Spring is here, a time for growth and all things new—which fortunately just so happens to extend to L.A.’s brunch options. This season is full of new restaurants already diving into the brunch game, as well as a few of our favorite dinner-only spots extending their hours on weekends. You want a burger topped with bolognese from one of the city’s best Italian restaurants? You’ve got it. Lobster Benedicts from new seafood shacks? We’re on it. We’ve even got brunch with a side of burlesque, if you’re in the mood:
Crackin’ Kitchen
This brand new Hawaiian-meets-Cajun seafood spot in Pasadena only opened last week but it’s already serving a full weekend brunch. Stop by Crackin' Kitchen for a tarragon-tinted lobster Benedict; chowder fries topped with bacon and cheddar; lobster rolls on King’s Hawaiian buns; salads; rotating brunch mussels; oysters; gumbo and more. Want a little bit of everything? There’s also a seafood platter that includes oysters, ahi poke, shrimp cocktail, lomi lomi salmon and snow crab. Because why settle for just one item?
Saturdays & Sundays, 11am–4pm
The Federal Bar
Heading south, the Long Beach location of the Federal Bar recently launched what it’s calling Sweet and Savory Burlesque Brunch, which, as the name implies, includes burlesque performances and an array of sweet and savory dishes. What the name doesn’t imply, however, is one of the weekly event’s biggest draws (and two of the sweetest words to ever grace a brunch menu): bottomless mimosas. For $35 per guest, settle in for performances set to live music, a choice of a brunch entrée and, of course, those endless glasses of champagne and OJ. Expect food options such as toast with smoked salmon, poached eggs, pickled onions, avocado, capers, and sour cream; Benedicts with hash browns; and a rustic bread bowl filled with organic spinach, heirloom tomatoes, smoked gouda, eggs and a chipotle-honey hollandaise.
Sundays, noon–3pm
NoMad
You should grab a meal in NoMad when the hotel is candlelit and moody, but in the daylight, this setting sings, too. Light bounces off of mirrored tabletops, the greens, blues and burgundies of the velvet seating appear all the more vibrant, and, of course, the lighting’s better—because come on, are you really going to brunch at NoMad and not tell Instagram you did? Take a seat in the lobby restaurant on weekends for a handful of Bloody Marys running the gamut: We’re talking sherry-based, Caesar salad-inspired, meaty, traditional and Michelada-adjacent. Then peruse house-bakes pastries with preserves; breakfast burritos featuring suckling pig; omelets with black trumpet mushrooms and more.
Saturdays & Sundays, 11am–3pm
Rosaliné
How do spicy avocado toasts with yuzu aioli sound? Perhaps you’re more into roast-duck congee topped with poached duck egg? Wait, we’ve got it: You’re more of a breakfast burrito fan, especially when it’s stuffed with seared steak, chicken or mushrooms, and brown rice quinoa with cilantro pesto. Whichever the case, we can tell you’re more into brunch dishes that go far and beyond the basics, so we know that the Peruvian hot spot Rosaliné is the choice for you. Chef Ricardo Zarate just launched a robust brunch menu in his vibrant WeHo restaurant, and it’s filled with these and a slew of others—hello, steak and eggs with quinoa toast and ginger-tamarind soy dressing—to start your Sunday on a bold note.
Sundays, 10:30am–2:30pm
Rossoblu
Leave it to the brilliant Steve Samson to put bolognese on a burger. And a frittata. His Bologna-inspired dinner menu’s been wowing us since Rossoblu’s launch last year, and now we’ve got an entire new, egg-laden list to work our way through. Heirloom grain bowls with soft egg and coal-roasted veggies; lemon ricotta pancakes with citrus curd and berries; a full breakfast of pork belly or bacon with beans, eggs and balsamic potatoes; and a burger topped with fontina, cabbage slaw and a small mountain of bolognese all make the list, with a few salads, sweets and breakfast sandwiches, to boot.
Saturdays & Sundays, 11am–2pm