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Magnolia Grille, North Hollywood
Magnolia Grille, North Hollywood
Farley Elliott

36 Mind-Blowing Breakfast Burritos in LA

The best handheld breakfast available in town.

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Magnolia Grille, North Hollywood
| Farley Elliott

A great breakfast burrito can be as divisive as it is delicious. There are neighborhood allegiances to consider, overall quality, price and (this being L.A.) location. All of these factors must also be filtered through a bright morning lens. How hungover did you get the night before? What outfit are you willing to wear out to breakfast? Because there are so many moving parts, truly picking the best breakfast burrito seems an impossible, and highly personal, task.

Here instead are 36 of the best, from all around the county. There are beachy options in Malibu and Redondo Beach, low key joints in Downey and Sierra Madre, and even a breakfast star hidden away in Beverly Hills. Just don't ever skimp on the salsa.

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Amigo's Tacos

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Skip the line at Brother’s and head to Amigos for a knock-off that might be better than the current champion. Just watch out for the seriously spicy salsa.

Art's Burgers

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The legendary El Monte stop Art’s Burgers still doses out breakfast burritos with egg and cheese only for less than $2. A three-meat option is just over $3.

Astro Burger

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Well known for a semi-secret line of vegan and vegetarian options, this diner-like drive thru does a mean (if a tad small) breakfast burrito as well. And it doesn’t need to be healthy.

Athenian Grill

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This Reseda specialist feels like an East Coast Greek diner throwback, but with one of the most balanced breakfast burritos in town. No overwhelming potato here, just thin strips of fully griddled hashbrown goodness.

Big Tomy's

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One of the endless Original Tommy’s knock-offs, this south Culver City strip mall staple offers the full run of breakfast options, plus hashbrowns and plenty of cheese. Want chili or pastrami instead? Just ask (and be sure you have the cash).

Brother's Burritos

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It’s all about the options at this Hermosa Beach haunt, which opens at 7:30 a.m. on weekends and lets guests build their own burritos from nearly two dozen options.

Burger Factory

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Hollywood’s resident hangover fix, Burger Factory weighs in with options for meat, potatoes, egg, and (crucially) avocado, all for $5.50. They even deliver.

Burrito King

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Ever a hipster’s best bet, the breakfast burritos at this Sunset Bvlvd. walk up window are never very fancy (usually just egg, bacon, and cheese, but isn’t that the point?

The current darling of the breakfast burrito scene, Cofax’s smoked potato concoction is one of the most inventive, and downright delicious, options in all of L.A. It helps that great coffee is readily available too. Yes, you can go vegetarian too, but why would you?

Coffee Commissary

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Does adding egg to a hearty brisket burrito count? It does when it’s from Coffee Commissary in Burbank, which keeps early hours and slow smokes their brisket for half a day.

Frank's Charbroiler

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Fairfax has Cofax now, but long before those boys there was the manly burrito at Frank’s Charbroiler, just south of West 3rd. Order the mix — it’s the best of every possible breakfast burrito world.

Guerrilla Tacos

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What can’t Wes Avila do when he puts his mind to it? Though not always available, this semi-frequent breakfast burrito tends to come with Cook’s Ranch pork belly sausage, which is its own level of awesome.

Huckleberry Cafe & Bakery

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Santa Monica’s upscale favorite, Huckleberry is a bruncher’s best friend and a hungover person’s worst nightmare. Skip the interminable lines for a pick up order of perhaps L.A.’s best breakfast burrito.

Jinky's Cafe Sherman Oaks

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Jinky’s is synonymous with breakfast, especially in Sherman Oaks. Don’t be fooled by the healthy-ish options; the Desperado burrito packs a morning punch.

Jose Chiquito

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Don’t count the Grand Central Market out yet as an overworked bastion for the rich and those able to wait in line. Breakfast ‘wraps’ at Jose Chiquito are still fast, cheap, and delicious.

King's Burgers/Got Sushi?

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Things get weird this far north. Straight from Northridge’s own breakfast-burger-sushi stop, the avocado-laced burritos here are great for the morning-after local college crowd.

Lily's Cafe & Pastries

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As everyone in Malibu knows: Lily’s breakfast burritos are phenomenal. Order one up to go and then pull over in full view of the ocean for the full experience.

Lucky Boy Drive-In Restaurant

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Pasadena’s own Lucky Boy often earns nods as the best around, and it’s not hard to see why. Size matters here, with portions big enough to feed an army — without skimping on the technique.

Lucky Guys #2

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Anyone playing fast and loose with their arteries is advised to head for the Suicide, a matrimony of cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, chili, beans, and hash browns.

Lucy's Mexican Drive-in

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Mid-City’s absolute best breakfast burrito is available for drive thru pickups. A thin crisp of hashbrowns, plenty of cheese, sausage and just enough egg — and its available 24 hours a day.

Lupe's Place

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Who knew that La Cañada Flintridge could sport such a worthwhile taqueria? This out of the way find keeps things old school by mixing their ingredients into a big messy hash consistency, but add some salsa and away you go.

Magnolia Grille

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Get an early start at this place (they open at 6 a.m.) because lines often form for the oversized breakfasts, including the griddled $9 burrito.

Mary's Market & Canyon Cafe

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Mary’s is for locals. Tucked into the base of the Angeles National Forest, this roadside shack serves tasty morning burritos for well under $5. It’s as quaint as they come.

Nick's Cafe

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Nick’s is a Chinatown staple, having offered their back-breaking breakfasts for nearly 80 years. Skip the benedicts and head for the secretly awesome breakfast burrito. After all, anyone who’s been cooking eggs for this long knows what they’re doing.

P&G Super Burger

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Covina’s own P&G Super Burger isn’t just about the pastrami and chili cheese fries. Their bacon avocado option is a trusty local staple, and available until noon.

Pepe's Mexican Food

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Not only does Pepe’s open at 6 a.m. for those early morning breakfast burrito eaters, they also offer a dozen different combinations and don’t skimp on the freshly cooked eggs.

Phanny's

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There’s a reason Redondo Beach locals love their Phanny’s breakfast burritos: they’re served all day. Assorted combos and a vegetarian option help too, of course.

Snug Harbor

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This egg-loaded monster flies under the radar because its not close to the beach, but don’t let Snug Harbor’s longtime position on Wilshire and 24th keep you from trying one of the Westside’s best.

Tacos Por Favor

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A longtime Santa Monica taco tradition, the breakfast burrito here is worthy of its own mention. Tightly wound with fresh ingredients, it’s a simple pick-me-up that won’t lay you down for an entire day.

Tacos Villa Corona

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When even Anthony Bourdain knows about your breakfast burrito, you know it’s good. This Atwater Village mom and pop shop sports long lines on the weekends, but for good reason: it’s one of the best anywhere in town.

Taqueria El Tapatio

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Glendale’s perennial frontrunner is Taqueria el Tapatio, a no-frills walk up option that leaves a bit lacking by way of service but hits where it counts: the morning chorizo breakfast burritos.

Taqueria la Mexicana #5

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This San Diego-style taqueria does a brisk carne asada business, but their breakfast option (yes, it’s proper etiquette to sub in fries for potatoes) is a local Long Beach mainstay.

The Corner Deli & Grill

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Need a breakfast burrito recommendation? Just ask college kids. UCLA knows the best are found for cheap at nearby Corner Deli, as they have been for almost 15 years.

The Farm of Beverly Hills

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This one is for the fancy folks. Available on the brunch menu, the weekend burrito fits quality scrambled eggs, aged cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon inside of a warm tortilla — with a $12 price to match.

The Griddle Cafe

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Overloaded, overstuffed, and overindulgent describes just about everything on the menu at the Griddle, but the breakfast burrito is perhaps the bulgiest of them all. The Caballero is a knife and fork affair, all the way, with sour cream and pico de gallo on top just to make sure.

The Oaks Gourmet

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An early adopter of the recent wave of cheffed up breakfast burritos, the option at The Oaks sports eggs that haven’t been fried hard yet, so there’s still some softened goodness inside. Add in thick cut bacon and scallions, and it’s a feast.

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Amigo's Tacos

Skip the line at Brother’s and head to Amigos for a knock-off that might be better than the current champion. Just watch out for the seriously spicy salsa.

Art's Burgers

The legendary El Monte stop Art’s Burgers still doses out breakfast burritos with egg and cheese only for less than $2. A three-meat option is just over $3.