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in South City, and Spencer’s Grill, the 1947 counter diner in downtown Kirkwood. All are institutions that have fed St. Louis for decades.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.