Best breakfast in Seattle.

[SeattleUte]

http://www.toulousepetit.com/

It's no contest. This is no. 1. This may be the only restaurant I love where I have to avoid a rut. On the contrary, it's a mind blast trying to choose and try everything. It's 7 minutes from my house, too!

[YOhio]

I think most of us will probably wait until Mark Grace chimes in, but thanks for the input.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I think most of us will probably wait until Mark Grace chimes in, but thanks for the input.

Another example of the anti-apostate bias. Figures.

[Donuthole]

Another example of the anti-apostate bias. Figures.

So you're saying MarkGrace isn't an apostate?

[WashingtonCoug]

http://www.toulousepetit.com/

It's no contest. This is no. 1. This may be the only restaurant I love where I have to avoid a rut. On the contrary, it's a mind blast trying to choose and try everything. It's 7 minutes from my house, too!

I'll have to try it out the next time I'm in the area. Thanks for the tip.

[SeattleUte]

Another example of the anti-apostate bias. Figures.

Grace's knowledge of Seattle eateries is unmatched. Also, he may be CA. Not saying he is, just saying he might be.

[NorthwestUteFan]

That place is literally a 5 minute walk from my grandparents' place, I drive past it all the time. I will try it sometime (with the wife only, no kids allowed).

Thanks for the suggestion.

[SeattleUte]

That place is literally a 5 minute walk from my grandparents' place, I drive past it all the time. I will try it sometime (with the wife only, no kids allowed).

Thanks for the suggestion.

You can take the kids. It's not that fancy and very noisy.

[NorthwestUteFan]

You can take the kids.

Maybe, we will see how they react. (I meant I won't allow my kids, not the restaurant...)

I notice they have beignets! Kids always like those.

FWIW, my kids do OK at the Ivars Salmon House brunch (largely because they can watch the float planes land on Lake Union), so we may have a winner with Toulouse Petit.

[MarkGrace]

I'm not sure I have a favorite, but there are definitely a bunch of places I like. Since the economic crunch hit, several of the areas best restaurants have started doing breakfast/brunch, because the cheaper prices are more likely to bring in people than dinner, which is traditionally more expensive. Some favorites...

Tilth (Wallingford): Maria Hines is a genius, everyone knows that by now. The truffled egg scramble is lights out.
http://www.tilthrestaurant.com/

Olivar (Capitol Hill): $15 gets you fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee (I opt for tea ), a Spanish breakfast pastry with homemade jam, and any of the brunch entrees (which are probably worth the $15 alone). The patatas a lo pobre is a winner.
http://www.olivarrestaurant.com/Olivar/olivar.html

A Caprice Kitchen (Ballard): A charming, rustic sort of countryside place. Downside here is that the brunch menu is not real expansive, so the options are limited. That said, any of the souffled omelletes are super tasty (two weeks ago I had chanterelles w/ comte cheese -- yum!)
http://www.capricekitchen.com/

Serafina (Eastlake): This was my wife's first brunch love in Seattle (and let me tell you, she loves her some brunch), so it's an old stanby. On Sunday's they bring in a little two or three piece jazz group, which adds nicely to the ambience. During summer they have terrific patio seating. Recommendation on those crispy little ham baskets filled with veggies, polenta and a poached egg. Damn tasty those are.
http://serafinaseattle.com/serafina/

Macrina Bakery (Belltown): Not a lot of seating, but a lot of good and (fairly) inexpensive eating.
http://www.macrinabakery.com/

Boat Street Cafe (Belltown): All the charm of eating breakfast in Paris (or so I've been told), right here in our little city. You can pretty much pick at random from the menu and turn up something awesome.
http://www.boatstreetcafe.com/

Sitka & Sprice (Capitol Hill): The set up at the new location is different than the old, which is good if you're eating with my wife (the new place has more of an option instead of just whatever Matt Dillon feels like cooking that day). Also, while you're there, you can pick up some awesome goods at the new Melrose Market.
http://sitkaandspruce.com/
http://melrosemarketseattle.com/

Senor Moose Cafe (Ballard): An SU favorite for dinner, this place also turns out awesome Mexican breakfasts. The huevos ahogados are money.
http://senormoose.com/

Volterra (Ballard): Despite having the Rachel Ray stamp of approval (that nasty little gremlin!), brunch here is still rather awesome. Their duck confit hash is one of my favorite breakfast dishes in town.
http://www.volterrarestaurant.com/

St. Cloud's (Madrona): I've only had one thing here, the Corned Beef Hash. But I love corned beef hash, and it has the best I've ever tasted, so it gets love from me for that alone.
http://www.stclouds.com/

Portage Bay Cafe (South Lake Union, U District, Ballard): Not better than any of the above, but a trusty go-to, especially when berries are in season and the berry bar is overflowing with goodness. Not worth waiting out the super long lines, but if you can get there at a time when it's not so crowded, it can be worth it.
http://www.portagebaycafe.com/Portag..._Bay_Cafe.html

Cafe Besalu (Ballard): For breakast pastries, it can't be beat (or can it? see below). People have told me that even in Paris, this would be among the top 5-10% of the bakeries. I can't confirm that, but I can confirm that the pastries are incredible and restaurants from NYC to London have tried to pry James Miller from his little shop to no avail. Lines can be insane on the weekend, but every minute of waiting is time well spent. The ginger biscuits, the quiche lorainne (best quiches I've ever had), the pear gallette, the peach tarts, ah...it's impossible to go wrong at this place.
http://www.cafebesalu.com/

Bakery Nouveau (West Seattle): When you've won the World Cup of Baking what do you do for an encore? Apparently turn out immaculate pastries for Seattle's lucky denizens. Simply one of the most beautiful places you can enter in all of Seattle. Chocolates, desserts, pastries -- it's all too much to handle. The twice-baked almond criossant is. friggin. insane.
http://www.bakerynouveau.com/welcome/

Anyway, those are the places we frequent most, though I certainly have only made it to a fraction of Seattle's best brunch/breakfast spots. Haven't been to Toulouse Petit yet, though it seems to have made its way to the top of Seattle's most beloved places in a hurry. I need to go soon.

EDIT: Oops...additions for a couple oversights

[MarkGrace]

So we went to toulouse last weekend with mixed results. The cured pork cheeks confit hash was awesome. The breakfast sandwich was less awesome, though I was puzzled as to why my wife would order a breakfast sandwich even when the waitress recommended it. The beignets were a bit disappointing.

[New Mexican Disaster]

That place has an enormous amount of variety on the menu. The paucity of fine cuisine is the one thing I miss most about living in a larger city.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

That place is literally a 5 minute walk from my grandparents' place, I drive past it all the time. I will try it sometime (with the wife only, no kids allowed).

Thanks for the suggestion.

Maybe your grandparents are in the same home as SU.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Maybe your grandparents are in the same home as SU.

I just saw this. He probably lives in their ward...(Seattle 1st Ward)

[SeattleUte]

So we went to toulouse last weekend with mixed results. The cured pork cheeks confit hash was awesome. The breakfast sandwich was less awesome, though I was puzzled as to why my wife would order a breakfast sandwich even when the waitress recommended it. The beignets were a bit disappointing.

With a menu that big you aren't going to get a home run dish every time. You need to be somewhat judicious, or adventuresome. There are some interesting combinations. Ordering the breakfast sandwich with all those other interesting offerings was indeed inexplicable. The cured pork cheeks and eggs is awesome. Toulouse also has the best steak and eggs in town. All those specialty egg dishes are great. (I never get sweet starchy stuff like pancakes and french toast.) We also live close to the Portage Bay Cafe which has a cult following. Toulouse is incomparably better.