Originally published July 1, 2025. Updated July 2026 with two new additions.
Portlanders wake up hungry.
Before the city fully gets going, there are already people crossing town for work, walking dogs through the fog, opening restaurants, heading home from night shifts, and trying to get one decent thing into their body before the inbox starts filling up.
A good breakfast sandwich fixes more than it should. It is hot, fast, portable, and usually messy enough to force you to stop pretending you have your life together.
I have spent the last few years chasing them from the West End to Brunswick and beyond. I have crossed bridges, stood in line with wet hair, and let egg yolk run down my wrist more times than I care to admit.
These are the ones I keep going back to.
🥪 Best Breakfast Sandwiches in Southern Maine
(Congress St, Portland)
I have eaten more than 30 of these biscuits. That is not an exaggeration.
Briana Holt’s biscuit is still the breakfast sandwich I crave most in Portland. It is flaky, buttery, and just sturdy enough to hold a baked egg, sharp cheddar, and smoky pimento mayo without collapsing halfway through.
The sandwich has changed a little over the years, but it is still the one I compare every other breakfast sandwich to.
You can only get it at the Congress Street location, and they regularly sell out. Go early.
My order: The biscuit sandwich and a malt iced coffee.
(Union Street, Brunswick)
Dog Bar Jim makes the kind of breakfast sandwich that sounds slightly unhinged until you eat it.
A runny egg, bulgogi beef, kimchi, and a crispy hash brown all shoved into a soft bun that catches everything. It is messy, loud, and somehow still balanced. The specials change, but they always feel like someone in the kitchen had an idea and decided to fully commit to it.
The coffee is just as good. Get the espresso with coconut condensed milk.
My order: Whatever breakfast sandwich has Calabrian chili and a hash brown, plus the coconut condensed milk espresso.
(Ferry Village, South Portland)
Second Rodeo is one of the few coffee shops where people still seem to talk to each other.
The waffle sandwich gets most of the attention, but I keep coming back to the egg and cheese on an English muffin. Add sausage and ketchup. It is hot, simple, and exactly what I want a breakfast sandwich to be.
At around five dollars, it is also still one of the best deals anywhere near Portland.
My order: Egg and cheese with sausage and ketchup, plus a cortado.
This list is a fraction of what I know.
Every week I send The Portland Logbook: where to eat, where to drink, what just opened, what's worth your time in Portland. Written by someone who actually lives here.
(Washington Ave., Portland)
Photo: @Ramonas_maine
I appreciate a place that gives you a real decision to make.
Some mornings I'm convinced the Ramona Roll is the move. Other days it's the Breakfast Hoagie. Either way, you're getting soft scrambled eggs, melty Cooper Sharp, and a sandwich that feels like someone forgot breakfast was supposed to be modest.
I have a soft spot for anything on a sesame seed roll. That little bit of crunch is enough to make me order it almost every time.
These are the kinds of sandwiches that require two hands and a stack of napkins.
My order: The Breakfast Hoagie.
(Biddeford)
Photo: Palace Diner
If someone told me I could only eat at one restaurant in Maine for the rest of my life, I'd have a hard time not picking Palace Diner.
Everything feels intentional. Nothing tries too hard. It's just incredibly good food made by people who care. The breakfast sandwich is simple: thick-cut bacon, egg, cheese, and a soft bun. It doesn't need anything else.
The diner itself is worth the drive. It's been serving breakfast inside the same 1927 dining car for nearly a century, and somehow it still feels timeless.
Yes, you'll probably wait in line. Yes, it's absolutely worth it.
My order: The bacon, egg, and cheese with hash browns. If they have the brown butter banana bread, order that too.
( Brunswick )
Good bagels are surprisingly hard to find in Maine. Dutchman's is one of the few places that scratches that itch.
The bagels come out blistered from the wood-fired oven with just the right amount of chew. They somehow manage to feel both rustic and exactly what a great bagel should be.
Their bacon, egg, and cheese with bodega sauce is the one I keep coming back for. I add ketchup and cream cheese every time, and nobody has talked me out of it yet.
They post their specials on Instagram, and selling out before noon is pretty normal. Don't plan on sleeping in.
My order: Bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel with bodega sauce, ketchup, and cream cheese. Then walk over to Cabot Mill Antiques before heading home.
(Congress St. , Portland)
I love this sandwich.
It starts with a Portuguese sweet bun that's soft with just a little sweetness. Add smoky chorizo, a steamed egg, and their house-made pimento cheese, and you've got one of the most unique breakfast sandwiches in Portland. It feels familiar, but the flavors are unlike anything else on this list.
If I'm being completely honest, I don't think it pairs particularly well with coffee. I know that's a strange thing to say about a coffee shop, but the sandwich is so rich and savory that I almost want it on its own. It doesn't matter. It's fantastic, and I'd order it again without thinking twice.
You can get it with portobello instead, but the chorizo is the move.
My order: The chorizo breakfast sandwich.
( South Portland )
Photo by @frannieeatsmaine
Nobody else in Portland is making a breakfast sandwich quite like this.
The Kai Kata layers Chinese sausage, Vietnamese sausage, ground pork, two eggs, and a pile of fresh cilantro onto a toasted roll. On paper it sounds like too much. Somehow it all comes together into one of the most flavorful breakfast sandwiches around.
This isn't the sandwich you grab because you're in a hurry. It's the one you get because you're craving this sandwich and nothing else is going to scratch the itch.
The Thai tea nitro cold brew deserves its own mention. Get one.
My order: The Kai Kata with a Thai tea nitro cold brew.
(Food Truck outside of Little Tandem, Portland)
Every Monday through Saturday from 8 to noon, a little food truck parks outside Little Tandem and quietly serves one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches in Portland.
I ordered mine on an English muffin with sausage and garlic chili mayo. It arrived properly hot, the kind of hot where the cheese is still melting and you have to wait a second before taking another bite. The sausage was savory, the garlic chili mayo added just enough heat, and the whole thing disappeared embarrassingly fast.
This is exactly what I want from a breakfast sandwich. Made fresh, slightly messy, and hot enough that you know it didn't spend a second sitting under a heat lamp.
My order: Sausage, egg, and cheese on an English muffin with garlic chili mayo.
(Market St., Portland)
Cutie's took the McGriddle, admitted it was a great idea, and made a much better version.
A fried egg, sausage, and melted cheddar get tucked between two maple-brushed corncake buns that somehow manage to stay light instead of turning into a sugar bomb. It's sweet, salty, a little messy, and exactly what you hope it's going to be.
This isn't the breakfast sandwich I eat every week. It's the one I start thinking about on a Saturday morning when I want breakfast to feel a little more fun.
My order: The Breakfast Sandwich. If you're there for lunch instead, don't sleep on the BLT.
RIP Corner — Gone but Not Forgotten
Hi-Fi Donuts (City Center, closed Apr 17 2025)
Eight years of scratch-made donuts, loud playlists, and a mean sausage-egg bomb. Lease talks tanked, lights went out. The square feels quieter now.
Ohno! Cafe (Brackett St., closed Nov 2024)
Twenty years of West End breakfast legends, the maple-glazed prosciutto bagel, the “Number One” with Tabasco. Staff shortages and family priorities pulled the plug. The neighborhood still walks by expecting the smell of bacon.
Honorable Mentions
Smalls – The sandwich is excellent. The size? Yeah, it’s small. But the coffee’s strong, the bread’s solid, and the place has just enough charm to make you forget you’re still hungry.
Ugly Duckling – A proper English muffin sandwich that could fix your whole day. Cozy vibe, great food, but it’s a bit steep for what you get. Still, sometimes you just want the good version.
I’ve eaten my way through some of the best breakfast sandwiches, but these next few are still on my list.
