Restaurants in Palm Springs

The restaurant scene in Palm Springs is nice and low key. Reservations aren’t especially hard to get and the welcome is warm wherever you go. Here are a few of my favorite Palm Springs restaurants, from sunup to sundown.

How Do You Like Your Breakfast?

Koffi: Chic

This extremely popular spot is buzzing at the break of day when the regulars start streaming in, many with their pampered pups. Koffi has an efficient staff, which moves the crowd along in an officious, yet friendly manner and all are welcome: gay and straight, young and old. There’s a selection of pastries and muffins that are decent, but not as good as they should be, given the type of place this is. But the coffee is superb. The lattes and cappuccinos are made the way they should be.

There’s indoor seating that fills up fast, and a generous and lovely backyard where you can settle in with a newspaper, pals and pets. Cute little sparrows flit around, hoping for a stray crumb. There’s a new branch of Koffi on the other side of town, but for true morning flavor, this is the place.

515 N. Palm Canyon Drive, tel. 760-416-2244. kofficoffee.com

Bit O’Country: Comfy

Whenever we visit Palm Springs, my husband is up before dawn, making calls to his New York office. After he’s got things going and rousts our boys out of bed, they head over to this old-fashioned joint where the welcome is warm and the plates are overflowing. You’ll find Bit O’Country next to a vacant lot, and on the outside of the building is a mural of some sort of cornucopia scene (which doesn’t look like it belongs in Palm Springs, but makes the place easy to find).

Regulars form a steady stream here, too, but while Koffi attracts designer dogs and their gym-ready owners, Bit O’Country is more of a fleece and flannel shirt kind of place. Whether it’s the counter or a booth, the patrons look like they have stories to tell. The oatmeal is as good as oatmeal gets, and the huevos rancheros are a hit every time. My favorite? The biscuits and butter, although most order them with gravy.

418 S. Indian Canyon Drive, tel. 760-325-5154.

Next: What’s for Lunch?