Big Ed's North
Rating
Family of 4
Roughly $50 to $80 for a family of four eating a full breakfast, before tip, based on what a Southern country breakfast house of this type typically charges in Raleigh.
Duration
60 to 90 minutes for most families, including the wait for a table. The food comes out of a busy kitchen quickly once you are seated, so the variable is almost entirely the front of house. A weekday 7 a.m. breakfast can be done in 45 minutes flat. A Saturday morning arrival at 9:30 a.m. can easily run 90 minutes once you add 20 to 30 minutes of waiting. Budget on the longer end if you have a toddler who will need a lap or two around the shopping center while you wait.
Best Ages
Works for every age, and it is genuinely easiest with the youngest ones. Big Ed's describes itself as breakfast, brunch and Southern country cooking, and breakfast is served from open to close, which is the single most useful fact for a parent. A toddler who will only eat pancakes at 6 p.m. is not a problem here. Little kids and big kids do well because the food is familiar and unfussy: eggs, biscuits, grits, pancakes, country sides. Tweens and teens tend to appreciate the portion sizes more than the theme. Third-party listings note highchairs are available, so an infant in a carrier or highchair fits, though we cannot confirm changing tables, so plan on the car for that. The kids who get the least out of it are picky eaters who want chicken tenders and a burger menu, since this is Southern breakfast and country cooking rather than standard kid-restaurant fare.
About
Big Ed's North is the North Raleigh outpost of a local Southern breakfast institution, and the reason to put it on a family list is one line from its own website: breakfast is served all day. If you have ever negotiated with a four year old who has decided that only pancakes are acceptable food, you understand why that matters more than any amount of atmosphere.
The brand describes itself as breakfast, brunch and Southern country cooking. Lunch and dinner service runs from 11 a. m.
Tuesday through Friday, but the breakfast menu never comes down. Big Ed's operates three locations, City Market downtown, this North location on Falls of Neuse Road, and Garner, and each runs its own daily specials, so the board here is not the same as the board downtown. Ask before you order.
This location holds a 4. 5 star average across more than 2,400 Google reviews, which for a high-volume breakfast house is a strong number, because breakfast places get punished hard in reviews when the wait goes sideways.
Hours are the thing to plan around. Posted hours are Tuesday through Friday 7 a. m.
to 8 p. m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.
m. to 2 p. m.
, closed Mondays. That schedule creates two very different restaurants. The weekend morning version is packed, loud, and comes with a 20 to 40 minute wait between roughly 9 and 11:30 a.
m. The weekday evening version is the one parents should know about: a full Southern breakfast at 6 p. m.
on a Wednesday, in a calm dining room, with no wait. Same food, completely different experience with young kids.
On logistics, be realistic. The address is a shopping center on Falls of Neuse Road, which means free surface parking and an easy stroller path from the car to the door, then a busy dining room where the stroller is better off parked near the entrance than wheeled to the table. Third-party listings note highchairs are available.
We could not verify changing tables, a dedicated printed children's menu, or the accepted payment methods at this location, so bring a diaper kit you can use in the car and call (919) 747-9533 if payment method matters to you. In practice the breakfast side of the menu functions as a kids menu anyway: a short stack, a single egg, a biscuit, a side of grits.
Who should skip it: families whose kids will only eat chicken tenders and burgers. This is eggs, biscuits, grits and country plates, and it is very good at that rather than trying to be everything. Families who will love it are the ones who want a real, unpretentious Raleigh meal, at an hour that suits their kids instead of the restaurant.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
Limited
Setting
Indoor
Rainy Day
Great option!
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Right at the 7 a.m. open, any day. Big Ed's North posts hours of Tuesday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Mondays, so mornings are the crowded shift and weekend late mornings are the worst of it. Between roughly 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday you are in the peak. The quiet secret is the weekday evening: this is one of the few places in Raleigh where you can order a full breakfast at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday in a nearly empty dining room, because lunch and dinner service runs from 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and the weekday dinner hours are far calmer than any weekend morning.
Wait Times
No admission line, but the table wait is real. Expect 20 to 40 minutes on a weekend morning between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and close to zero on a weekday at open or during the Tuesday through Friday dinner window. There is no ticketing or reservation system we can confirm, so this is a walk-in and wait situation. The upside of a strip-center location is that the wait happens with the stroller outside in the shopping center lot rather than crammed into a tiny vestibule.
Nearby Food
You are eating here, so the useful version of this is what else is within reach. BARKING DOG is the closest option in our directory. Beyond that, the address puts you in the Corners Shopping Center on Falls of Neuse Road in North Raleigh, a corridor thick with coffee shops, bakeries, ice cream and casual chains within a five-minute drive. If the wait is longer than your kids can handle, grabbing a coffee elsewhere in the same shopping center and coming back is easier here than at a downtown restaurant with no parking.
Why Kids Love It
Breakfast at any hour is a small thrill when you are six. Pancakes for dinner is technically against the rules at home, and here it is just the menu. The plates arrive loaded, the biscuits are the kind kids tear apart with their hands, and nobody is asking a child to be interested in anything sophisticated.
It is loud, busy and quick, which suits kids far better than a quiet room where they have to whisper.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Go at 7 a.m. or go on a weekday evening. Those are the two windows with no wait. Weekend mornings between 9 and 11:30 are the crush, and posted weekend hours end at 2 p.m., so you cannot just show up late to dodge it.
- Mondays are closed. Posted hours are Tuesday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Confirm at bigedsnc.com before driving across town.
- Order breakfast at dinner. Lunch and dinner service starts at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, but breakfast is served open to close, and it is usually the cheaper and more kid-proof half of the menu.
- Ask about the daily specials. Big Ed's runs them and they differ by location, so the North location's board is not the same as City Market's.
- Bring a diaper kit you can work from the car. Listings note highchairs are available, but we cannot confirm changing tables at this location, so do not count on them.
- Confirm accepted payment methods when you call. We could not verify the payment policy at this location, and it is worth 30 seconds on the phone rather than a surprise at the register with four hungry kids.
What to Bring
- A diaper kit you can use in the car, since changing tables are unconfirmed
- Something small and quiet for the table wait on weekend mornings
- A stroller you are willing to park by the door rather than wheel to the table
- Cash as a backup, since we could not confirm which payment methods this location takes
- A to-go container plan, because country cooking portions usually beat a kid's appetite
- Patience for a loud room, which is the tradeoff for a fast kitchen
Cost Info
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Roughly $50 to $80 for a family of four eating a full breakfast, before tip, based on what a Southern country breakfast house of this type typically charges in Raleigh.
We are not going to quote line-item prices, because Big Ed's runs daily specials that vary by location and the menu changes: check the current menu at bigedsnc.
com or call (919) 747-9533.
Parking in the shopping center lot does not add anything to the bill.
If you share plates and skip the extra sides, families routinely come in under that range, and if everyone orders a full platter plus a side you will land above it.
Tips to Save
- The breakfast-all-day policy is the money-saving feature, not just a convenience.
- Breakfast items are almost always the least expensive part of a Southern menu, and at Big Ed's North you can order them at 6 p.
- m.
- on a weekday, which turns a dinner out into a breakfast bill.
- Ask about the daily specials before you order, since Big Ed's runs them and they vary by location.
- Portions at country cooking places are large enough that two kids can reasonably split one platter with an extra plate, which is worth asking your server about.
- Water instead of four drinks is the easiest $10 you will ever save here.
- And if you are combining this with a paid outing downtown, eat here first: a filling breakfast at 7 a.
- m.
- means you are not buying overpriced snacks at 11 a.
- m.
