All brunches are on Monday, September 1.
A&J Restaurant
1319 Rockville Pike #C, Rockville; 4316 Markham St., Unit B, Annandale
Our favorite dim sum spot in the area serves up thousand-layer pancakes, excellent noodle soups, and dumplings galore starting at 11:30 every day.
Cafe Unido
908 W St., NW
Weekdays start bright and early (8 AM) at this Panamanian cafe in Shaw. Find breakfast sandwiches with guava mumbo sauce, avocado toast on sourdough, a skillet of eggs, salsa, and homemade queso fresco, and plenty of coffee drinks.
Cordelia Fishbar
550 Morse St., NE
This Union Market seafood destination will let you kick off the day with fried prawns and waffles, a buttery lobster roll, poached eggs with crabcakes, and plenty of tinned fish and raw oysters. Bottomless cocktails—such as mai tais, bloodies, mimosas, and coladas—are $33.
El Paraiso
1101 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
There are a couple ways to brunch at this Capitol Hill Mexican spot. You can go for bottomless food and mimosas ($45), or order a la carte (and tack on bottomless mimosas for $20). On the menu: chicken and waffles with arbol chile syrup; chilaquiles, and tres leches French toast.
I Egg You
517 Eighth St., SE
Some of DC’s best breakfast sandwiches come out of this Barracks Row spot from the Fried Rice Collective (also behind Chiko and Anju). This is primo hangover fare—think brown-butter-fried eggs on milk bread, bacon steaks, and smashed, fried potatoes heaped with fontina-cheese sauce, candied jalapeños, and Old Bay aioli. If that doesn’t do the trick, they serve Pedialyte…and a bevy of cocktails.
Le Diplomate
1601 14th St., NW
Logan Circle brasserie Le Diplomate will serve its seafood towers, gruyere omelets, and top-notch pancakes starting at 9:30 AM. Sister restaurants the Occidental (throwback American), and El Presidente (Mexican) are serving Monday brunch, too.
Mikko
1636 R St., NW
This Scandi cafe in Dupont serves brunch from 9 AM to 4 PM. Go for thin Swedish pancakes, bratwurst and eggs, lingonberry bread pudding, and plenty of mimosas and bloodies.
The Royal
501 Florida Ave., NW
LeDroit Park’s neighborhood bar/cafe is one of our favorite weekday breakfast spots in the city. The main reason: egg-and-avocado-filled arepas, but also the guava pastries and creative coffee drinks.
Rustico
827 Slaters Lane. Alexandria
This long-running pizza hangout serves a full slate of pies for brunch, plus ricotta doughnuts, Nutella French toast, short rib hash, and fruity cocktails. Mimosas are available by the glass or via bottle service.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
