There’s something so alluring about the concept of brunch. Just the word alone conjures images of rolling out of bed on a sunny weekend morning (or early afternoon), moseying over to your favorite restaurant, and catching up with friends over a platter of eggs Benedict, a carafe of coffee, and a mimosa or three.
“Brunch” obviously is a portmanteau of the words “breakfast” and “lunch,” but in our opinion, the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Breakfast can be a bowl of soggy cereal, and lunch can be a depressing sandwich eaten at your desk, but brunch is never sad. “Brunch” implies conviviality, lazy weekend afternoons, an excess of calories, and perhaps a pleasant buzz.
But with great promise also comes the opportunity for great disappointment. For every perfectly cooked, gorgeously plated brunch dish, there’s a sad pile of overcooked scrambled eggs, a slab of leaden French toast, and greasy, undercooked breakfast potatoes. Such is the way of the world.
You’ve got a better chance of avoiding brunch disappointment, though, if you live in one of the 25 cities we’ve identified as being the best for brunch lovers.
To identify these cities, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a ranking created by LawnStarter, a lawn-care start-up that conducts research into city and state amenities on a regular basis. Drawing on data from Google Ads, Groupon, Meetup, and TripAdvisor, the site ranked 197 of the largest American cities across eight metrics in four key categories, differently weighted, to arrive at an overall brunch score for each city. The categories were access (number of places serving brunch per square mile and number of brunch deals); quality (average consumer ratings and number of reviews for each establishment plus number rated 4.5 stars and above); community (number of brunch clubs and brunch events); and demand (average monthly Google searches for “brunch” or “brunch near me” over the past 12 months).
Click here to see the 25 best cities for brunch lovers
If you live in one of the cities on our list, not only do you most likely live in close proximity to any number of places that serve brunch – there’s also a fairly good chance that most of them are pretty good, too.
25. Austin, TX
> Overall score: 39.07
> Access rank: 40
> Quality rank: 67
> Community rank: 5
> Demand rank: 7
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24. Scottsdale, AZ
> Overall score: 39.11
> Access rank: 8
> Quality rank: 36
> Community rank: 75
> Demand rank: 49
23. Bridgeport, CT
> Overall score: 39.47
> Access rank: 178
> Quality rank: 2
> Community rank: 88
> Demand rank: 174
22. Atlanta, GA
> Overall score: 39.5
> Access rank: 6
> Quality rank: 112
> Community rank: 8
> Demand rank: 5
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21. Chattanooga, TN
> Overall score: 39.53
> Access rank: 35
> Quality rank: 9
> Community rank: 107
> Demand rank: 80
20. Phoenix, AZ
> Overall score: 39.71
> Access rank: 63
> Quality rank: 13
> Community rank: 36
> Demand rank: 21
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19. Dallas, TX
> Overall score: 39.99
> Access rank: 53
> Quality rank: 54
> Community rank: 4
> Demand rank: 12
18. Nashville, TN
> Overall score: 40.06
> Access rank: 51
> Quality rank: 17
> Community rank: 21
> Demand rank: 18
17. Fort Lauderdale, FL
> Overall score: 40.61
> Access rank: 4
> Quality rank: 58
> Community rank: 45
> Demand rank: 40
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16. Salt Lake City, UT
> Overall score: 40.65
> Access rank: 12
> Quality rank: 51
> Community rank: 14
> Demand rank: 44
15. Kansas City, MO
> Overall score: 40.65
> Access rank: 68
> Quality rank: 11
> Community rank: 22
> Demand rank: 40
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14. Washington, D.C.
> Overall score: 41.23
> Access rank: 9
> Quality rank: 143
> Community rank: 2
> Demand rank: 7
13. Fort Collins, CO
> Overall score: 41.36
> Access rank: 24
> Quality rank: 7
> Community rank: 58
> Demand rank: 116
12. Seattle, WA
> Overall score: 41.37
> Access rank: 14
> Quality rank: 33
> Community rank: 23
> Demand rank: 6
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11. Portland, OR
> Overall score: 41.94
> Access rank: 22
> Quality rank: 22
> Community rank: 15
> Demand rank: 17
10. Tempe, AZ
> Overall score: 43.03
> Access rank: 27
> Quality rank: 3
> Community rank: 75
> Demand rank: 66
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9. San Francisco, CA
> Overall score: 44.12
> Access rank: 18
> Quality rank: 19
> Community rank: 12
> Demand rank: 9
8. Denver, CO
> Overall score: 44.43
> Access rank: 20
> Quality rank: 18
> Community rank: 10
> Demand rank: 10
7. San Diego, CA
> Overall score: 46.26
> Access rank: 32
> Quality rank: 8
> Community rank: 6
> Demand rank: 14
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6. Savannah, GA
> Overall score: 46.43
> Access rank: 5
> Quality rank: 6
> Community rank: 88
> Demand rank: 45
5. Orlando, FL
> Overall score: 47.02
> Access rank: 1
> Quality rank: 79
> Community rank: 18
> Demand rank: 22
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4. Las Vegas, NV
> Overall score: 47.66
> Access rank: 2
> Quality rank: 27
> Community rank: 16
> Demand rank: 16
3. Chicago, IL
> Overall score: 47.73
> Access rank: 65
> Quality rank: 10
> Community rank: 3
> Demand rank: 2
2. New Orleans, LA
> Overall score: 50.56
> Access rank: 7
> Quality rank: 1
> Community rank: 58
> Demand rank: 24
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1. New York, NY
> Overall score: 71.21
> Access rank: 13
> Quality rank: 5
> Community rank: 1
> Demand rank: 1
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