Photo courtesy of Milk & Honey
A Southern-inspired chicken and waffle dish from Milk & Honey restaurant.
Brunch in this city divides cleanly along neighborhood lines. Del Ray does it casual and walkable. Old Town does it with a wine list. North Old Town and Potomac Yard do it with a view or a crowd. Here is where to go depending on which morning you are having.
Del Ray
Matt & Tony's All Day Kitchen + Bar — 1501 Mt. Vernon Ave.
The Avenue's anchor for this, open from 8 a.m. every day, which matters when everywhere else waits until ten on a weekday. Chicken and waffles and shrimp and grits are what people order and reorder. It gets loud and it gets full; the patio is the move.
Del Ray Café — 205 E. Howell Ave.
A French café that happens to be in a converted house off the Avenue, serving crêpes both sweet and savory and running a daily 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. brunch service rather than reserving it for weekends. Small, quiet, and the one on this list most likely to feel like a discovery.
Evening Star Café and The Front Porch — 2000 and 2006 Mt. Vernon Ave.
Two addresses, one operation, weekend mornings from 10. The Front Porch's patio wraps behind the building and holds more people than you would guess from the street. Order at the table from your phone, which is either a convenience or an outrage depending on your disposition.
Old Town
Milk & Honey Southern Inspired Kitchen — 801 King St.
Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days, so brunch is not a weekend-only proposition. Southern plates, generous portions, upstairs seating that handles a big table without a fuss.
Josephine — 109 S. St. Asaph St.
French, weekends from 10, and the atrium dining room does most of the persuading before the food arrives. This is the one for a birthday or a visiting parent.
King & Rye — 480 King St.
Inside the Alexandrian, with a tight weekend window — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday only, plus early weekday breakfast. Check the clock before you go; it closes between services.
Virtue Feed & Grain — 106 S. Union St.
A converted nineteenth-century feed warehouse a block off the water, running weekend brunch from 10. The room is the draw — exposed brick and reclaimed timber — and the outdoor seating is genuinely pleasant in shoulder season.
North Old Town and Potomac Yard
Founding Farmers Alexandria — 461 Swann Ave.
Open at 7 a.m. weekdays and 8 on weekends, which makes it the earliest full brunch in the city. Expect a wait on Sunday. The farm-sourcing model means a menu longer than anyone needs.
Jula's on the Potomac — 44 Canal Center Plaza, fourth floor.
Weekend brunch from 10, and the fourth-floor balcony overlooking the water is the reason to book it. Closed Mondays. This is the special-occasion entry on the list.
Before you go
Most of these take reservations and most of them need them between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a Sunday. The two that reward walking in are Del Ray Café on a weekday and Milk & Honey in the late afternoon, when brunch service is still running and the rush has cleared.
