Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

Every component of the Devil’s Teeth breakfast sandwich is in peak performance mode. Buttermilk biscuits are soft and buttery, scrambled eggs cook just until they border custard, and strips of bacon add a much-needed crunch. Always go for The Special, which includes avocado and a generous coating of their lemon-garlic aioli. The Outer Sunset bakery is packed on weekends, but their FiDi and Richmond locations have way shorter lines.

Breadbelly is an Asian bakery in the Richmond that always keeps a couple breakfast sandwiches on rotation. If it’s the capital-D decadent biscuit smash with crispy black pepper pork sausage and american cheese, put a busy block on your calendar and do whatever it takes to get there. But what really makes this sandwich is the charred scallion chimichurri, which should be a legally required condiment at every restaurant in the city. 

For a late breakfast, head to Deli Board in SoMa when their doors open at 11am. While this spot is mainly focused on lunch, they also make the "BK" piled high with fried eggs, two layers of sausage, some bacon, gooey cheese, and a generous amount of Board Sauce—a tangy mix of ranch, mustard, and ketchup. It's all held in place by a toasted loaf of dutch crunch. We’ve been known to get one for breakfast and an extra for lunch.

We’d eat just about anything if it were sandwiched between Kahnfections biscuits, which are crispy on the outside and fluffy with just a bit of chew in the middle. But our standby order is the cheddar bacon biscuit with garlic aioli and swiss cheese. For a couple of extra bucks, you can throw in some bacon or ham (and on Fridays, chicken karaage), but we prefer to keep it simple so we can focus on those biscuits with no distractions.

Turtle Island is a pop-up devoted to the art of the East Coast-style breakfast sandwich. Think fluffy kaiser rolls filled with molten egg yolks and—if you know what’s good for you—a flawlessly fried hash brown wedged in the middle. The BEC is great, but our favorite is the version with thin folds of mortadella and a calabrian chili mayo that makes itself known in every bite. Be sure to check Instagram for their latest location and hours. 

If you’ve graduated beyond the typical BEC, there are 10 great fried egg options on the menu at Newkirk’s. The Mission counter stuffs their poppy seed rolls with everything from fried mortadella and pickled jalapeños to grilled salami or ribeye (though we’re partial to the pork sausage). Don’t forget to ask for a side of their zippy house habanero hot sauce. 

This Mission cafe doesn’t try to concoct a new breed of breakfast sandwich. Instead, they serve a simple egg and meat-of-choice with some garlic aioli. But everything is done right: the eggs morph into a dense patty that’s studded with chunks of meat. Our favorite is the bacon, which adds a crispy counterbalance to the fluffy slab of eggs. This place gets busy, so to avoid a wait, try ordering ahead online.

Among the spots on this guide, The Richfield wins the venerable Thickest Bacon award by a landslide. An omelette, cheddar, and tomato join those caramelized strips on puffy slices of sweet Hawaiian bread. We like to add avocado and finish our order off with an iced latte. For something a little less filling, they also serve bagels from The Laundromat with cream cheese.  

Bandit in the Dogpatch (and with another location near Dolores Park) goes way beyond the usual one or two breakfast sandwich offerings. They have eight, each anchored by velvety scrambled eggs. We always go for The Brekkie: a peppery sausage patty that soaks up the juices from a sweet and spicy jalapeño relish, and has crispy smashed tater tots for added crunch. The restaurant is short on space, so plan on taking your order a couple of blocks down to Crane Cove. 

Pixlcat's breakfast sandwich is unapologetically rich, with a Kewpie-slathered pan di mie bun holding together a mega layer of eggs and melted american cheese, and a smear of avocado and strips of bacon. It’s the kind of sandwich that stays with you for a while, but at this quiet SoMa spot, there’s plenty of space to sprawl out and digest—or do some half-hearted work before you nod off.

We’ll make it easy for you—don’t let the nearly 30 sandwich options at this shop overwhelm you. Just go for the 29 on your favorite bagel. It comes with everything you’d expect (eggs, cheese, and bacon). But what we love is the addition of sprouts, cucumbers, and other vegetables that help balance all the saltiness. And, if you like something sweet for breakfast, this Sunset spot also has fantastic donuts.

The headliner at Plow is the lemon ricotta pancakes, and rightfully so. Still, their double fried egg sandwich shouldn’t be cast aside. The yolk slowly drips out in a way that borders on seductive, and the whole thing is topped off with frisee and sharp cheddar. Adding bacon will be a decision you’ll look back fondly on in the year to come.

$5 breakfast sandwiches are why you’re at Brenda’s, a soul food spot in the Tenderloin (with another location in NoPa). Of the weekday-only sandwiches, go for the “Messy Mess” that comes with a fried chicken cutlet nearly twice the size of the roll it’s in, or the “Basic B” with the classic combo of bacon, egg, cheese, and tomato. Note that you’ll need to dine-in or order via phone for takeout. 

The Pat Greany is reason enough to treat Fridays like a weekly holiday. It’s only served once a week and served on a pillowy bulkie roll with eggs, cheese, and a choice of protein (or spinach). What sets this sandwich apart, though, is the tangy special sauce with noticeable heat. If you can’t make it on a Friday, the BLT on the pretzel roll available daily is a solid backup. 

Lou’s Cafe keeps their morning options simple—the Original Breakfast Sandwich comes with ham or bacon (or for enthusiastic carnivores, both), an egg, hash browns, and cheese. But it’s the salty-sweet house special sauce that earns this spot a place in this guide. This takeout-only spot has locations in the Richmond, FiDi, and Parkside.

Despite SF’s high density of breakfast sandwiches, few dare to recruit an English muffin to the cause. So if, like us, you believe in supremely chewy, slightly crisp buns bookending your breakfast sandwich, seek out Cafe Me. The FiDi takeout spot stays true to tradition with a slightly spicy sausage patty, a layer of scrambled eggs, and enough melted cheese to coat your fingers. And don’t worry, bagels, toast, and croissants are also available.

$10 is all you need for a successful trip to The Art Bistro. The cash-only spot in the Richmond charges single-digit prices for most of their menu, including a solid BEC breakfast sandwich with three crispy pieces of bacon, mayo, and hot sauce for less than $6. You’ll need to wait your turn, though—this takeout place probably churns out hundreds of these things to mobs of middle schoolers and early bird golfers daily. Make sure to snag a thai tea on the side. 

The Sunset coffee shop (with other locations in SoMa, the Richmond, and the Mission) makes a napkin-required breakfast sandwich. Even the two thick slices of grilled pain de mie struggle to contain the overflow of cheese, mayo, and soft scrambled eggs. But if you can get past the mess, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this sandwich. We like it even more when we take it a handful of blocks to the beach.

A simple sandwich, really—just egg and cheese on chewy ciabatta. But what keeps us hooked is the chipotle-maple mayo. It's got a bit of heat and a sweet undertone, and the eggs are coated in a healthy serving of sauce so the bread soaks it up. Compared to Salty's otherwise gargantuan sandwiches, this one is a bit small, but at just over six dollars, it's a great start-of-the-day meal for the value.