Best Restaurants For Breakfast In Asheville From Locals
From locals, see where you can get the best breakfast in Asheville, including quick bites, neighborhood favorites, and gluten-free, vegan, and veggie spots. Start your day – or hike – off right!
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As Asheville residents, the city has turned us into professional foodies, and we’ve certainly eaten our way across our Western North Carolina home. For breakfast, we most appreciate fresh ingredients, comfortable seating, and great service. Strong coffee is a must, and we champion community-oriented, local restaurants. If we had to pick our 5 favorite places for breakfast in Asheville, we’d go with:
- All Day Darling (Montford)
- Pulp & Sprout (North Asheville)
- Sunny Point Cafe (West Asheville)
- Abeja’s House Cafe (South Asheville)
- The Smokin’ Onion (West Asheville)
Keep reading for more information on these great restaurants and more! You might also enjoy our top spots for Sunday brunch in Asheville.
What You'll Find In This Guide
The Smokin’ Onion
We were stoked with the announcement that our favorite food truck was opening a West Asheville brick-and-mortar restaurant. Known for delicious vegan cuisine, The Smokin’ Onion serves all-day breakfast and lunch from 9 AM to 3 PM. Imagine chicken and waffles, fruit pancakes, and biscuits and gravy paired with a mimosa or Bloody Mary. Grab housemade dressings and dessert. It’s a small, local place in the same plaza at Botiwalla. We just love them.
The Smokin’ Onion | 697 Haywood Rd Unit E, Asheville, NC 28806
Abeja’s House Cafe
For a budget-friendly, local breakfast in Asheville, Abeja’s House Cafe is a no-frills, cozy Latin and American restaurant boasting great service with loads of options. Don’t let South Asheville’s busy Hendersonville Road deter you, either. The breakfast burritos, platters, sandwiches, and omelets are worth it. In the same plaza, drop into Table Wine if you appreciate highly curated and international wines.
Abeja’s House Cafe | 1550 Hendersonville Rd #116, Asheville, NC 28803
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 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.
Pulp + Sprout Juice Bar and Vegan Cafe | 233 S Liberty St, Asheville, NC 28801
As a lactose intolerant and part Celiac household, we actively seek out vegan cuisine. Peruse our guide to eating vegan and vegetarian in Asheville. We also have a dairy and lactose-free dining guide.
All Day Darling
One of the best Asheville breakfast places for locals and visitors staying in the Historic Montford area, All Day Darling is open 7 days a week. Order at the jumping counter and grab a seat. Select from items like a matcha latte with oat milk, lox, gluten-free pancakes, breakfast bowls, and steak and eggs. Or, make tough decisions between avocado, mushroom, and almond butter toast. This is one of our top picks for budget-friendly, casual, and food intolerance-friendly eats in a neighborhood full of character. We most enjoy their outdoor seating.
All Day Darling | 102 Montford Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
GF tip: While All Day Darling doesn’t have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, they have a dedicated GF fryer and make gluten-free bread (we ask, and always double-check). Read more about Asheville’s gluten-free dining scene from a Celiac household.
Sunny Point Cafe
Locals, visitors, and long lines will tell you that Sunny Point Cafe serves the best breakfast in Asheville. The wait is worth it, though, and trust us, lines scare us too. 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 and “touristy” places for breakfast in 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 is a great stop for lunch too.
Tupelo Honey Cafe | 12 College St, Asheville, NC 28801 | 1829 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803
Our readers love Early Girl Eatery (slightly more than us), which serves breakfast throughout the day. Discover even more popular Downtown Asheville restaurants. Consider grabbing coffee with a treat at The Rhu.
Mamacita’s Taco Temple
If you are craving taco breakfast places in Asheville, Mamacita’s Taco Temple hums with locals. As one of the most memorable AVL dining experiences, sit in a former 1930s gas station where the interior resembles a church. Tacos are a religion we 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
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 and Italian cuisine 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.
5 Points Restaurant | 258 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
Local tip: Stock your fridge with goodies from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Harris Teeter. These specialty stores are minutes from Five Points.
Green Sage Cafe
With multiple locations across the city, Green Sage Cafe is perfect for a healthier and organic breakfast in Asheville. We drop in after running errands across town, in need of quick, easy, affordable, and healthy fuel. Think smoothies, bowls, eggs, kale, toast – you name it, 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, and we prefer the Merrimon Ave. restaurant.
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
Biscuit Head
It’s no secret that Biscuit Head has a cult following similar to White Duck Taco. For many visitors, Biscuit Head serves the best breakfast in Asheville for that Southern comfort food. Truth bomb: We are not a part of the Biscuit Head following, but we understand why travelers frequent them. Their food is fantastic, and they have great service.
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
Geraldine’s Bakery
For homemade donuts for breakfast with fast counter service and freshly baked goods and pastries, head to North Asheville’s Geraldine’s Bakery. This residential restaurant most resembles our old hometown Italian bakery in Connecticut. You’ll feel that old-school nostalgia.
Geraldine’s sells wedding cakes, Italian cookies, fritters, and an endless display of mouth-watering pastries you cannot leave without. Grab a coffee and get work done at nearby Penny Cup or stroll around Beaver Lake and the Botanical Gardens at Asheville. Think of it as a breakfast picnic that you won’t soon forget.
Geraldine’s Bakery | 840 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804
Village Social (Biltmore Estate)
Enjoy breakfast in Asheville like a Vanderbilt at Biltmore’s Village Social. We like eating here during Biltmore’s Passholder Appreciation months. Village Social sits on the second floor of Biltmore Estate’s Village Hotel. Enter the cozy, tavern-like dining room and bar from inside the hotel or outside via Antler Hill Village. Their menu boasts egg, sausage/bacon, and potato platters, lox, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs.
Village Social | Antler Hill Village/Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate | 1 Lodge St., Asheville, NC 28803
You must be an annual passholder or have a daytime ticket or overnight hotel reservation on the estate to enjoy any of Biltmore’s delicious restaurants. Spend the day at Biltmore, hiking, enjoying a home tour, checking out special exhibits, strolling the gardens, and wine tasting.
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 heading here after a session in the Asheville Salt Cave (trust us; it’s a heavenly and relaxing activity). Liberty House Cafe is your go-to for classic breakfast favorites, including pancakes, skillets, overnight oats, avocado toast, and BLATs (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato – BLTs).
Liberty House Cafe | 221 S Liberty St, Asheville, NC 28801
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.