Southern American brunch$18-28Sun 09:00-14:00Reservations on OpenTable
Big Jones in Chicago is Paul Fehribach's Andersonville Southern brunch on Clark Street, with buttermilk biscuits, shrimp-and-grits and the Sunday-only brunch menu.
Order: Buttermilk biscuit with sorghum butter and the shrimp-and-grits.
Tip: Sunday tables go two weeks ahead. The bar takes walk-up if you arrive at 09:30 on the dot.
Sunday brunch with oysters$20-35Sun 10:00-14:30Reservations on OpenTable
The Publican in Chicago is Paul Kahan's Fulton Market Sunday brunch with oyster towers, ham plates and soft-scramble-and-biscuit at the communal mead-hall tables.
Order: Oyster tower, country-ham plate, soft-scrambled eggs with bacon-cheddar biscuit.
Tip: Book at 10:00 for the lightest dining room. The oyster-shucker is at the bar; order a half-dozen there if you walk up.
Hyde Park cafeteria breakfast$6-12Daily 06:00-15:00Walk-in only, cash only
Valois Cafeteria in Chicago is the Hyde Park cafeteria on 53rd Street since 1921, the See Your Food steam-table breakfast, an Obama-era $7 tray, opens daily at 06:00 and closes mid-afternoon.
Order: Obama tray: scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast.
Tip: Cash only. Order the Obama tray and pay $7. Walk a block south to read the Sunday Times after.
Swedish-American breakfast and lunch$10-18Daily 07:00-15:00Walk-in only
Ann Sather in Chicago is the 1945 Swedish-American breakfast room whose Broadway location carries the city's cinnamon roll after Belmont closes mid-2026.
Order: Maple-glazed cinnamon roll (free with every entree), Swedish pancakes with lingonberry.
Tip: The cinnamon roll is included free with every entree; ask for it warm. The Broadway and Granville rooms continue after the Belmont site closes 28 June 2026.
Farm-driven American brunch$15-25Wed-Sun 09:00-15:00Walk-in only on weekends
Lula Cafe in Chicago is Jason Hammel's Logan Square brunch room on Kedzie since 1999, with farm-driven plates, vegetable hash and a Logan Boulevard patio in summer.
Order: Vegetable hash with poached egg and brown-butter sage.
Tip: Arrive 09:30 on weekends. The queue is long by 10:30; the patio opens at 10:00 in summer.
Sweet-and-savoury brunch, big pancakes$14-22Daily 08:00-14:30Walk-in only
Bongo Room in Chicago is the Wicker Park brunch institution on Milwaukee Avenue, with three-pancake stacks the size of frisbees and a vegan jackfruit hash plate.
Order: Pretzel-crusted French toast with white chocolate caramel.
Tip: Order one savoury and one sweet to share. The pancake special is a quarterly-rotating menu posted on the front board.