The best breakfast & brunch in Nashville.

Graze Nashville is a fully vegan restaurant on Eastland Avenue in East Nashville, and visitors from out of town return to it. Some came back twice in two days. The room is welcoming, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and servers point out specials and even local activities.

The hot tempeh sandwich is the dish people talk about most, with crisp tempeh against slaw and a mix of flavors that diners say blended perfectly. The breakfast bowl layers tofu scramble, cashew cheese, veggie sausage, tempeh bacon, green onions and a biscuit. Salads get real attention here: the Szechuan salad with kale and spinach, the citrus Caesar and a chickpea salad all earn praise, and the Szechuan brussels sprouts with hot tempeh are saturated in sauce. Quesadillas, burritos, BBQ sandwiches and a rotating beer cheese burger special add range.

Desserts such as raspberry lemon cheesecake are worth saving room for. The French press coffee is a lighter note for some diners. Weekend visits suit a mix of vegans and curious omnivores who want a hearty plate.

Eggstravaganza Cafe sits in a small strip mall on Nolensville Pike in Antioch, and diners who find it often call it their new go-to breakfast room. It is a sit-down restaurant in a part of town where full-service breakfast spots are few. Prices run a little above old country kitchens, and portions make up for it.

Eggs Benedict is the dish named most, from the classic with ham to a version with smoked trout and avocado, all with house hollandaise. Omelets arrive well cooked and loaded, with Serrano peppers as an option. Pancakes, waffles, crepes with sweet yogurt cream and flambe fruit, shakshuka and pierogi give the menu range. Fried green tomatoes come with a dipping sauce that one regular loves, and the homemade caramel latte has a following.

The room is small, and seating is first come, so a Sunday after church can mean a wait. Large groups may be split across tables, and staff work hard to seat everyone fast. Leftovers are common.

The Butter Milk Ranch sits on 12th Avenue South in the 12 South shopping district, with a coffee and pastry counter on one side and a sit-down brunch room on the other. The setting is stylish and organic, and the food gets strong marks. Waits are a real feature: weekend groups report one to two and a half hours for a table, though a seat at the bar often opens sooner.

Biscuits are the most mentioned item, and diners take some home from the pastry case. The pistachio croissant is the favorite pastry, and cookies and a berry lemon treat get approval. On the brunch menu, the Dirty Southern Fried Rice, the gluten-free peach waffles, the bacon and corn Benedict, the corned beef hash and the brown butter beignets all have fans. Breakfast tacos and shrimp dishes also appear.

The best plan is to arrive when doors open on a weekday, before tourists fill the room. Drinks such as the Vietnamese cold brew, grapefruit mimosas and chai are worth the time at the bar while waiting.

The Loveless Cafe sits on Highway 100 in a former motor lodge, with a large dining room, a gift shop and a takeaway food counter. Visitors arrive for a plate of warm biscuits and a table spread with preserves, and many say the setup matches the idea of a southern meal. Servers get praise for being warm, informed and quick with samples.

The biscuits come free before the order, crumbly and salt forward, with jam or honey as options. Fried chicken is the entree most diners recommend, with breading that stays crisp and meat that stays juicy. Country fried steak, the BBQ omelet, ribs and pulled pork add range, and chicken and dumplings appears as a Wednesday special that one diner called the best they had eaten. Sides carry the table: mac and cheese, creamed corn, hash brown casserole, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese.

The kitchen handles a heavy volume of visitors with solid execution. One fried chicken biscuit was a little salty for one diner, so ask for light seasoning if that matters. Plan to browse the gift shop on the way out.

Nadeen's Hermitage Haven sits on Lebanon Pike in Hermitage, a diner-style room with a bar, breakfast all day and a mix of locals who have known the place for years. Drivers come from as far as Clarksville for the chicken and waffles. Service gets repeated praise, and servers help with picks, including a suggestion to take the hot sauce on the side.

Chicken and waffles is the plate to try, with a waffle of a good size and chicken that is tender and crisp together. Nashville hot is an option for those who want heat. The Philly cheesesteak arrives hot and quick, and diners also name the burgers, the huge biscuits, the huevos rancheros and the Mexican breakfast. A kale chicken salad suits lighter appetites.

The room runs on the loud side, and a Sunday late morning brings a short wait. The bar runs an afternoon happy hour with discounts on cocktails and draft beer. Prices on some burgers run high, and the menu leans heavily toward breakfast and burgers, so it works best for a morning outing.

Midtown Cafe sits on 19th Avenue South near Vanderbilt, and a full dining room by nine on a weekday is normal. A valet line and a full lot can look like a long wait, but staff answer the phone and check the table list, and one caller was told a table could be ready sooner. Many guests walk in from nearby hotels.

Biscuits and gravy are the breakfast order that diners rave about, with light flaky biscuits covered in sausage gravy. One business traveler ate here three times, trying the biscuits and gravy, the French toast and the Nashville pigs in a blanket. The lemon artichoke soup is the signature, light yet filling, though a few find it very lemony. Later in the day, blackened grouper with gouda grits, shrimp, mushroom risotto and lobster draw praise.

Coffee arrives in a thermal carafe, good if a little cooler than some like. Food can arrive a bit lukewarm at a full house, so ask the server to check. Everything tastes homemade and carefully made to the diners who return each morning.

Sun Diner sits on 3rd Avenue South, a short walk from Broadway, and the room is small and lively. Three U-shaped counters and two booths surround a visible kitchen. Diners stand along the wall until a server calls them, and the line moves quickly. Shared counters make it social, and diners count that as part of the charm.

Chicken and waffles is the plate named most often, and visitors say it exceeded expectations. The cheese crusted breakfast wrap is the second favorite, and banana blueberry pancakes arrive fluffy with a cinnamon butter syrup. The short rib breakfast hash, the custom omelet, country fried steak, pork belly breakfast tacos and an Elvis-style PB&J round out the menu. Breakfast potatoes and cornbread get their own praise.

Service is experienced and friendly, with staff who help choose between items and adjust orders without fuss. The retro diner feel and music add to the mood. Early mornings before Broadway wakes up are calm, and weekends fill fast, so arrive hungry and patient. Seating is not private, so it suits solo diners and pairs best.

417 Union sits on Union Street downtown, and it has become a backup plan for diners who find another spot too crowded. Seating is quick, servers are named again and again for humor and attention, and visitors from Colorado to Smithville say the service is what they remember.

Biscuits carry the menu. They come with a mixed berry jam made in house each week, and one diner compared them to a mother's homemade biscuits. Pancakes are the sweet pick, especially the lemon blueberry pancakes and the bananas foster pancakes, and diners call them the best pancakes they have had. The big breakfast with three eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits and potatoes is a full plate, and grits, sausage gravy and an egg sandwich with a pork chop sandwich on the side give more choices. Chicken and waffles and prime rib appear at other meals.

A few notes help: bacon may come on the crisp side, and the sausage and biscuits can be dry, which the gravy fixes. Only black coffee was offered on one visit, so ask about other drinks.

The Pancake Pantry sits on 21st Avenue South in Hillsboro Village, in a neighborhood with shops within walking distance. Lines can wrap around the corner, and diners who arrive early find an easy start. Parking behind the building uses a pay station with a ticket for the dashboard, and street parking and a public lot across the road are backups.

Pancakes are the headline, and the menu is long. Sweet potato pancakes are the most mentioned, followed by banana bread pancakes, cinnamon roll pancakes, silver dollar pancakes, pecan, chocolate chip and blueberry. The sampler is a smart choice, since it puts three flavors on one plate, and diners say the cinnamon roll tastes like dessert while the pecan and sweet potato are strong. Biscuits and gravy shareable and country fried steak are savory alternatives.

Service is kind, fast and efficient, even in a rush. Not every diner is wowed by the flavors, so the sampler is a safer way to find a favorite. Arriving before eight avoids the worst of the line, and the checkout counter sells souvenirs from the line itself.

Nashville Jam Café sits on Columbine Place in Berry Hill, in a split-level house on a residential block. The dining rooms use the house floor plan, and the outdoor picnic seating and covered tent patio take large groups. One diner seated a party of fifteen there, and staff handled it with patience.

Biscuits are the reason to come, and they arrive with several homemade jams to try. The chicken biscuit has the loudest praise, with crisp chicken and a generous size, and a PB&J biscuit pulled one visitor in from a list of top brunch spots. Banana bread pancakes, blueberry pancakes, a fried green tomato wrap, shrimp, eggs Benedict and breakfast tacos fill out the menu. The bronuts, a crisp doughnut stuffed and topped with blueberry compote, and a cinnamon roll cover the sweet side.

Some dishes run salty, so diners who watch sodium might ask the server. Parking is limited in Berry Hill, and summer heat on the patio means a fan helps. Eggs arrive with fresh tomato slices and homemade jam on the side.