Best $5 Breakfast in Town

The Smile Diner on Pender Street (across from Yagger's) is the place to hit up downtown for all-day-breakfast.

For less than $5, you'll get a heaping plate of 3 eggs, hashbrowns (the shredded kind, not the nasty chunk variety), two pieces of toast, and your choice of meat (sausage, bacon, or ham). It may not be the fanciest place in town, but the staff is quick and friendly and there's always a table available. Plus, there's something endearing about the way they chose to patch up the holes in the green vinyl seats with green duct tape instead of the regular gray colour.

So, for all the downtown crew -- what better way to break up your work day than with some breakfast-for-lunch?

I'm a big fan Docker's. Best pancakes I've had in a while. But the platter breaks the $5 mark.

Bon's if you're feeling ghetto, but Reno's is slightly better.

I miss Hatch breakfasts (but not the service).

But still nothing compares to the value at Urban City. It's been consistently good (but busy). Great place to feed a hangover with only pocket change.

I am a big fan of Bon's On Broadway, at Broadway and Nanaimo. The special is an unbeatable $2.99 (eggs, meat, hashbrowns and toast, good quality and in generous portions).

Bon's-Bon's-Bon's-Bon's (To the tune of Monty Python "Spam")! Good luck not waiting in line for a half-hour on a Saturday or Sunday morning/afternoon....so many hazy hung-over memories....

Wow I had no idea there were so many good & cheap places! Our default is the Kings Head pub at the bottom of Yew St - pauper's breakfast is $2.99 all day on weekends (or almost all day - late enough that we can still get it when we wake up late and with hangovers).

My favorite breakfast places in the Hastings Sunrise section of the east side are, in order of preference: (1) Docker's Diner (excellent sausage and home fries, $5 egg special includes meat and a coffee, so it ends up equal value to the other $3 places like Bon's), (2) Bon's on Broadway; fast service and good value, (3) Slocan Family Restaurant on Slocan and Hastings (little more $ but comfortable 'casual trucker' atmosphere), and (4) Moka and More on the corner of Nanaimo and Hastings, right behind a new Donair place that is kitty corner to the famous DM (their omelette's compete with the gourmet breakfasts that you get at say Finnie's, at half the price; best coffee place I've found in Vancouver after 5 years here). Moke and More is actually higher ranked than #4, but I put it here because it is sort of out of this category. One days that I feel like spending an extra $3, I go there for a really nice breakfast.

My favourite is The Omlettery (or however you spell it). Not as cheap as others, around 10$ for bacon and eggs and toast and juice) but it's fast, easy, and there is almost never a line.

Nice Cafe, 8th and Main. Or for a few more dollars, Sebs on Broadway.

we're still partial to Joe's Grill on Davie. There's also one on Denman and another on 4th. Best hangover cure I've EVER found, and they serve breakfast all day. they're only open till 5 pm or so, but even my worst hangover gets me up in time for their Basic. (ham, sausage or bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast for $5.99) ok, so it's a dollar more than the $5 but i love it!

Awesome thread. I'll break this down by dish and location:

West Side (all over $5):
- chorizo scrambler @ cafe barney
- blueberry pancakes @ joes on w.4th
- for massive apetites, the lumberjack @ zen cafe. great french toast as well

East Side
- the jerk salmon benny at the reef, 25ht and main is by far the *best* breakfast in the city
- bon's for cheap cheap and usually awesome hashbrowns

Another idea for a post: best burger?

Wow, way to go breakfast aficionados! I figured there would be the Bon's love on this list, but there are a few places I've never heard of, I'll have to go check them out.

i do love the breakfast at roundel cafe at hastings and nanaimo although not under five dollars and sunny spot cafe. also if you're over in north van near the sea bus terminal i recommend the candlestick cafe for everything amazing! including breakfast!

Nice Cafe, all the way! Cannot beat their hashbrowns!

a breakfast thread can't be complete without mention of the Tomahawk restaurant in North Vancouver, the Mixed Grill breakfast will definitely clog the hangover artery!

hey aldo, you wrote about a restaurant "DM." is the restaurant actually called DM or does it stand for something?

Kings Head

Yew & 2nd

Beggers Breakfast - $2.99

2 Eggs, Toast, Hashbrowns, Choice of Meat

Plus they give you an entire thermal carafe of coffee, love it.

Ewwww....Bons on Broadway, where I once found a bone in my veggie omelette!
Ewwww......Seto on Commercial Drive....where I once had hairy bacon.

bleh

Not exactly my top choice taste-wise, but I feel it should be mentioned that IKEA has a breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, hash browns and a croissant for $1. Add 3 slices of bacon, $1. Two apple crepes, $1.50. Coffee/juice/pop/tea $1.
Don't expect the portions to be huge, but at a dollar, two of them should be enough for anyone.

if i don't have time for Spohie's or Hamburger Mary's, or only have a bit of small change, it's worth it. Oh, and coffee's free before 10, whether you buy anything or not.

Can't wait to try Bon's....

i've been liking the ovaltine lately, but we also go to Fet's a lot, or the Kingston (both over $5).

this past Sunday we went to Seb's and I will never go back there. the food was good but the coffee was like brown water and I just can't deal with that at breakfast! ugh.

slickety jim's and the good old naam

i am still so grateful that you turned me onto urban city krisztina, it's so amazing.

all my favorites have already beem mentioned i think, but the sunny spot cafe on main & 10th is good too.

Joe's Grill on W 4th (also a couple locations downtown). I like what they call 'The Basic' - 2 eggs, 4 sausages/bacon, crispy hasbrowns, 2 slices of toast - all for about $5. They also have good pancakes and eggs benny.
I also like Kitsilano Cafe on W 4th, but I haven't been there in a while. Friendly service, tidy, and well under $5.

DM stands for Donald's Market, the famous grocery store on Hastings at Nanaimo and now on the drive. My wife and I just say "DM", and I thought it was common East Van parlance. -Aldo

DM stands for Donald's Market, the famous grocery store on Hastings at Nanaimo and now on the drive. My wife and I just say "DM", and I thought it was common East Van parlance. -Aldo

Has anyone else discovered the Hellven Grill? New place across from the McDonalds @ Kingsway and Victoria is awesome! Killer-good breakfast for $4.50. Until I found that place, I was fiercely loyal to the Skylight on the Drive and the Slocan on Hastings. I know it's EastVan sacrilege to say this, but I've never liked the food at Bon's. Big thank-you to Aldo for representing the great places in Hastings-Sunrise.

Whatever you do, do not go to Hilary’s on Denman. They actually microwave their omelets and after waiting 35 minutes, I inquired about my order only to learn that they forgot it. I was starving!