Best Breakfast In Asheville: Local Spots & Visitor Musts
From locals, see where you can get the best breakfast in Asheville, including places like All Day Darling (Montford), Pulp & Sprout (North Asheville), The Smokin’ Onion (West Asheville), and Abeja’s House Cafe (South Asheville). Start your day – or hike – off right!
This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. If you love these free guides, support Uncorked Asheville with a small tip.
There certainly is no shortage of great restaurants in Asheville, and as residents, the city has officially turned us into professional foodies. These are just a few of our favorite breakfast spots. On Saturdays, consider dropping into the North Asheville Tailgate Market for Cecilia’s Kitchen, Bridge & Tunnel Coffee, Dolci di Maria, and other local businesses selling bread, breakfast sandwiches, and more.
All photos and experiences are our own across years of living here. We originally published this article in 2021 and frequently update our guides based on your input and our stomachs. You might also enjoy these top spots for Sunday brunch in Asheville. Think live music, brunch cocktails, and ambiance. Many of the below places make for terrific Asheville lunch spots, too.
Our Top Picks For The Best Breakfast In Asheville
The Smokin’ Onion
What began as a food truck, we love Smokin’ Onion’s West Asheville brick-and-mortar restaurant. A dedicated vegan spot that non-vegans like us also covet, The Smokin’ Onion serves all-day breakfast and lunch, recently adding a few dinner services.
Imagine vegan chicken and waffles, pancakes, and biscuits and gravy paired with a mimosa, Matcha latte, or Bloody Mary. Grab housemade dressings and dessert. Their cookies are the size of my face, and they sell Back Porch Baking Co. pastries (my favorite in town). It’s a small, local business with the sweetest staff in the same plaza at Botiwalla. To me, they are what makes Asheville’s foodie scene so special.
The Smokin’ Onion | 697 Haywood Rd. Unit E, Asheville, NC 28806
Abeja’s House Cafe
For budget-friendly, local breakfast restaurants in Asheville, Abeja’s House Cafe promises no-frills Latin and American cuisine with great service and plenty of options. Don’t let South Asheville’s busy Hendersonville Road deter you, either. The breakfast burritos, platters, sandwiches, and omelets are worth it. Everything is deliciously fresh. If it’s a nice day, enjoy their outdoor seating. We love coming here for breakfast, brunch, and lunch.
Abeja’s House Cafe | 1550 Hendersonville Rd #116, Asheville, NC 28803
All Day Darling
One of the best places for locals and visitors alike, All Day Darling is open 7 days a week and sits on the edge of Downtown Asheville in the Historic Montford neighborhood. Order at the jumping counter and grab a seat.
Select from matcha lattes, lox, gluten-free pancakes, breakfast bowls, and steak and eggs. Make tough decisions between avocado, mushroom, and almond butter toast. This is one of our top picks for budget-friendly and casual eats in a neighborhood full of character. We most enjoy their outdoor seating, so go on a gorgeous weather day.
All Day Darling | 102 Montford Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
For our gluten-free diners: While All Day Darling doesn’t have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, they have a dedicated GF fryer and make gluten-free bread (always double-check). Read more about Asheville’s gluten-free dining scene from our Celiac household.
5 Points Restaurant
A local hot spot diner, 5 Points Restaurant sits at the intersection of Historic Montford, North AVL, and Downtown Asheville. Owned by a third-generation Greek family, find no-frills and budget-friendly Greek, Italian, and American cuisine that is perfect for the entire family. The lines out the door attest to its greasy goodness.
5 Points promises the perfect hangover menu with all-day breakfast like corned beef hash, eggs, ham, pancakes, and Southern grits. Or, order French toast, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast wraps, and eggs benedict paired with never-ending coffee pours. I love a good diner, and they are harder to come by in Asheville.
5 Points Restaurant | 258 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
Pulp & Sprout
Find plenty of charming breakfast restaurants hiding in North Asheville, including Pulp & Sprout. A counter-service, dedicated vegan breakfast and lunch cafe, start your day with a healthy cold-pressed juice or smoothie. I love their avocado toast, broths, and bowls filled with fruits and veggies like beets, carrots, bananas, and blueberries. Or, order a muffin, granola, or shortbread. If they have peanut butter bars, get one for later.
Pulp + Sprout Juice Bar and Vegan Cafe | 233 S Liberty St, Asheville, NC 28801
Sunny Point Cafe
Sunny Point Cafe is always jumping, and the wait is worth it. Offering breakfast, brunch, and lunch, eat inside or out, enjoying Southern classics like chicken and waffles, fried green tomatoes, and shrimp and grits. Select from French toast, hotcakes, avocado toast, candied bacon, huevos rancheros, and breakfast burritos – kids’ menu and local libations included. Discover even more family-friendly restaurants in Asheville.
Sunny Point Cafe | 626 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
Tupelo Honey Cafe
Famous for their fried chicken, Tupelo Honey is one of the most popular places for breakfast in Downtown Asheville. However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid them. They specialize in locally sourced Southern cuisine, and I enjoy their brunch cocktails. Select from avocado toast, eggs, biscuits, cauliflower, shrimp and grits, pancakes, and Brussels. Make advanced reservations if you can.
Tupelo Honey Cafe | 12 College St, Asheville, NC 28801 | 1829 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803
Mamacita’s Taco Temple
For something different, Mamacita’s Taco Temple hums with locals morning, noon, and night. Sit in a former 1930s gas station in North Asheville where the interior resembles a church. Tacos are a religion I can stand by. Think milled corn and flour tortillas, tortas, and tamales. Sip Mexican hot chocolate with a side of tater tots or churros. Select from breakfast tacos with eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon.
Mamacita’s Taco Temple | 132 Charlotte St, Asheville, NC 28801
Green Sage Cafe
With multiple locations across the city, Green Sage Cafe is perfect for a healthier, organic breakfast in Asheville. We drop in after running errands across town, in need of quick, easy, affordable, and good-for-you fuel.
Think smoothies, bowls, eggs, kale, toast – you name it, and Green Sage serves it. I love their fresh juices with bagels and lox. We like to bring home vegan and gluten-free muffins. Their locations feel like casual cafes.
Green Sage Cafe | 5 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801 | 633 Merrimon Ave, Suite A, Asheville, NC 28804 | 1800 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 | 70 Westgate Pkwy, Asheville, NC 28806
Liberty House Cafe
One of our favorite coffee shops and breakfast restaurants in Asheville – especially in yoga pants or hiking boots – Liberty House Cafe sits next to Pulp and Sprout on an acre of land in a repurposed 1920s cottage. We love pairing food in the wellness area with an Asheville Salt Cave session.
Liberty House Cafe is your go-to for classic breakfast favorites, including anything from pancakes, skillets, and overnight oats to avocado toast and BLATs (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato).
Liberty House Cafe | 221 S Liberty St, Asheville, NC 28801
Biscuit Head
It’s no secret that Biscuit Head has a cult following similar to that of White Duck Taco and might just be considered an Asheville tourist attraction for first-timers. For many, Biscuit Head serves the best Southern comfort food.
Choose from traditional biscuits with fun and spicy gravy flavors or transform them into massive sandwiches with all the meats. We’ve even seen a mimosa fried chicken biscuit. We most appreciate the vegan and gluten-free options, which are hard to come by with biscuits.
Biscuit Head | 733 Haywood Rd., Asheville, NC 28806 | 417 Biltmore Ave, Ste 4F Asheville, NC 28801 | 1994 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803
More Great Asheville Breakfast Places
There are so many highly rated places that we couldn’t name them all. Along with cool coffee shops and delicious donut spots, a few more places to stop for breakfast in Asheville include:
- Ultra Coffeebar
- Taco Billy (breakfast tacos)
- Flour (S&W Market)
- Mother
- Joey’s Bagels (think bagels and cream cheese; we also like to-go sandwiches from here)
- Abuela’s Little Kitchen
- Moose Cafe
- Village Social (Biltmore Estate visitors)
- Early Girl Eatery
- The Rhu (Downtown AVL coffee cafe)
I greatly miss BimBeriBon and Sawhorse. Corner Kitchen in Historic Biltmore Village is rebuilding post-Helene; we look forward to their re-opening.
Christine Frascarelli
Christine (pronouns: she/her) is the owner of Uncorked Asheville. After falling in love with those gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains, Christine and her husband Tom decided to call Asheville, North Carolina home. When her pointy Italian nose isn’t stuck in a book, Christine is adopting all of the kitties, getting lost in the forest, and drinking an ESB. She has a BA in English and History from Smith College, her MLIS from USF-Tampa, and is a former U.S. Fulbright Scholar - Indonesia. Christine also owns The Uncorked Librarian LLC with books and movies to inspire travel.
Benne on Eagle is Excellent! They have one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever eaten. The flavors of their food are amazing. Also, they make the best pancake I’ve ever put in my mouth, and I’m from
Alabama!
We love their atmosphere! It’s a great spot (and the hotel is beautiful too). Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.