Best Breakfast in Chicago · Chicago, IL
Lou Mitchell's has served breakfast at the start of Route 66 near Union Station since 1923, greeting a century of travelers with free donut holes and boxes of Milk Duds handed out at the door. Fluffy double-yolk omelets arrive in the skillet, and the line down Jackson Boulevard is part of the experience.
Billed for generations as the first stop on the Mother Road, it's a Chicago morning institution — and the 2026 Centurion Award winner.
Each Centurion Award is a dated record tied to one year’s evaluation — earned annually, never carried over. Open a year for the full citation and verification details.
Awards run one calendar year and renew only if the business clears the bar again. Selection is by published criteria, never for sale.
Visit Lou Mitchell's
This page is the standing record for Lou Mitchell's (2026). It was not bought, voted on, or sponsored — only winners are published, and an award that stops holding up is revoked, not quietly removed. For hours, bookings, and live reviews, go straight to the business itself.
If you’ve put in the years, you may already clear the bar. Evaluation is free, private, and never for sale.