Brunch in New York

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There’s no more famous place, perhaps, to brunch in all of New York than at Keith McNally’s Balthazar. Or at least there wasn’t when this place first opened to much fanfare in 1997. The stars started coming… and then they stopped, lured away by other McNally ventures and a ton of newer, hipper places. That hasn’t stopped Soho locals or tourists from scoping the place out, though. McNally fell all over himself doing up the French brasserie thing here: tiled floors, reddish banquettes and chairs, wine bottles stacked high behind the bar; a bit of lit glass paneling (in a stained-glass effect) adorning the thick columns; heavy leanings toward French food…heck, the waitresses are even by turns gorgeous, ditzy, and snooty. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sant Ambroeus is a sophisticated little corner of Milano in New York’s West Village.  Come here for brunch, your head swirling with fantasies of Lombardic beauty and glamour – the breathtaking view from the roof of the Duomo, the Triumphal Arch of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Neoclassical façade of La Scala and of course, the bounteous, succulent, palate-delighting cuisine.

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New Yorkers are pretty sharply divided about Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Asian street food-concept fusion restaurant Spice Market. Half of them see it as a smashing fusion success, blending exotic ingredients and ideas with French culinary excellence to great effect. The other half feel like the place is just a little (or a lot) too précieux—the gorgeous servers wear bright orange, vaguely Buddhist tunics—and overpriced (you can’t get a cocktail here for less than $12).

All that may be true enough. But we’re about the food… and, for the most part, Jean-Georges delivers on that count in spades. Read the rest of this entry »

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Antibes Bistro is a lovely, welcoming French bistro with a distinctly neighborhood feel on a sleepy stretch of Suffolk just above Delancey St. The minimal foot traffic means that you will likely get seated right away or shortly after your arrival. In the warmer months, we suggest taking advantage of the outdoor seating  - even if it is quite warm you will be perfectly comfortable in the shady, semi-enclosed patio area. Although Antibes Bistro does not offer a brunch prix fixe special, the prices are so reasonable that you can feel free to order à la carte without worrying about what your bill will look like. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sanctuary T is a slightly misleading name for a restaurant with the sound and energy found in this bustling Soho teahouse during weekend brunch. The concept aims to combine a serene, removed setting with the full-service experience New Yorkers have come to expect.  This works during the week with thinner crowds, when you can really appreciate the restaurant’s clean yet warm design. But on weekends, it is difficult to distinguish Sanctuary T from any other overcrowded Soho bistro. Read the rest of this entry »

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Onieal’s is a quaint brunch spot located in the historic SoHo neighborhood. Due to its fame from appearances on the television series, “Sex and the City“, it is a frequent stop for fans on sightseeing tours. Onieal’s is especially accommodating by making its brunch menu available both daily and weekends. Brunch items include “eggs your own way,” eggs Benedict, pancakes, sides of crispy bacon or home fries, Panini, sandwiches and salads. Read the rest of this entry »

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For a modest, friendly brunch destination, Tavern on Jane is the place to go. Its long wooden bar, brick walls, and fireplace create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Enjoy a hearty, very reasonably priced brunch. The prix-fixe brunch includes a brunch entrée, a basket of muffins and croissants, home fried potatoes, fresh fruit and toast. But that is not all. Complement your meal with a complimentary brunch cocktail. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sometimes you want a good meal. Sometimes you want good music. Sometimes you want both. And sometimes, you don’t care if you get both or not. Folks, GARAGE is like that.

See, they promise a quintessential New York experience (heretofore known as “the jazz brunch”), in the heart of the quintessential New York nabe (the West Village). And you do get jazz, and you do get brunch. Except that the execution of one of these two critical halves of the experience is so poor that you may or not be able to forgive the place. Read the rest of this entry »

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Beauty & Essex is, quite simply, a fantastic and innovative brunch experience—absolutely worth putting on your brunch ‘bucket list’ whether you’re a hip local Brooklynite day-tripping into the city or an Arkansas traveler just passing through.

Brought to you by Portuguese-American chef/owner Chris Santos, he of the equally-uber-hip Stanton Social eating club nearby, this place takes “speakeasy” to new heights: you actually enter through a pawn shop that looks like a real pawn shop. (On closer examination, it is real. You can actually buy the guitars hanging up on the wall and the books stacked up in a corner, for the prices indicated on the tags.) But, truth be told, this pawn operation is mostly just a cool façade—and a mighty convincing one, too. If you didn’t know there was a restaurant here, you’d probably walk right on by it. In fact, even knowing it’s here, it’s a little hard to believe this is actually the place given the drab surroundings. But it is. Read the rest of this entry »

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There are five rules to brunching at Beaumarchais, which changed names recently but not its vibe—a crazy, club-like scene that repeats itself every weekend and now goes under the name “Le Grand Brunch”:

1. Dress up. Everyone else will be wearing club gear anyway, even at noon in mid-summer. This especially applies to women: cocktail dresses are practically required. Guys tend to go jackets-‘n-jeans, Cote d’Azur white suits with Panama hats, and the like. It’s all France, all the time here. So don’t come in jeans and a ripped tee, okay? Read the rest of this entry »

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“Take 5” at Trattoria Cinque. The name actually means “restaurant five“ in Italian and signifies a “5“ discipline used to showcase its Italian cuisine. The brunch menu features the five best selections in five categories — signature plates, extras, Bloody Marys, specialty cocktails and “quartinos.” Enjoy sipping a “quartino,” a generous one-third bottle of wine, instead of only a glass. Signature brunch plates include frittata, eggs Benedict, French toast, breakfast pizza, and fried eggs — all masterfully prepared to taste amazing. Read the rest of this entry »

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Be adventurous and experience the fascinating tastes and aromas of Public’s rare cuisine. Novel delicacies are created with hard-to-find ingredients from countries around the world, particularly Australia. Chef Farmerie refers to this unique cuisine as “Australasian.“ Delight in many tempting, scrumptious dishes from the brunch menu, such as, coconut stuffed pancakes, Turkish eggs, black pudding waffles, grilled venison burger, and hockey pokey ice cream. Read the rest of this entry »

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You want to see and be seen? In one of the hottest nabes in the city? The Diner is that kind of place. (And we hope you can appreciate the irony of it being called ‘The Diner.’ Please note: It’s not a diner.) Make sure you wear something hip and ripped—the ‘hood is crawling with actual models, male and female. G-Star Raw, baggy pants, and a skull cap for guys; something tight and revealing for gals. Incorporate the color black. Pay special attention to your shoes. Tennis sneakers? You just don’t get it, do you? The outdoor tables here are especially coveted, facing one of the city’s hippest and highest tech-traffic intersections: the corner of West 14^th Street and 9th Avenue. You can probably throw a stone from a table and hit ten social media startups, the city’s first Apple Store, public art, a photo shoot in a park, and a homeless guy and/or transvestite urinating in public. Okay, that’s 14 stones. But still. Read the rest of this entry »

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First things first : The Park takes some very serious looking to find. There’s virtually no chance this is “on the way” to anywhere else you’re ever going to need to be, and—what do you know?—there isn’t actually a park anywhere near this place. Go figure.

On the other hand, you could argue they’ve brought the park indoors, right into the restaurant. So there is that. And if it’s greenhouse-style (!) brunching you’re after, this is one of your best choices in the entire city—if you’re willing to hike all the way west to Tenth Avenue, and then ignore the West Side Highway traffic whizzing right by your ear. Read the rest of this entry »