For decades, at places like Shatley Springs in Ashe County, fluffy biscuits and thick-cut country ham — hearty fare to fuel a long day on the farm — anchored the morning meal. Now, the mountain breakfast is evolving, as newer eateries bring the farm to the table.

Whether your preference is a traditional, family-style spread or something more culinarily creative (house-cured beets on a biscuit, anyone?), we’ve found 28 local spots that are worthy of a western North Carolina wake-up call.

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1. Early Girl Eatery • Asheville 
Early Girl Eatery partners with more than two dozen local farmers to provide home-style fare full of Asheville flavor, from abundant vegetarian and vegan selections (she’s a vegetarian) to meat-lover favorites (he’s not) like the Porky Breakfast Bowl, made with barbecue, scrambled eggs, and local cheese.

Three Asheville locations:
8 Wall Street, (828) 259-9292
444 Haywood Road #101
1378 Hendersonville Road Suite A

2. Biscuit Head • Asheville
There will be a line at this Southern breakfast joint with a hipster twist. But no matter. Order the gravy “flight” — a sampler of three — or load up your cathead biscuit at the jam-and-butter bar. The artsy decor and locally sourced food will be worth the wait.

Three locations:
733 Haywood Road, (828) 333-5145
417 Biltmore Avenue, Suite 4F, (828) 505-3449
1994 Hendersonville Road, (828) 585-2055

3. Moose Cafe • Asheville

Overlooking the Biltmore Estate on the grounds of the Western North Carolina Farmers Market, this farm-to-table homestyle restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including dishes like biscuits and gravy, country fried chicken, and, according to them, the “best fish sandwich ever.”

570 Brevard Road, (828) 255-0920

4. Banner Elk Café & Lodge • Banner Elk
You can’t visit this little ski town without stopping for a meal at the Banner Elk Café. Fill up on the Mountain Man breakfast: two pancakes large enough to fill a plate by themselves, two eggs, crispy bacon, and heavenly cheese grits. The bottomless coffee and friendly service will warm you up before you head to the slopes.

324 Shawneehaw Avenue South Highway 184, (828) 898-4040

5. Louise’s Kitchen • Black Mountain
Order the grit cakes and grab a seat in the cozy dining room of this charmingly restored home-turned-restaurant — known to locals as the historic 1904 Stepp House, one of the oldest houses in town — or sip your tea from a Mason jar on the front porch.

115 Black Mountain Avenue, (828) 357-5446

6. Blue Ridge Biscuit Company & Bakery • Black Mountain
The best biscuits in town, hands-down. Try the Mountain Mama biscuit, topped with a fried grits cake plus pimento cheese, spiced honey, and a blackberry-balsamic sauce. Or, get one overstuffed with fried chicken, bacon, and Cheddar cheese, and smothered in gravy. Or, filled with cured beets, coleslaw, a poached egg, and tomato jam. Or piled high with pulled pork and jalapeño slaw, and doused in a tangy sauce.

601 West State Street, (828) 357-8501

7. Dan’l Boone Inn • Boone
A Boone — and North Carolina — institution since 1959, the food here is served family-style, with heaping bowls of grits, country ham, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, buttermilk biscuits, and sausage or redeye gravy. The real treats, though, are the old-fashioned, freshly stewed apples, glazed cinnamon biscuits, and black cherry preserves. You can even buy a jar to take home.

130 Hardin Street, (828) 264-8657

8. Melanie’s Food Fantasy • Boone
In the heart of downtown Boone, Melanie’s is known for its large portions, delicious vegan and vegetarian options, and street-side seating — if you’re willing to wait for one of the prized outdoor tables. Build your own omelet made with pasture-raised eggs, choose stuffed French toast, order a bowl pimento cheese grits, or go for a vegan tempeh scramble.

664 West King Street, (828) 263-0300

Smiling pancakes at Melanie’s Food Fantasy prove that the morning meal can be fun. photograph by Daniel Barlow

9. Sunrise Grill • Boone
This family-owned restaurant is known for its comfort food. Stop by for their Appalachian quiche, banana-and Nutella-stuffed french toast, or another one of their scrumptious offerings.  

1675 NC Highway 105, (828) 262-5400

10. Everett Street Diner • Bryson City
You know the food’s going to be good when a restaurant is packed with locals. At Everett Street Diner, the price is right, and the servers are quick and attentive. This simple, down-home joint is always filled with regulars. After you try the sausage biscuits, you may become a regular yourself.

126 Everett Street, (828) 488-0123

11. Pigs & Grits • Burnsville
This restaurant claims to be “the place where Southern food meets Southern hospitality.” Order the pig & grits breakfast — their spin on the classic dish — which comes with a choice of bacon or sausage and biscuits and gravy. If you prefer sweet over savory, order one of their delectable French toast, waffle, or pancake dishes, like the apple cobbler sweet cakes.

620 West Main Street, (828) 536-0010

12. Jukebox Junction Soda Shoppe • Canton
Stop by the Jukebox Junction Soda Shoppe before 11 a.m. for a tasty country breakfast in a 1950s-style diner. Check out the decor, from old Coca-Cola signs to images of Elvis and Betty Boop, as you munch on the country-fried steak and sausage gravy.

6306 Pigeon Road, (828) 648-4546

13. Cedar Mountain Cafe • Cedar Mountain
Cedar Mountain Cafe prides itself on using fresh and local ingredients. Try a cheesy breakfast sandwich made with bread from Brevard’s Bracken Mountain Bakery and pair it with a hot cup of coffee made with beans from nearby Brown Bean Coffee Roaster in Brevard. For something sweeter, try the blueberry or maple-bacon pancakes.

10667 Greenville Highway, (828) 884-5272

14. Peter’s Pancakes & Waffles • Cherokee
We love the classic laminated placemat menus that let you browse local businesses while you eat, and we also love the classic breakfast choices: short stacks with sausage links, eggs over easy, biscuits and gravy, and even corned-beef hash.

1384 Tsali Boulevard, (828) 497-5116

15. Southern Manners • Columbus
Count on Pat and Trish Overholt to serve Southern hospitality alongside their home-cooked breakfasts. Don’t leave until you try the baked oatmeal and Trish’s famous cinnamon buns, a family favorite.

192 East Mills Street, (828) 894-0406

16. The Local Joint • Fairview
The name says it all. From the coffee to the Cajun chicken breakfast sandwich, most everything here is locally sourced — a chalkboard at the front door provides a running list of area vendors. Don’t let the Local Joint’s locale (right by a gas station) fool you. The high-caliber cuisine surpasses its unassuming setting.

1185 Charlotte Highway, (828) 338-0469

17. Kosta’s Kitchen • Fletcher
Kosta Vlahakis’s diner has been a staple in the Asheville area for 40 years, and plenty of patrons will tell you he’s got the best breakfast in western North Carolina. We’ll let you be the judge, but tilt the odds in Kosta’s favor with the Famous Greek Omelet, made with Feta cheese, spinach, and Kalamata olives.

4055 Hendersonville Road, (828) 684-0279

18. Ms. Lois’ Restaurant • Franklin
If you walk by Ms. Lois’ Restaurant, the smell of blueberry pancakes, fresh off the griddle, will draw you in. The taste will make you stay. And come back.

145 Highlands Road, (828) 369-8628

19. Kosta’s Fireside Restaurant & Pancake Inn • Hendersonville
We love this hidden little breakfast spot known for its fast, quality service and specialty pancakes with homemade syrup. Need a side with your stack of apple pancakes? We recommend the mountain-style breakfast, complete with two eggs, country ham, home fries, and two slices of buttered toast. The Pot Roast and Eggs dish promises to power you over Bearwallow Mountain.

295 Sugarloaf Road, (828) 697-1004

20. Smoky Mountain Diner • Hot Springs
A favorite spot for hungry hikers who drift off the Appalachian Trail, this small-town diner offers plentiful portions, perfectly sweetened tea, and freshly baked cinnamon buns. Warm up inside with a sizzling breakfast skillet, or breathe in the fresh mountain air as you polish off a stack of pancakes on the porch.

70 Lance Avenue, (828) 622-7571

21. Tartan Restaurant • Linville
At the Tartan Restaurant, you can order biscuits any way you like — with country ham, sausage, pork tenderloin, or jelly. Be sure to check out the specials and leave room for a slice of pie or cake. 

31 Coffey Road, (828) 733-0779

22. Country Vittles • Maggie Valley
In search of an all-you-can-eat breakfast? A waitress will cover your table with bowls of piping hot grits, potatoes, homemade biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and cooked apples.

3589 Soco Road, (828) 926-1820

23. Joey’s Pancake House • Maggie Valley
The signature pancakes — from classic blueberry to Reese’s Cup to sweet potato — are still the star of the show at this diner, which opened in 1966.

24. Countryside BBQ • Marion
Don’t let the “BBQ” in this restaurant’s name fool you. The weekend breakfast selections at Countryside BBQ are just as great as the Southern comfort food found on the daily dinner menu. Sit and chat on the front porch, adorned with old-timey rocking chairs, and then try an omelet; specialty pancake (pecan is a fall favorite); or a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit.

2070 Rutherford Road, (828) 652-4885

25. Abele’s Family Restaurant • Morganton
The general-store-meets-country-cooking vibe at Abele’s Family Restaurant is reminiscent of Cracker Barrel, but with a local touch that gives it a rural mountain feel. Pile your plate with eggs, bacon, sausage, home-fried potatoes, and biscuits with homemade gravy — “We’re known for the gravy,” says Wayne Abele Jr. — at the all-you-can-eat buffet.

2115 South Sterling Street, (828) 433-5400

26. Kaye’s Kitchen • Newland
Sunday brunch is an experience at Kaye’s Kitchen when Chef Rupie sets up a portable kitchen in the main dining room and interacts with diners as he whips up made-to-order omelets, French toast, and blueberry pancakes.

503 Pineola Street, (828) 737-0314

27. Pines Restaurant • Sparta
Whichever spot Alleghany County locals call their favorite, they order the livermush with their Saturday morning eggs. Not your taste? Try the fried-just-right bacon, pancakes, and sweet French toast, instead.

115 Jones Street, (336) 372-4242

28. Clyde’s Restaurant • Waynesville
Opened in 1941, Clyde’s is just off the Smoky Mountain Expressway, the main route into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Before a day of exploring, treat yourself to the “2×4 Breakfast”: two hotcakes, two scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, and two link sausages.

2107 South Main Street, (828) 456-9135

In Haywood County, Clyde’s retro restaurant sign is as much a landmark as the surrounding mountains. photograph by Tim Robison