Our family loves the many diners and breakfast cafes around OKC and want to introduce you to our favorites! We gravitate toward the diner/greasy spoon places that offer bottomless cups of coffee, friendly service and big, splittable portions of all our favorite breakfast foods. There's a time and place for fancy or reimagined breakfasts, but those aren’t usually the best choice for a big family. We love the basics: fluffy stack of pancakes, plenty of bacon, biscuits and eggs.
First up, Sunnyside Diner in the SoSA district. You’ve probably seen the sunshine-filled diner, right off Classen at 6th Street. It’s right next door to Revolucion and has outdoor and counter seating in addition to booths and tables. We love the atmosphere, the food and the friendly service, so it's a go-to when a leisurely weekend breakfast sounds appealing. Not surprisingly, on our most recent trip, there was a wait on a Sunday around 11, but a table opened up outside so we snagged it. In our experience, tables opened up rather quickly, yet no one seemed rushed. We were able to linger for a while, enjoying our coffee and the mild December weather.
We split two 
Hangry Man platters ($8.99 each) then ordered a short stack (three pancakes and bacon for $5.99) and a side of bacon ($3) and had plenty of food! The Hangry Man is a lot of food for one person, but it's perfect for splitting. Their a la carte prices are very reasonable and make it easy to ensure you have enough of what you want (bacon). If I wasn’t the only one who would eat them, I would grab the blueberry pancakes, because they look absolutely amazing.
Sunnyside serves both breakfast and lunch all day, but we've always gravitated to the breakfast items. I love the Croque Madame and am eyeing the Turkey Day Sandwich for next time. My husband eyed the chicken fried steak at the table next to us, and it begs to be tried (and split!) as well.
Make your way to Sunnyside Diner sometime soon, and bring along some non-perishable food items to drop into the Pine Pantry outside. Pine Pantry is a community-supported free food pantry that creates a space to address the food insecurity in our community. I love the conversations sparked with our children upon glimpsing the pantry as we waited for our table. It’s such a great service to our community!
Sunnyside Diner
- 916 N.W. 6th St.
- Open 6 a.m.-3 p.m. daily
[Editor's Note: Keely is a regular contributor to our Thrive & Dime blog where she provides tips for eating local with kids.]
Keely Steger works part time for her church, City Pres, and is married to Charles, a physical therapist. They have two boys (11 and 8), and two girls (6 and almost 1). Together the Stegers love to explore the different districts of OKC and find great places to eat! Keely loves reading fiction, Instagram (@stegerpartyof6), Goodwill shopping, writing, coffee and eating.
