14 Best Hole-In-The-Wall Breakfast Spots In NYC
One of the great things about New York City restaurants and its food scene is that elevated, fancy dining can exist side by side with hole-in-the-wall spots, and no one will bat an eyelid. Even more remarkable is that these hole-in-the-wall establishments can deliver truly elevated dishes without the need for white tablecloths or ambient music. In fact, the comfy, cozy atmosphere is what makes these places even more endearing, especially considering the variety of cuisines that have been able to occupy this culinary environment. Indeed, don't be surprised to find the full gamut of world cuisines in New York's breakfast nook-like restaurants. After all, people all over the world need breakfast, and many thought it's best to bring these local traditions to one of the most diverse culinary landscapes in the world.
To help you navigate this vast array of breakfast offerings, especially if you haven't had your coffee yet, we've put together a list of New York City's best hole-in-the-wall breakfast spots. It includes places that offer typical New York style breakfast options like bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches, to Japanese and Middle Eastern options. In each case, we relied on personal experience and professional reviews to compile a list of the best spots located in small, sometimes cramped but otherwise delightful spaces.
S&P Lunch
Madison Square Park has its fair share of fancy restaurants, including the venerable Eleven Madison Park. So, it may surprise some to find that there is a financially accessible, perfectly delightful and cozy little breakfast and lunch spot tucked away just south of the park.
Before this palace was S&P Lunch, it was Eisenberg's, a popular institution with a loyal following, and even before that, it was S&P Lunch. If you do the math, that adds up to this place being around since 1928, during which the food wasn't always top-notch. Luckily, S&P Lunch the second has made significant improvements in the food department, with the rye in the pastrami sandwich being a particular standout, all while maintaining the aura of a bygone era throughout the dining area. On a recent visit, we also enjoyed the plain but good pancakes with real maple syrup.
(212) 691-8862
174 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010
OKONOMI Brooklyn
If you're the type of person blessed by luck, you might be able to walk up to this incredibly small restaurant on a quiet residential street in Brooklyn and find a table during breakfast hours (one of two, not including the counter). This happened to us once, and it was the first pleasant surprise of the experience. Usually, there is a crowd of hungry people milling about outside.
The second surprise came from realizing that we'd stumbled on the best possible way to start the day. Breakfast, which is served all day, is delicious, healthy, filling, and sustainable. Although the cuisine is firmly Japanese, many of the main ingredients are sourced locally. For instance, the roast fish that is served with white rice, miso soup, and fresh vegetables likely comes from just off the coast.
(929) 295-0480
150 Ainslie St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Old John's Luncheonette
In an era of influencers and Instagram-obsessed diners, it's hard to find a truly good restaurant that has plenty of seating, no lines out the door, and truly good food. That place is Old John's Luncheonette, recently renamed Old John's Diner after a change of management. The food is made from scratch, and it shows.
Indeed, the food is so good that the restaurant would hardly be a diner at all were it not for its nostalgic atmosphere and seriously decent prices. As for breakfast, you can look forward to expertly made scrambled eggs with mozzarella, avocado, and sausage; fluffy pancakes; and good, decidedly non-diner-like, coffee. The menu is shorter than what you'll find at your average diner, but that only further proves the point that the restaurant takes quality seriously. It also serves brunch, during which you can sample one or more of its creative cocktails, including delicious Hibiscus Margarita featuring hibiscus-ginger syrup.
(212) 874-2700
148 W 67th St, New York, NY 10023
Russ&Daughters
This place is so famous it can hardly be considered a hole-in-the-wall spot, unless you consider its original location on Orchard Street, which was founded by Joel Russ back in the early 1900s after a stint selling herring out of a pushcart. Since then, Russ & Daughters has undergone a series of major changes, with the subsequent generations of owners building and expanding the business to include a number of locations throughout the city, many of which wouldn't fit the hole-in-the-wall description.
But we found that the original location on Orchard Street retains its cozy charm with comfy booths, crowded spaces, and people milling outside the door waiting for a table. The menu is not what you'd expect from a hole-in-the-wall spot, with plenty of caviar, Champagne, and smoked salmon to go around, plus fancy inventive cocktails like a caraway Bloody Mary, but that's the nature of its charm.
212-475-4880, x2
127 Orchard St | NYC 10002
Barney Greengrass
At a first glance, this cash-only spot is your typical Upper West Side neighborhood breakfast place. But due to its quality and various celebrity endorsements — it's one of Martha Stewart's favorite restaurants and one of many places where legendary Anthony Bourdain loved to eat – this joint has become so famous that it's not that easy to get a spot on any given day.
The place is small and can be considered a hole-in-the-wall, but the service is fast and friendly, and servers and those working the till are running a well-oiled machine. Barney Greengrass is known as the Sturgeon King, so grab yourself some of its flagship produce, but if you're not inclined to go for raw fish, we found the whitefish salad delightful. Just beware, before you leave, the staff might try to foist some delicious black and white cookies on you to bring home. You should readily accept.
(212) 724-4707
541 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024
Cocina Conseulo
Cocina Conseulo serves some excellent breakfast items, including an exceptional honey and butter coated masa pancake. Besides the food, it's really difficult to find such level of homeyness as what you might experience at Cocina Conseulo. One diner described the atmosphere as warm and welcoming, likening it to a family member's living room, while other diners have called it homey or described friendly interactions with the owner, who literally showed them how the sausage (or sauce, in their case) is made.
The fact that you still may have to wait in line at this place on weekends, even though it's tucked away in far-flung Harlem, away from the madding crowds, is a testament to its popularity. Even so, it retains the home kitchen feel that makes the food taste even better than it already is.
(646) 250-7172
130 Hamilton Pl, New York, NY 10031
Win Son Bakery
Taiwanese cuisine might not be the first thing one thinks of when deciding on a breakfast spot in NYC. But that needs to change, especially when a place like Win Son Bakery is in the mix. After initially running a spot in Brooklyn for many years, the restaurant now has a location in East Village, but the original, located in a quieter, residential area of Williamsburg with limited indoor seating, is much closer to the hole-in-the-wall concept.
Order anything from the menu and you will be pleased. You can go for the viral Pine Nut Sun Cookie, a Japanese-inspired mochi donut, or a more traditional Taiwanese treat, like scallion pancakes with shrimp and ginger. Either way, the food is excellent, brought to you by chefs who worked under Tom Colicchio and clearly know what they're doing.
(917) 909-1725
164 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Hani's Bakery and Cafe
If you grew up on peanut butter and jelly but are afraid that eating it now will undermine your image as a serious adult, you now have the option of partaking in a grown-up, thoroughly sophisticated version of this classic American combination. One of Hani's Bakery's standout items is the PB&J cake, a yellow sponge cake layered with wild blueberry compote, peanut butter buttercream, and a ground peanut-sesame blend.
But if cake for breakfast is too decadent, Hani's has a number of other excellent offerings, including bourbon-glazed pear Danish pastries. And if bourbon for breakfast is too outlandish, then you can always try a paneer tikka pinwheel. With those options in mind, you'll notice that Hani's is not the typical bakery offering the usual suspects. But that's what makes it such a stand-out place, and the fact it has few tables and limited counter seating.
67 Cooper Sq, New York, NY 10003
Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria
"Il buco" literally means "the hole" in Italian, which puts this spot firmly in the realm of hole-in-the-wall restaurants even before you see it. And its name is, indeed, fitting, as it has limited seating and modestly sized space. However, it also has rows of cheeses, wines, and other Italian delights.
The breakfasts consist mostly of American-inspired dishes made with typical Italian ingredients, as Italians don't actually partake in what Americans might consider a true breakfast (they tend to nibble on some biscuits or a croissant, down an espresso, and leave the real eating to a long and leisurely lunch). Thus, you will find blueberry muffins made with polenta, or a breakfast sandwich smeared with a sauce made of Italian sweet Nardello peppers. Whatever the case, a food by any other name would taste just as sweet.
(212) 837-2622
53 Great Jones St, New York, NY 10012
Buvette
This French bistro is small and charming and easy to miss amidst the hustle and bustle of the West Village. The breakfast menu is predictably French, with items like croque monsieurs in various iterations and plenty of croissants. But you will also find American stalwarts made well, such as avocado on toast with a soupcon of spiced yogurt, or a very good French-adjacent Belgian waffle, which really hit the spot on a recent visit.
You will likely find a line or a wait time on your next visit, but if you feel that you can't wait for your breakfast, rest assured that Buvette will be open for the rest of the day and late into the evening. In fact, the restaurant is open 18 hours a day, making it especially accessible outside standard meal times, all the way up to midnight.
42 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
Winner Bakery
As the name suggests, this restaurant specializes in chicken dinners — the name is a reference to "winner, winner, chicken dinner" phrase — but it also offers a great breakfast in a small space run by Daniel Eddy, a chef of Michelin star fame. Indeed, the space is small because the concept involves counter service only, with a strong emphasis on takeout. Eddy's idea was to provide a neighborhood joint where folks heading to the subway to go to work could grab breakfast and go, and then stop by again in the evening, for chicken or whatnot, and head home for dinner.
As for that breakfast, expect handheld foods that can be consumed on the go, like the egg and cheese sandwich on a homemade English muffin, or the maple walnut scone. You come to Winner for a good time, not a long time, so whatever the wait may be, it should be quickly cleared in time for you to get to work at a reasonable hour. If not, you can always stop by their butcher shop or at the location inside the park, all of which are located within a small area near Prospect Heights.
367 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Mei Lai Wah
Although this storied bakery moved to a larger spot earlier this year, after churning out Hong Kong-style breakfast foods since the 1960s, you could hardly call the new location big, per se. Another thing that seems to have remained largely unchanged is the food. The main difference, and perhaps the reason for the new location, is that it has more ovens, so it's easier to feed those long lines.
The masterpiece at this spot is the baked roast pork bun, which the current owner's grandfather started making after he arrived in the 1940s from China because he missed the ones he would eat in his native Guangdong province. The food consists of a wheat bun filled with pork shoulder marinated in a mixture of oyster, soy, and hoisin sauces. In addition to this popular item, the restaurant serves a series of steamed and fried dim sum, such as shrimp dumplings and pan-fried sticky ice.
(212) 966-7866
41 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
Sofreh Cafe
Sofreh is a great place to grab Iranian dinner when in Prospect Heights. But if breakfast is what you seek, head to its neighboring sister restaurant Sofreh Cafe for great Persian pastries. In particular, the latifeh, a soft pastry filled with rose cream and pistachios, is not to be missed. The rose custard donut is also an enticing option on the weekends, which is when it's available.
Yes, the cafe uses a lot of rosewater, but it does it well. And fear not, because if you prefer a savory breakfast, they have that too. Try herb-laden koukou sabzi or frittata-like koukou morgh with lemon chicken and potatoes. Whatever you choose, your taste buds are likely to be rewarded, as Sofreh restaurants are no slouches: Owner Nasim Alikhani was nominated for a James Beard Award last year.
(929) 294-9240
216 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
C&B
Perhaps one reason why hole-in-the-wall spots are often so good is that a lower overhead from renting and occupying a smaller space allows restaurateurs to focus on the food. This certainly seems to be the case with C&B, a miniscule, take-out only spot that, according to some, serves the best breakfast sandwich in the East Village, which is already chock-full of fantastic eateries.
The sandwich in question is the chorizo served on a brioche roll with scrambled eggs, though the merguez sausage with cheddar and egg, which comes on a very large croissant, so that it can fit everything, may be just as good, if a little messy to eat. The chef and owner, Ali Sahin, is no stranger to fine foods, and has even worked at Daniel, one of the city's top fine dining establishments. Come hungry, but be prepared to face a line.
178 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
Methodology
Many places on this list were compiled based on our taste tests. When we weren't able to sample the menu, we relied on professional reviews and selected spots that came with serious culinary chops, such as James Beard chef nominations, or established names going back decades. We excluded every restaurant that did not meet the hole-in-the-wall criteria of being small, possibly cramped, and with limited seating, no matter how good it was.