Burlingame brunch means making a call before you're fully caffeinated: commit to the counter-service speed of Urban Kitchen near the Caltrain tracks, or settle in for linen napkins and beef bourguignon at Chouchou. The options stretch from a walk-up falafel at Mediterranean Kitchen to a birthday dessert at Mykonos, and the line at Backhaus is worth it if you like your croissant with a side of productivity.

I've eaten eggs in most of these rooms, and the steak at Neal's came with crepe sides I still can't explain. The list below is a practical guide, not a promise.

Read it, pick one, and go before the coffee cake at Alana's is gone.

Urban Kitchen

Highlights
Steak and eggs satisfied
Fast counter service
Spacious indoor seating
Near Caltrain station

I walked into Urban Kitchen mostly by accident, having missed my train by three minutes and deciding that a steak and eggs brunch was a more productive use of my time than staring at the departure board. The counter service is fast, almost suspiciously so, and the indoor seating is spacious enough that I didn't have to make eye contact with anyone. The steak was cooked properly, which is more than I can say for some places that charge twice as much. It's not a destination, but it's close to the Caltrain station, which is a virtue in itself. If you're catching a train and hungry, this will do. It did for me.

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Alana's Cafe

Highlights
Family-owned, friendly, attentive staff
Tasty, generous portion sizes
Excellent homemade coffee cake
Dog-friendly, prompt seating

Alana's Cafe is the kind of place where the staff learn your name, your order, and your dog's name, though I suspect the dog's name is learned first. The family-owned operation runs with the kind of attentive friendliness that makes you feel like you're a guest, not a customer. The portions are generous, which I appreciate, and the homemade coffee cake is excellent, which I appreciate more. They seated me promptly on a busy Saturday, which is rare enough to note. I ate too much, but I have no regrets. The dog, a terrier mix at the next table, seemed to approve of the ambiance.

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Neal's Coffee Shop

Highlights
Steak omelette with crepe sides
Friendly, talkative service
Extensive menu worth returning for
Clean, spacious dining room

Neal's Coffee Shop has a certain old-school charm that I find increasingly difficult to locate in this part of the Peninsula. The steak omelette came with crepe sides, which I did not expect and still cannot fully explain, but they were good. The service is friendly and talkative, perhaps too much so for a quiet reader, but I managed. The menu is extensive, and I made a mental note to return for the other forty-seven items I didn't try. The dining room is clean and spacious, with the kind of light that flatters no one but ends up feeling honest. A fine, unpretentious brunch.

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Caffe Central

Highlights
Large selection, hard to choose
Helpful, cute food displays
Swift, friendly table rescue
Beautifully presented dishes
Delicious flavors, better than looks

Caffe Central presents a problem I rarely have: too many choices. The large selection made me stand at the counter like a fool for a solid four minutes, and the helpful staff, bless them, just waited. The food displays are cute in a way that suggests someone actually cares about presentation, and the dishes that arrived were beautiful enough to photograph, though I didn't. The flavors were better than the looks, which is saying something. When a table was needed, the staff rescued me with a swiftness that I appreciated. I ordered something simple and was rewarded with complexity. I'll be back, but I'll try to decide faster next time.

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Twelvemonth

Highlights
Peninsula’s nicest dining room
Third birthday menu shines
Plant-based plates that deceive
Friendly service, seasonal surprises
Portions lean, occasions strong

Twelvemonth has, as far as I can tell, the nicest dining room on the Peninsula. The third birthday menu is where the kitchen shines, and I happened to visit during that window. The plant-based plates are deceptive; they look like one thing and taste like another, usually better. The portions lean on the small side, but this is a place for occasions, not for satisfying a hollow leg. The friendly service adds seasonal surprises that I did not expect and will not spoil. If you're celebrating something, this is the spot. If not, you might still leave quietly pleased, just not full.

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Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe

Highlights
Best pastries and cakes
Favorite grilled chicken sandwich
Lovely outdoor seating
Great service throughout
Perfect airport stop

Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe is my answer to the question of where to go before a flight. The pastries and cakes are the best in the area, and the grilled chicken sandwich has become something of a favorite, which is odd because I don't usually order grilled chicken. The outdoor seating is lovely, especially when the fog rolls in and you pretend you're in Copenhagen, which I've never been to, but I imagine it's like this. The service was great throughout, and I managed to not miss my flight. A perfect airport stop, if such a thing exists. It does here.

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Canvas and Cafe

Highlights
Easy, flexible event planning
Mediterranean catering crowd-pleaser
Personalized thoughtful celebration details
Great for group celebrations
Attentive, organized hosting team

Canvas and Cafe came to my attention not for brunch, but for a group celebration that I attended with some reluctance and left with some gratitude. The event planning was easy and flexible, which is a phrase I use rarely with any sincerity. The Mediterranean catering was a crowd-pleaser, and I say that as someone who usually avoids group dining. The personalized details were thoughtful without being cloying. The hosting team was attentive and organized, and they managed to keep the food coming without ever letting a glass sit empty. For a group celebration, it works. For a quiet brunch, it's not the place.

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Mykonos

Highlights
Good food, kind staff
Festive birthday atmosphere
Immediate seating available

Mykonos is not a place I would have picked for brunch, but I was dragged along to a birthday and found myself pleasantly surprised. The food is good, the staff is kind, and the atmosphere is festive in a way that makes you forget you're eating eggs at eleven in the morning. We were seated immediately, which never happens on the weekend, and the birthday boy got a free dessert that he did not share. I'm still thinking about the tzatziki. It's a solid choice if you want something a little different and don't mind a bit of noise. I didn't mind it.

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Chouchou French Bistro

Highlights
Linen-napkin classic French service
Prix fixe offers generous value
Beef bourguignon and cassoulet shine
Escargot and onion soup starters
Crème brûlée worth the trip

Chouchou French Bistro offers the kind of service that makes you sit up straighter in your chair, the linen-napkin sort. The prix fixe menu gives you more value than the à la carte options, and I appreciated that. The beef bourguignon was rich and tender, and the cassoulet, which I tried on a subsequent visit, was even better. The escargot and onion soup starters are worth the time, and the crème brûlée alone justifies the trip. It's a bit formal for a casual brunch, but if you want to feel like you're in Paris without the jet lag, this is close.

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Backhaus | Burlingame

Highlights
Pastries are exceptionally crafted
Upstairs seating with views
Bright, clean atmosphere
Worth the early line
Good for solo work

Backhaus | Burlingame makes pastries that are, I'm sorry to say, exceptionally crafted. The line was out the door when I arrived, and I considered leaving. I did not leave. The upstairs seating offers a view of the street below and a sense of being above the fray, which is nice. The atmosphere is bright and clean, the kind of place where you feel guilty for not working. I set up my laptop and got more done in an hour than I had in the previous week. The early line is worth it, especially if you're looking for a solo work session with a croissant that flakes in a most satisfying way.

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Mediterranean Kitchen Burlingame

Highlights
Doner kebab exceptionally fresh
Friendly, prompt counter service
Falafel moist and flavorful
Convenient walk-up ordering

Mediterranean Kitchen Burlingame is a walk-up operation, and I appreciated the convenience of ordering without having to sit through a conversation. The doner kebab was exceptionally fresh, which is a word I rarely use for meat that's been spinning on a vertical rotisserie. The falafel was moist and flavorful, which is harder to achieve than it sounds. The counter service was friendly and prompt, and I was back on the street with my food in the time it took me to find my keys. It's not a sit-down brunch, but it is a good meal. That counts for something.

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Max's of Burlingame

Highlights
Huge portions, reasonable prices
Fine Jewish deli classics
Incredible soups and pot pies
Amazing cakes, take some home

Max's of Burlingame is a place I went to with high expectations and left with a box of cake, because that's what happens here. The portions are huge, the prices are reasonable, and the Jewish deli classics are done right. The soups and pot pies are incredible, the kind of thing you think about for days after. The cakes are amazing, and I took a slice of chocolate mousse cake home and ate it for breakfast, which I don't regret. It's not fancy, but it's filling. If you want a brunch that feels like a meal and a half, this is it.

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