Food

Eat Great Cheap: 10 Delicious New Breakfast Spots Around DC

Our favorite bagels, biscuits, and all-day breakfast tacos.

Call Your Mother Deli's za'atar-spiced bagel with candied salmon cream cheese, cucumber, and shallots. Photograph by Scott Suchman
Eat Great Cheap 2019

About Eat Great Cheap 2019

This article is a part of Washingtonian’s Eat Great Cheap feature, our annual list of where to eat (and not break the bank) right now. Our food editors put together the best new restaurants around DC where you can find Detroit-style pizza, Japanese egg-salad sandwiches, chicken-nugget-filled tacos, and more—for $25 or less per person.

Rise and shine, it’s bagel, biscuit, and taco time. These restaurants appear in our recent Eat Great Cheap guide to the best new restaurants around DC where you can feast for under $25 per person.

Call Your Mother
3301 Georgia Ave., NW
Yes, you’ll inevitably wait in line for wood-fired bagel sandwiches at this “Jew-ish” deli (especially now with Bon Appetit’sbest new restaurant” nod). And yes, they’re worth it. We’re big fans of the Amar’e with candied salmon cream cheese on a za’atar bagel (pro tip: go weekday mornings to avoid the crowds).

Chaia Tacos
3207 Grace St., NW;  615 I St., NW
These airy vegetarian taquerias work well for both grab-and-go and sit-down meals (hello, draft Lambrusco). Homemade corn tortillas are stuffed with local eggs on weekends plus seasonal veggie combos like mushrooms with salsa roja and feta.

Coffee and pastries at Colada Shop. Photograph courtesy of Colada Shop.
Coffee and pastries at Colada Shop. Photograph courtesy of Colada Shop.

Colada Shop
1405 T St., NW;  21430 Epicerie Plaza, Sterling
We need more all-day spots like these tropically hued Cuban cafes where you can drop in at any hour for a coffee or cocktail. Start the day with a cortado and avocado tostada or linger over flaky empanadas, ham croquetas, and one of the best Cuban sandwiches in town.

Fava Pot
7393 Lee Hwy., Falls Church
This lovely all-day cafe serves Egyptian comfort food at its finest—honeyed kunafa pastries, za’atar-dusted feta pies, organic eggs scrambled with fava beans or basterma (spiced beef), and steaming coffee drinks.

Breakfast biscuit at Mason Dixie Biscuit Co. Photograph by Jai Williams.
Breakfast biscuit at Mason Dixie Biscuit Co. Photograph by Jai Williams.

Mason Dixie
1819 Seventh St., NW
“Butter,” scrawled across the ceiling of this Shaw chicken-and-biscuit shop, says it all. The pastel-hued diner excels in indulgences such as sausage-gravy-smothered eggs over buttermilk biscuits—breakfast runs all day—and warm biscuit sandwiches stuffed with crackling fried chicken. 

Philly Wing Fry
1309 Fifth St., NE (Union Market)
Celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi isn’t just a great memoirist—he also makes a mean sandwich. His Union Market stall recently launched breakfast, Friday through Sunday. Bring your appetite—sandwiches include berbere-spiced ribeye and egg with smoked provolone and garlic aioli, or a mushroom version with pepper jack cheese and herbed yoghurt.

Sorrelina
2029 P St., NW
Dupont Circle’s charming Italian cafe serves breakfast through aperitivo hour and dinner.  Stop by in the morning for a bagel-and-lox with smoked-caper schmear or simple ham, egg, and cheese on rustic white bread.

A towering biscuit sandwich at Stomping Ground. Photo by Scott Suchman

Stomping Ground
2309 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 2001 International Dr.Tysons Galleria, McLean
Fluffy buttermilk biscuits are the name of the game at Nicole Jones’s sister bakeries in Del Ray and Tysons Galleria’s food hall. Eat them super-stuffed in sandwich form (with a ton of napkins) or simply spread with jam and butter.

Taco Bamba
777 I Street., NW; 2190 Pimmit Drive., Falls Church; 164 Maple Ave., West Vienna; 6691-A Backlick Rd., Springfield; 10629 Braddock Road., Suite B-8 Fairfax
Breakfast is served all-day at chef Victor Albisu’s creative taquerias in DC and Virginia. Menus differ by location, but expect satisfying dishes like chorizo and egg tacos, breakfast sopes, fried egg enchiladas, and tinga tostadas.

The Girl & the Vine
7071 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park
This serene all-day deli/wine shop/cafe in Takoma Park, run by two Elle alums, makes for a perfect breakfast stop—especially on warm days when you can sit on the patio with a slice of avocado toast dressed up with local No. 1 Sons pickles or a three-cheese frittata.

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.