5 breakfast spots you’re missing out on in Fresno. There’s chile verde, baklava
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Country Waffles at Marks and Shaw rates 4.5 stars and sells chicken and waffles.
- Early Birds opened in May near First and Olive and draws weekend crowds with chile verde.
- Rumi Baklava opened May 1 offering Syrian pastries and lahmajoun and coffee.
This town loves a good breakfast.
Hit up a classic breakfast joint on a Saturday morning — say, Fresno Breakfast House, The Train Depot or Batter Up Pancakes — and you’ll be sure to find a packed waiting area.
But what about the overlooked ones? The ones people might not know about. Maybe they’re new. Or they’ve been around but seem to operate under the radar, despite getting good reviews.
Here are five breakfast restaurants you may not know about. And if you do, good for you for being in the know.
5 breakfast restaurants
Country Waffles at Shaw and Marks
There are several Country Waffles locations in the area, but the one at Marks and Shaw avenues is often quiet and not busy — even on weekends. And it’s not because of the quality of the food.
It gets 4.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp.com.
The owners bought it three years ago, though it’s been around for more than 20 years.
Its vintage decor gives it a cozy blast-from-the-past feel.
The top sellers are omelets and waffles; specifically, the chicken and waffles. The omelet favorites include the meat lover’s with sausage, bacon and ham.
Details: Country Waffles is at 3050 W. Shaw Ave., #101. Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Early Birds Cafe at Olive and First
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Breakfast and lunch spot Early Birds Cafe opened in May near First Street and Olive Avenue. It’s on this list because it’s new, but it does get packed on weekends.
It serves an all-American breakfast. There’s an 11-ounce country-fried steak and eggs. And there are “Mexi-Cali” breakfasts, including the popular chile verde served with omelets or eggs.
Blueberry ube pancakes are a top seller, along with Vietnamese coffee.
The restaurant gets lots of visitors from the nearby airport, and people in the neighborhood who walk there, said owner Kanitha Soukaseum.
Details: Early Birds is at 1276 North First St. and open 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Wake Me Up Farms at Champlain and Perrin
Wake Me Up Farms is a bakery and cafe that opened over the holidays and serves breakfast all day.
In addition to baguettes and rounds of fresh-baked sourdough bread, it serves baked goods such as muffins, avocado toast topped with steak and eggs, frittatas, chicken bowls, salads and more. There are also take-and-bake gourmet pot pies in flavors such as beef bourguignon and pepperoni pizza.
Its breakfast burritos are a popular seller, stuffed with sausage, eggs and New Mexico Hatch chiles.
There’s also a large menu of coffee drinks, along with flavored lemonades and teas.
It’s a kid-friendly business with indoor and outdoor seating.
Owner Ciara Cerro started selling her sourdough bread at the Clovis farmers market, eventually leaving a corporate job to open the bakery and cafe. Many of the recipes at the business have been handed down from women in the family and won awards at local fairs.
Details: Wake Me Up Farms is at 1122 E. Champlain Drive, suite 101. Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Cracked Pepper Bistro at Palm and Herndon
Cracked Pepper Bistro near Herndon and Palm avenues is known mostly for its high-end dinners — and its famous bread pudding.
But some people still don’t know it’s serving breakfast and brunch too (just check out The Bee’s story about it back in March).
The restaurant started offering a limited menu this spring. There’s bacon, eggs and potatoes, smoked salmon bagels and a slow-cooked pork belly served over rice with an egg.
It’s not the full-service sit-down experience you get at dinner. Instead, you order at a counter.
Owner Vatche Moukhtarian has gotten into roasting coffee and runs the Sanctuary Coffee Refuge at Northwest Church. (And he’ll soon be running a cafe at Fresno City Hall.)
Those coffee skills are on display at Cracked Pepper’s brunch also, with lots of creative lattes made from his locally roasted espresso.
Details: Cracked Pepper’s breakfast is at 6737 N. Palm Ave. from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Rumi Baklava at Shaw and Marks
Rumi Baklava is a new-to-Fresno bakery that you’re going to be seeing more of.
It opened at Shaw and Marks avenues behind Outback Steakhouse May 1 selling racks of pastries, including kunafa and baklava. There’s baklava made with pistachios, walnuts or cashews. There’s also the popular “crown of the king,“ a round pastry filled with nuts covered in a shiny, sweet glaze.
Most of the pastries are Syrian because that’s where the pastry chef is from.
You’ll also find lahmajoun — sometimes called Armenian pizza — a flat dough spread with ground beef.
And of course, there’s coffee, because this business is owned by Hamed Alghazali of Fabiano Coffee Roasters. He also sells his coffee at the Vineyard Farmers Market.
Next up, he plans to open a new Mediterranean cafe in the former Lewis Diamond Co. spot at Alluvial Avenue and Fresno Street in northeast Fresno.
Details: Rumi Baklava is at 2767 W. Shaw Ave. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
