12 Most Delectable Breakfasts in Asheville

Grabbing breakfast in Asheville? You’re in luck. The city is brimming with gastronomical delights for breakfast and brunch. In fact, chances are good you’ll be hard-pressed to squeeze all the best options in during a single visit. All the more reason to come back again (soon!) to curate your own list of the best and brightest Southern breakfast options in the area. We’ve selected our top 12, which include something for practically every palate. Bon appétit!

1. Early Girl Eatery

8 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 259-9292

A farm-to-fork favorite on Asheville’s cozy Wall Street, Early Girl Eatery offers an abundance of clearly-labeled vegan and gluten-free options alongside their offerings for carnivores. You’ll find clean, simple ingredients in each dish, along with locally-sourced items whenever possible. Healthy and delectable breakfast options include multi-grain pancakes, black bean and cheddar omelets topped with salsa, and house-made granola.

2. Dobra Tea

78 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 575-2424

If you’re an avid tea lover, there’s something special to be said about Dobra Tea in Asheville! Not only is the ambiance one to be admired, but their delicious staff-recommended tea and tea cakes will keep you coming back again and again. Interested in some matcha on the rocks? Go ahead and get your fill. With one taste of Dobra Tea to start your morning, you’ll never be the same again.

3. Biscuit Head

733 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 333-5145

Every true Southern breakfast involves a fluffy, buttery biscuit, and Biscuit Head has made biscuits their specialty. Whether you’re on the prowl for the ultimate Southern biscuits and gravy, the perfect biscuits and jam, or biscuits stuffed with your choice of savory meat, you’ll find it at Biscuit Head–along with a hefty dose of Asheville hospitality and atmosphere. Biscuit Head serves the same menu throughout the breakfast and lunch hours (until 2 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on the weekend).

 

4. Sunny Point Cafe

626 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 252-0055

Sunny Point Cafe manages to stay sophisticated and down-to-earth at the same time. Here you’ll find favorites like chicken and waffles and huevos rancheros, along with a wide variety of vegan dishes. And you can order breakfast all day here, so it’s the perfect place to pull a breakfast double (or triple, if you plan your day right). A tip: try the sweet potato waffles. You won’t regret it.

 

5. High Five Coffee

13 Rankin Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 713-5291

For a light breakfast paired with exceptional coffee that hits the spot every time, you can’t go wrong with Asheville’s High Five Coffee. Bagels and lox, breakfast sandwiches, and a granola and milk (or oat milk) pairing make for a beautiful breakfast–along with High Five’s full menu of coffee drinks that will please even the most discerning coffee connoisseur.

6. Table Asheville

18 N Lexington Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-8980

Table Asheville takes breakfast sophistication and flavor up a notch, along with farm-to-table ingredients that keep dishes as local as possible while creating dishes that are brimming with flavor. You’ll find that many of the dishes at Table Asheville combine classic flavors in unexpected ways–as with their brunch Shrimp & Grits, served with miso, capers, and barbecue broccoli. For a more refined breakfast or brunch stop, this one’s a no-brainer.

 

7. Tupelo Honey Cafe

2 College St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 255-4863

The Tupelo Honey Cafe comes steeped in Southern charm. It’s often busy and the wait time can be a bit long for a reason: sublime cuisine, and no-rush, attentive service. Both locals and tourists frequent this iconic, cozy spot in downtown Asheville, ordering up pancakes, breakfast, and brunch favorites.

8. Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants

290 Macon Ave, Asheville, NC 28804
(800) 438-5800

A stunning stone hotel completed in 1913, the Omni Grove Park Inn brims with character and (dare we say it?) magic. The historic hotel’s grounds are home to six different restaurants. Of those, the Blue Ridge is a breakfast favorite. An artisanal buffet featuring a huge array of breakfast options, most of them farm-to-table, you won’t be disappointed by taking here even if you’re not a guest at the inn. The Spa Café is another fun stop–for a facial and massage, a fresher-than-fresh smoothie bowl, or both.

9. The Esmeralda

910 Main St, Chimney Rock, NC 28720
(828) 625-2999

Located in Chimney Rock, NC, just up the road from Asheville, The Esmeralda has it all: excellent menu items, most of them locally sourced, a top-notch chef, a historic atmosphere, and both lake and mountain views. Both an inn and a restaurant, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back into a more refined time when you walk through the doors–and you’ll want to keep coming back to sample the plates, which include some of the best pancakes, fruit, and yogurt granola parfaits, and grits that you’ll ever eat.

10. Hole Doughnuts

168 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
828) 774-5667

This isn’t the place to go for breakfast sandwiches, grits, biscuits, or anything other than… well, donuts. But Hole Doughnuts does their thing remarkably well. Here you’ll find fresh, fluffy, perfectly sweet, melt-in-your-mouth donuts that’ll keep everyone in the family happy. The menu is surprisingly simple: you’ll find just three regular donut options, plus one seasonal donut that changes weekly. Each donut is fried after you order it and served up warm.

11. Owl Bakery

295 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
[email protected]

Craving an old-world style pastry or a light lunch, crafted from whole, local ingredients, and bursting with all the flavor and quality that you’d expect from a master chef? Owl Bakery is probably your perfect stop. Here, you’ll find bread leavened in the old-fashioned way and menu items sourced from almost completely organic, local ingredients. The array of European-style pastries are all executed to perfection, while the light lunch and brunch plates pack a flavorful punch.

12. City Bakery

88 Charlotte St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-4289

Whether you’re craving an asiago bagel or a slice of avocado toast, you’ll find it at City Bakery–along with a slew of specialty pastry items, each one baked and showcased to perfection. You’ll also find mouthwatering breakfast sandwiches, fresh acai bowls, and a substantial vegetarian menu.

Of course, these are just a few of the dozens of breakfast options in the Asheville area. Wondering what else is out there? Keep exploring; you’ll find countless Asheville restaurants well worth paying a visit.