THE HUNGRY HOURS

The LA brunch map | An LA weekend starts with brunch

In Taiwan, breakfast shops open at 7; in LA everyone rolls out at 11 and waits in line till noon. Sorted by the brunch you're after: classic, beachside, wellness, Asian flavors, Taiwanese breakfast, views, a drink, and the new openings of 2026.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Full text

1. 01 | The rules of LA brunch

   Mostly Saturday and Sunday 10 to 3, with 30–60 minute waits at popular spots on weekends; hard-to-book places release tables at a set time 14 or 30 days out. Check the bill for a service charge first so you don't tip twice.

2. 02 | The menu, translated

   Chilaquiles are tortilla chips soaked in salsa with eggs, a must-order at LA brunch; bottomless usually has a time limit and requires an entrée. Egg whites, on the side: customizing is totally normal in LA, so don't be shy.

3. 03 | Team classic: Redbird, République

   Redbird was Time Out's number one in LA for 2026, with duck chilaquiles in the garden of an old rectory; République does brunch every day, and if you don't want to wait, grab takeout from the bakery counter.

4. 04 | The Eastside ones

   Sqirl, the place that made toast famous in LA, is still open; Little Dom's is walk-in only on weekends, and the French toast soufflé is weekends only; Mírate has bay leaf horchata French toast; get the blueberry pancakes at Clark Street Diner.

5. 05 | Team beach: Venice, Malibu

   Gjusta has you take a number and has no parking lot, so go on a weekday morning; at Gjelina, ask for the back patio.

6. 06 | Beach brunch with Asian flavors

   Ryla in Hermosa Beach has Japanese and Taiwanese flavors, with breakfast fried rice and Chinese sausage; Cobi's in Santa Monica has kaya French toast. 'Eating sausage fried rice at the beach is a very strange kind of homesickness.'

7. 07 | Team wellness

   Destroyer's koshihikari rice porridge feels like eating in a gallery; Great White doesn't take reservations before 4 p.m.; Inn of the Seventh Ray by the creek in Topanga has been open since 1975, and the 2025 fires didn't reach it.

8. 08 | Team Asian flavors

   Yang's Kitchen in Alhambra has corn mochi pancakes and a $21 Yang Slam before 11 on weekdays; Woon in Pasadena does milk tea French toast; Liu's Cafe in Koreatown has pineapple buns and braised pork rice.

9. 09 | When you're homesick: Taiwanese breakfast in LA

   Taiwanese soft-bagel shop Miopane opened its first US location in Pasadena on January 1, 2026, and popular flavors sell out by 9:30; Pine & Crane's rice rolls are only at the DTLA location; and there's soy milk at Huge Tree and Four Seas.

10. 10 | Team view: the ones you go to for photos

    Dante Beverly Hills is on a 9th-floor rooftop with mountain views; Botanica in Silver Lake has a little market next door; the patio at Gracias Madre is very photogenic. 'In LA, the light at brunch matters more than the food.'

11. 11 | Team drink-in-hand

    Saltie Girl was Time Out's number two for 2026; SushiSamba means fighting for tables at 10 a.m., 14 days ahead; Hamburger Mary's has a ticketed drag brunch. Bottomless mimosas are usually limited to 90 minutes to 2 hours.

12. 12 | New in 2026

    The Hart and the Hunter reopened 9/30 after five years closed; Wilde's full English is super hard to book; plus Bower Surf Club, Mish and Zero Fox. With new LA spots, the first month after opening is the hardest to get into.

13. 13 | Three weekend routes

    Beach: Gjusta → shopping on Abbot Kinney → a walk by the ocean. Eastside: Sqirl or Little Dom's → Los Feliz bookstores → Kettl. Homesick: be at Miopane when it opens → Old Pasadena → Nana's.

14. 14 | Two-city mirror

    Taipei's breakfast shops open at 7, and you eat in 10 minutes and head to work; LA brunch is waiting in line, chatting and sitting in the sun. 'In Taipei, breakfast starts the day; in LA, brunch is the day.'

Places in this story

• République
• Sqirl
• Gjusta
• Gjelina
• Great White
• The Butcher's Daughter
• Botanica
• Gracias Madre
• Kettl Hollywood
• Nana’s Green Tea

In this series

• The LA Taiwanese breakfast map | How far do you drive for shaobing youtiao in LA?
• The LA coffee map | Which kind of LA coffee do you want?
• The LA bakery map | Why do you have to get up early for bread in LA?
• When did LA bagels get this good? | The LA bagel map 2026
• The LA juice & smoothie map | Why does one smoothie cost that much in LA?
• The LA taco map | In LA, the taco is the real national dish
• Why does everyone's first meal in LA have to be In-N-Out? | The LA burger map 2026
• Why do people line up for seventy years for one pastrami sandwich? | The LA old-school deli map
• In LA, dessert is a mood | The LA ice cream & dessert map 2026
• The LA farmers market map 2026 | Which day, where, and which stall first
• Why drive to the San Gabriel Valley for dim sum in LA? | The SGV dim sum map
• The biggest Thai community outside Thailand, right next to Hollywood? | The LA Thai Town map
• Why does everyone hit Sawtelle for ramen in LA? | The Sawtelle Japantown map

Read it with the slides →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).