2025 Centurion Award winner
Al's Breakfast
Best Breakfast Counter in Minneapolis · Minneapolis, MN
Best Breakfast Counter in Minneapolis · Minneapolis, MN
Al's Breakfast is a fourteen-seat counter in a ten-foot-wide Dinkytown alleyway, the narrowest restaurant in Minneapolis and, since 1950, one of its most beloved. Cooks work the griddle inches from the stools, turning out blueberry pancakes, hash browns, and eggs with no freezer, fryer, or microwave in sight.
A James Beard America's Classic where regulars wait behind seated diners and cover each other's tabs, Al's is a genuine institution — cash only, cramped, and unfailingly great.
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 Al's Breakfast
This page is the standing record for Al's Breakfast (2025). 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.