You Won’t Believe Missoula’s Top-Rated Breakfast Spot (It’s Not What You Think)

By far, my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. It is always a special treat when I cook breakfast for dinner. If I ever eat "dinner food" for breakfast, then my day probably isn't starting out the way I would like it to.

During the week, it's rare for me to get a full breakfast since my work schedule isn't normal. When I do get the chance for a breakfast, I am all in.

I am not sure if it's because I can get something sweet with my breakfast and no one bats an eye. If I have a doughnut, cinnamon roll, or pancakes with maple syrup, no one judges me. I can actually get all three, and it's fine. Or maybe it's because of the bacon? Whatever the reason I appreciate a good breakfast.

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Missoula has its share of great breakfast spots. You can tell by the long lines at some of our favorite places. Ask the locals and they will tell you where to get a great breakfast burrito or stack of pancakes. If you use Yelp to search for the best breakfast spot in town, you may be surprised—I was.

Stacker has compiled a list of the highest-rated breakfast locations in Missoula according to Yelp reviews as of March 2025. They looked at restaurants that had at least 20 reviews, were tagged as "breakfast & brunch", and were close to Missoula. They also removed chain restaurants. To be honest, I had never heard of the highest-rated breakfast place until now.

Missoula's Top 5 Breakfast Spots According to Yelp

The top five highest rated breakfast restaurants in the Missoula area are:

5. Paul's Pancake Parlor with a 4.0 Yelp rating. There are a lot of people who would disagree with the rating being as low as it is. Just look at the lines out the door on a Saturday morning.

4. Ruby's Cafe has a 4.0 Yelp rating. This is another spot that people would argue is one of the best. It was also featured on an episode of the television show Yellowstone.

3. Market on Front has a 4.2 Yelp rating. One of the newer restaurants on the list and is getting to be known for a fantastic breakfast burrito.

2. The Breakfast Club Missoula with a 4.3 Yelp rating. They specialize in breakfast burritos. One of my favorites is "The Brain"—hold the sour cream.

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1. The Hardtail Cafe has a 4.9 Yelp rating. I have never eaten here and didn't know it existed until this list. It is the little shop located in the Grizzly Harley-Davidson parking lot out by the Missoula Airport. I thought they were just a coffee stand. But they are more than that, and they serve breakfast and brunch sandwiches.

Rating businesses on websites isn't something that I do. Some may call me old-fashioned, but I tell people about the places I enjoy. So far I have tried all the places that have made the list except the best. I will now add that to my list to try next.