Chimborazo, a Northeast staple, serves Ecuadorian classics. Starchy dishes like llapingachos (cheese-filled potato pancakes, served with a rich peanut sauce) and empanadas de queso — stuffed with queso fresco and dusted with powdered sugar — are great brunch picks. Don’t skip the chicha morada, a purple Peruvian drink made from dried corn.

A local favorite for tacos and chile relleno tortas, Maya Cuisine in Northeast offers a brunch buffet every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The buffet varies week to week, but expect classics like tamales, mole dishes, and pozole, plus pancakes, French toast, and desserts. (Recent specials include shrimp fajitas, buttered codfish, and sopa de mariscos.) Maya Cuisine’s buffet returned from its pandemic hiatus after an outpouring of support from customers — reservations in advance are recommended.

NOLO’s might be located in one of the buzziest, most restaurant-dense parts of town, but it still has a homey neighborhood feel. Grab a table and dig into the weekend brunch menu, which features everything from breakfast classics (country breakfasts, chipotle sweet potato hash, and malted waffles) to wood-fired pizza. The breakfast fried rice, studded with sausage and sesame kale, is a great savory choice.

Maria’s serves every pancake you could dream of: Choose between chocolate chip, wild rice, plantain with cotija cheese, and more. A cozy neighborhood gathering spot on Franklin Avenue in the Phillip’s neighborhood, this restaurant specializes in both Columbian fare and American breakfast classics. The weekend specials feature arepas, black beans, sauteed yucca, and sweet plantains.

The Lynhall’s weekend brunch menu is a stunner. Feast on spiced salmon scrambles, shakshouka, and rye crepes with pistachio butter in its sunny dining hall, which has the feel of an elegant farmhouse. But the real standouts are the pastries — chocolate and pistachio croissants nearly as big as loaves of bread, stuffed with rich pastry creams.

Our Kitchen flies a little under the radar — it’s a tiny restaurant on West 36th Street that looks more like a country cottage than a bustling breakfast spot. But step inside for one of the best diner breakfasts you can find in Minneapolis. The pancakes are rough-hewn and studded with chocolate chips; the hash browns have a golden, crispy lid. Fair warning, you may have to wait to snag one of the bar stools.

This classic south Minneapolis restaurant has been serving Cuban favorites and classics for more than 20 years. Order the Basque stew — eggs with a Creole stew of Spanish chorizo, ham, and vegetables — or the slow-cooked ropa vieja with eggs and plantains. Victor’s has a great coffee menu, too: Try a cafe con leche sweetened with a house sugar paste, and pick it up at the little sliding glass window out front.

This intimate French bistro serves a delicate omelet du jour on its focused and elegant brunch menu. Try the wild mushroom and brie crepe or the shakshouka en cocotte with bacon and harissa. Saint Genevieve also serves excellent Vietnamese coffee, mimosas, and Bloody Marys. Make a reservation ahead of time if you can.

Find one of the Cities’ best dim sum brunches at Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington, tucked into a strip mall on Lyndale Avenue. On weekends, this spot is packed with families, and the line often wraps out the door. Build your brunch off the voluminous menu: Start with small dishes like pan-fried turnip cakes, and add pillowy steamed chicken buns, crispy egg custards, and steamed pork dumplings. At peak meal times, small parties of diners can expect to share tables — an arrangement that only adds to Mandarin Kitchen’s bustling, convivial atmosphere.

Kalsada, owned by the same team behind Cafe Astoria, opened on Selby Avenue in April. It’s since emerged as one of thebest Twin Cities spots for brunch. The ube pancakes are the most popular brunch dish here: They’re fluffy like a classic buttermilk shortstack, but the ube lends a sweet earthy flavor to each bite. A drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, cubes of mango and dragonfruit, and a scoop of ice cream finish it off. For something savory, absolutely go for the truffled chicken adobo.

It's all in the crust at Hot Hands. For brunch, choose from the savory pie selections — veggie pot pie, buffalo pot pie, or chicken pot pie (folklorically known as one of Minnesota’s best) — or sweet pies like pecan chess, sweet potato, or banana cream, which comes topped with a mascarpone that’s mounded like ski moguls. Also on the menu are biscuits, a breakfast sausage roll, and other pastries.

Hope Breakfast bar has an extensive menu of savory plates for brunch. Bourbon-smoked salmon toast, stuffed poblano with fried eggs and tortillas, and chicken fried steak and eggs are favorites. For something sweet, try the carrot cake pancakes, made with real cake batter. Hope donates three percent of its profits to neighborhood causes through its nonprofit Give Hope.

The second its doors opened in St. Paul’s Lowertown, the Buttered Tin became a local breakfast favorite. Here, old-school brunch favorites are given new life: Try a Benedict made with Lake Superior walleye, banana foster French Toast, or a smothered breakfast burrito. The Buttered Tin also serves boozy brunch drinks, like Irish cream cold press, mimosas, and a sparkling rose.