Get ready to up your breakfast game with the next guide in the Ambitious Kitchen Chicago Series. Abra and I have been all over the city looking for the best eats and treats around — check out the best salads, cookies & sandwiches! Remember to follow @AmbitiousKitchen on Instagram to see all of our guides and videos.
Have any recommendations or types of food we should explore? Leave a comment at the end of this post or on our Chicago Series Instagram posts.
We’re so excited to share the absolute best breakfast sandwiches in Chicago that make the perfect, delicious weekend brunch or weekday pick-me-up. These cafes and restaurants are a must-try if you live in Chicago or if you’re visiting! You’ll recognize a couple of our favs that have been featured in our previous guides, so you know they’re an amazing go-to.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar from Sunflour Bakery & Cafe: 4250 N Marine Dr.
- Biscuit Egg Breakfast Sandwich from Hexe Coffee Co.: 2000 W. Diversey Pkwy.
- Steingold’s Classic Lox from Steingold’s Deli: 3737 N Southport Ave.
- The Bestest Seller from Smack Dab: 6730 N Clark St.
- The Potato-Nator from Tempesta Market: 1372 W. Grand Ave.
- BLT + Egg on a Biscuit from The Biscuit Man: 1612 W Irving Park Rd.
Get each of the breakfast sandwich deets below!
Sunflour Bakery & Cafe
Abra first discovered Sunflour Cafe when she moved to the Buena Park neighborhood and fell in love with pretty much every menu item. It’s located inside the Go Grocer at the bottom of an apartment building, so it’s truly a hidden gem. They have wonderful coffee drinks, delicious pastries sourced from around the city, homemade vegan hummus with fun flavors, and tons of amazing lunch & breakfast sandwiches. The sandwiches are super fresh and their fresh baguettes are everyyyything.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar: this breakfast sandwich does not mess around. For those mornings where you need some serious sustenance, pick up this delish sandwich with ham, scrambled eggs, cheddar, muenster, spinach, honey mustard and mayo on a toasted baguette. The baguette is nice and toasty with the perfect, soft chew on the inside. Abra isn’t a huge mustard fan but the honey mustard adds a whole new element to the sandwich. Yes, it’s great for splitting, too!
Hexe Coffee Co.
Hello, old friend! Hexe is back in our guide with another must-order menu item. We’ve shared their incredible vegan & gluten free chocolate chip walnut cookie in our cookie guide, and their delicious turkey sandwich in our original sandwich guide. They opened back in 2019 and have amazing coffee drinks, baked goods, cocktails, and of course, sandwiches. Now it’s time to pull up to their patio, order a super fun coffee drink and get their famous breakfast sandwich.
- Biscuit Egg Breakfast Sandwich: I tried this beauty a few weeks ago and it was SO delicious and filling. Their savory biscuit has a perfect crumb and they top it with scrambled egg, cheese, and your choice of bacon or sausage. I went for the sausage because it’s homemade right there! Obsessed. They also give you jam on the side because who doesn’t love a sweet & savory combo? Their biscuit sandwich is served until it’s sold out, so I suggest getting there right in the morning to snag one!
Steingold’s Deli
Steingold’s opened back in 2017 and quickly became one of the most popular bagel places in Chicago. They’re known for their unique takes on traditional Jewish deli recipes, and they were named one of the best restaurants in Chicago by Food Network last year under the “Modern Deli” category. You’ll find the best, New York style bagels with that perfect chew, plus tons of sandwiches and sides like pastrami, lox, smoked whitefish salad, BLT, and more. They often release limited edition bagel & cream cheese flavors on their Instagram, too! Each weekend in May they’re featuring a blueberry buttermilk pancake bagel with lemon ricotta maple cream cheese. OMG YES.
- Steingold’s Classic Lox: we switched it up from eggs to share the amazing signature lox sandwich. It’s piled high with house cured Skuna Bay lox, cream cheese, red onion, tomato, capers and pickled cucumbers on your choice of bagel. We went with the everything bagel and chive cream cheese and the flavors were *chef’s kiss*. They definitely do not skimp on the lox and the fresh veggies add the perfect balance. If you’re a fan of lox, this sandwich is a must try in Chicago!
Smack Dab
We’re heading up north to Roger’s Park to find the coveted Smack Dab cafe. Abra discovered Smack Dab a couple of years back and it’s one of her all-time favs. Not only do they have amazing menu items like biscuit breakfast sandwiches (we’ll get to that), donuts, breakfast burritos, fun coffee drinks & Friday night pizzas, but they also work hard to benefit the community around them. On the first Wednesday of every month, they serve up a free community dinner with vegan & gluten free options for anyone in the community who wants/needs one. They also donate $1000 worth of food to The Love Fridge each month — a mutual aid group that works to place community refrigerators across the city.
- The Bestest Seller: this incredible breakfast sandwich has scrambled egg, cheese, sausage, garlic chive mayo & bacon jam on their signature cheesy biscuit. The garlic chive mayo is incredible and the sweet & savory bacon jam takes this sammie to the next level. Pair this sandwich with a delicious coffee drink like the “Spring in Blue-m Latte,” which has amazing blueberry sage syrup, and even a homemade cake donut (rotating, fun flavors!)
Tempesta Market
You may recognize Tempesta from our sandwich guide because they’re truly one of the best in the biz for all types of sandwiches. You’ll also find yummy sides, meats & cheese for charcuterie boards, wine & gelato in the market, so there’s really something for everyone. It’s one of Abra’s all-time favs, so we had to get their famous breakfast sandwich.
- The Potato-Nator: *warning* this breakfast sammie is giant, messy and absolutely delicious. It has a huge hash brown patty, bacon, pickled red onion, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, a sunnyside up egg, ‘nduja aioli and ‘nduja hot sauce on a butter brioche bun. WHOA. This baby is more of a knife-and-fork sandwich and we’re not mad about it. Get some extra napkins ready and pull up a chair on their seasonal patio with this one!
The Biscuit Man
In case you’re wondering if breakfast sandwiches are made even better on freshly baked biscuits, they are. The Biscuit Man is counter-service style located inside of the Long Room in Ravenswood — a cozy bar with unique cocktails, coffee & a spacious beer garden. Zeeshan Shah started The Biscuit Man back in 2015 after working at many award-winning restaurants and bars in Chicago. You’ll find a go-to spot for unique breakfast sandwiches all on soft, perfectly flaky, housmade biscuits. Enjoy it at the Long Room bar or patio with a coffee drink or a little brunch cocktail!
- BLT + Egg on a Biscuit: this wonderful biscuit sandwich has a cheesy scrambled egg, bacon, spring lettuce, aioli and tomato jam. The tomato jam adds a lovely sweetness paired with all of the savory items, and the biscuit is seriously SO soft and delicious. There’s nothing worse than a dry biscuit, and The Biscuit Man truly knocks it out of the park. We suggest splitting this sandwich and their “Basic Biscuit,” which has their signature tomato jam and goat cheese. The combo is unreal.
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