The Seven Best Breakfast Spots in Palm Beach County

Across Palm Beach County, there are a number of spots serving up more than just bacon and eggs for breakfast, from the new Johan Joe's, which brings a touch of European elegance to South Florida dining, to the Green Owl in Delray Beach, which has been serving stellar breakfast platters on the cheap for decades.

If you're not sure where to go, use this list to help find the best breakfast spots in Palm Beach County.

(If you're hungry in Broward, then here's our list of the Ten Best Breakfast Spots in Broward County.)

7. The Dispensary 
416 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Call 561-531-6559, or visit thedispensarywpb.com.
If you didn't hear about it from a friend or coworker, you might not know to look for the new '50s-style eatery the Dispensary, which recently opened inside the City Center Pharmacy in Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. The concept is the owner's take on the old-fashioned pharmacy eatery — but with a contemporary twist, of course. Open for breakfast and lunch, the 45-seat restaurant even has its own soda jerk, who prepares classic egg creams, old-school ice cream floats, and sodas by operating the restaurant's in-house retro soda fountain. If you're hungry, go for the Dispensary potato leek soup drizzled with olive oil, homemade biscuits with sausage gravy, Belgian waffles, or even shrimp and grits. If you like it sweet, there's always the oversized banana split too.

6. Johan Joe's
401 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. Call 561-808-5090, or visit JohansJoe.com.
What's breakfast without coffee? In West Palm Beach, a new coffee shop offers the perfect spot to grab breakfast with a menu of fresh-baked goods prepared by owners Nicklas and Bernt Thuden, who recently opened Johan’s Joe's Swedish Coffee House & Café, a modern version of the traditional Swedish café. The establishment is quintessentially European, with everything you need to take a true "fika” (coffee break) or enjoy an authentic Scandinavian meal. The duo — who have 15 years of experience running a similar café in Sweden — offer a custom blend of Sweden’s most ethical and environmentally friendly coffee and tea from Löfbergs Lila, an award-winning Swedish coffee roaster. You can pair your cup of brew with a number of authentic Scandinavian baked goods as well as croissants, pastries, muffins, bagels, or made-to-order gourmet sandwiches, salads, and soups.

5. John G's Restaurant
264 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Call 561-585-9860, or visit john-gs.com.
Opened in 1973, John G's Restaurant is one of Palm Beach County's most-beloved breakfast spots. For many years, the longstanding restaurant was located at the old Casino Building at Lake Worth beach, where the line for a seat would snake around the building and down the road. Today, in its new location in a shopping plaza off South Ocean Boulevard, the lines get just as long (you just won't get an ocean view while you wait). The place is most famous for its blueberry pancakes and French toast. Polish, German, Spanish, Greek, and American omelets are all terrific, but we're partial to the Italian with sausage, peppers, pepperoni, and melted cheese, or the Hawaiian, chock-full of sautéed vegetables. And there's a lineup of hearty lunch items too, from fish and chips and fried clam strips to a series of "ethnic" burgers as imaginative as the omelets.

4. The Pelican Restaurant
610 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. Call 561-582-4992.
The Pelican may be a faded diner tucked among consignment stores, pizza joints, beach bars, and hippie coffee shops that make up the charming downtown Lake Worth strip. But don't let appearances fool you: Nostalgic vibe aside, the 15-year-old Pelican is best-known for specializing in a cuisine you wouldn't normally expect to find on a breakfast menu: Indian food. Owners Tahira and Mohammad Sami are from Pakistan; Lake Worth residents for 30 years, they owned a convenience store before buying the diner eight years ago. Today, their menu has all the typical American breakfast items you'd expect, plus a few Indian specialties (once available only on Friday but now made daily). Sami prepares all the Indian dishes herself, which include a spinach keema omelet that packs in red chili and chicken, served with naan and home fries. Or eggs nissa, scrambled with green curry with heat from jalapeños and ginger. But perhaps the best — and heartiest — plate is the Nihari beef shank, chunks of beef slow simmered in a potent curry sauce for several hours. It's served in a bowl with a side of naan bread, two eggs, and home fries for the perfect marriage of East meets West, breakfast-style.

3. The Green Owl
330 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Call 561-272-7766.
This diner might be named after the nocturnal owl, but it is definitely a spot for early birds. It's open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, until 2 p.m. Saturday, and until noon Sunday, and it accepts only cash. Founded in 1981, the Green Owl in Delray Beach doesn't seem to fit in with the other trendy cafés and pricey shops of the city's downtown Atlantic Avenue stretch. Like a relic from another time, this diner is a longstanding establishment that proves you don't need to charge a small fortune to serve the best BLT on this side of the I-4 corridor. The breakfast and lunch joint is one of the oldest continually operated restaurants on the street, even if it closes at noon on Sundays. The menu offers the usual breakfast fare you'd expect from any diner, but it's served in a relaxed environment. Grab a seat on the outdoor sidewalk patio or sit at the U-shaped counter and order the locals' favorites, like club sandwiches, pancakes, and home fries. 

2. The Breakfast Shack
3469 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach. Call 561-735-3594, or visit thebreakfastshack.com.
There's only one thing you need to know about the Breakfast Shack in Boynton Beach: Order the crab-cake eggs Benedict. It's one of the eatery's best dishes, but pretty much everything on this menu is a solid hit. This tiny restaurant is certainly a shack: There are several booths, a few tables, and a short counter where you can order platters of pancakes, French toast, or eggs and bacon. If you're closer to lunch, the menu also has a good burger or even mahi-mahi. Specials rotate daily and are always excellent. You won't be able to order anything but coffee, tea, juice, or soda to drink, but you know you're here for the food. Just get there early: The establishment is open only until 2 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

1. Dune Deck Cafe
100 N. Ocean Blvd., Lake Worth. Call 561-582-0472, or visit dunedeckcafe.com.
This open-air eatery sits at the edge of Lantana's public beach, so every seat in the house is given an unobstructed view of the Atlantic. The area's bohemian vibe is reflected in the menu, with Greek and Caribbean influences on a number of specialty breakfast items. Eggs Benedict come with everything from a tail's worth of fresh Florida spiny tail lobster to tomato and avocado for a healthier kick. The stuffed French toast changes on the specials board daily, but no matter what the filling, it's like custardy sweet-bread pudding that's been pan-fried. The café sports a full bar where you can order everything from a bloody mary to a mimosa or even a potent screwdriver. Just remember to bring plenty of change for the meters and cash to pay, and be prepared to wait for a table.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.