Best Brunch Spots Near Glendale — A Local's Guide for 2025

If you're looking for brunch near Glendale and you've been defaulting to the same three restaurants on Brand Boulevard, it's time to explore. Some of the best breakfast in the area isn't in Glendale at all — it's a short drive north, along Honolulu Avenue in Montrose.

Montrose Shopping Park has been a neighborhood staple for decades, but the food scene has quietly become one of the most interesting in the foothills. Fewer crowds, free parking, and restaurants that are doing their own thing instead of copying whatever went viral last month.

Here are the spots worth knowing about.

Toasted — The One Everyone Talks About

There's a reason Toasted keeps coming up in conversations about breakfast in Montrose. Located at 2420 Honolulu Ave, this cafe created something called Toast Towers — thick-cut artisan bread stacked with ice cream, fresh fruits, chocolate, and toppings. It's a dessert-meets-breakfast concept you won't find anywhere else on Honolulu Avenue.

The Nutella & Banana Dessert Toast (from $16.50 Petite) is the bestseller and a safe first order. But if you want the dish that makes people stop eating and start filming, go for the Saffron & Rose — vanilla-rosewater ice cream, saffron glaze, crushed pistachios, blueberries, and edible rose petals on toasted bread. It sounds unusual. It tastes extraordinary.

Beyond the towers, the full menu covers a lot of ground: Armenian coffee brewed with cardamom, a Coffee Flight for the indecisive, breakfast toasts like Bananas for Biscoff, and a Turkey Pesto sandwich that keeps showing up on TikTok. The patio is dog-friendly, and you'll usually get greeted when you walk in — Montrose runs a little slower than Glendale in all the right ways.

What Else is on Honolulu Avenue

Toasted isn't the only reason to make the drive. Montrose Shopping Park is a compact, walkable strip of independent restaurants, and once you're there you'll notice a few categories worth exploring on future visits:

• Mexican breakfast. Chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, fresh salsas — a solid option if you're coming down from a morning hike in the Verdugos and want something savory.
• Classic American diner. Big menu, pancakes and eggs done right, the kind of booth a regular settles into. Good for mixed groups where everyone wants something different.
• Elevated cocktail brunch. A slower, mimosa-forward option if you want brunch to feel like an event rather than a meal.
• No-frills breakfast. Unpretentious, hearty plates at fair prices — the kind of spot where the server remembers your order.

Walk the avenue and you'll find all four within a few blocks. No single restaurant is going to cover every mood — which is exactly why a neighborhood with this much variety in a three-block radius is worth the trip.

Why Montrose Over Glendale for Brunch?

Three practical reasons:

• Parking. Free street parking and free lots. No circling, no meters, no structures. If you've ever tried brunch near the Americana, you know how much this matters.
• The walk. After eating, you can walk the entire Montrose Shopping Park strip — bookstores, vintage shops, boutiques. It turns brunch into a morning activity, not just a meal.
• Originality. Places like Toasted are creating dishes you genuinely cannot get elsewhere. That's rare in LA, where every new restaurant feels like a remix of the last one.

The Pro Tips

• Arrive by 9 AM on weekends. By 10:30, the popular spots have waits.
• Most restaurants on Honolulu open at 8 AM. Early birds get rewarded.
• Toast Towers at Toasted are dine-in only — can't order them for delivery.
• Bring your dog. Multiple patios welcome them.
• From Glendale: take the 2 North, exit Honolulu Ave. Five minutes.

Glendale proper has its strengths, but for a weekend brunch that feels like a genuine outing — not just eating near a mall — Montrose is the answer. Start at Toasted for the Toast Towers and Armenian coffee, then walk the avenue. You'll wonder why you didn't discover this sooner.

Visiting LA from out of town? We have a dedicated day-trip guide with drive times from LAX, Burbank, and Pasadena, plus three half-day itineraries pairing brunch with Descanso Gardens, JPL, or the Glendale arts district.