If you’re looking for scrambles with a side of uni, sports, seaside views or bottomless mimosas, well, you’re in the right place. L.A. is full of new restaurants—which sometimes mean new brunches—and the latest onslaught of newbies and a few breakfast-loving stalwarts just rolled out menus worth seeking out, from Santa Monica to Echo Park. Here’s where to snag a seat on a September morning.
Élephante
Santa Monica’s best new rooftop just so happens to offer a breezy brunch to match its ocean view. The weekend-morning menu is brief but well-rounded at Élephante: the sweeter side includes ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter, nutella and banana, as well as yogurt with hemp seed and granola. Those looking for savory can get sated with polenta with crab, sweet corn, soft egg and herbs; avocado toast with sungold tomatoes; the Green Eggs veggie-packed scramble; and a breakfast pizza topped with guanciale, egg, cream, provolone and parmesan. If the view with a side of food doesn’t do the trick, we direct you to the robust cocktail menu, complete with draft, shaken and stirred drinks that involve fresh, seasonal components such as nectarine, aloe, grapefruit oil and passion fruit.
Sat & Sun, 10am–3pm
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Massilia
Speaking of Santa Monica, there’s a charming new restaurant serving the flavors of Marseille: a blend of French, Italian and Moroccan fare. During brunch, this means sunny eggs in shakshuka; ham and cheese croissants with greens; tortilla Española; brioche French toast; caprese omelets and a slew of fresh à la carte pastries. Of course, you’ll find a handful of lunchier and late-day items, to boot, such as a mouthwatering selection of house-made pastas, plus grain bowls, moules frites and Morrocan grilled salmon. Sit near the open garage-door walls and people-watch to your heart’s content.
Sat & Sun, 8am–4pm
Mohawk Bend
For the sports inclined, Echo Park’s vegan-friendly, craft-beer–focused pub is launching a football-forward brunch buffet on September 9. Throughout the season, head to Mohawk Bend for vegan and non-vegan eggs, plus sides such as potatoes, vegan or non-vegan sausage, bacon, fruit and toast. The best part? It’s only $9.50, and you know the games will be on at the bar and restaurant’s handful of flat-screens.
Sun, September 9 through December 30, 9:30–11:30am
Photograph: Courtesy Mohawk Bend
Vegan “egg” scramble over biscuits and gravy at Mohawk Bend
Punta Cabras
Formerly a taco stand, now a full-fledged restaurant, Santa Monica’s Punta Cabras recently launched a Baja-inspired brunch that marries land and sea in colorful combinations. Look for soft scrambled eggs with uni, truffle and crème fraîche; crab Benedict sopes featuring brined avocado, a burnt-jalapeño hollandaise, poached eggs and cilantro pesto; and a seafood cocktail that involves lobster tail, scallops, uni, tajin, avocado and spiced tomato water. Hoping for something more landlocked? There’s an al pastor Benedict, a stuffed squash blossom, a machaca hash with avocado and eggs and queso fresco—you get the idea. And don’t skip the cocktails.
Sun, 11am–3pm
Spartina
In WeHo, Spartina recently revamped its brunch menu with $18 bottomless mimosas and Aperol spritzes, and it’s hard to argue with that. But brunch is for noshing while boozing, and you can achieve that by building a spread from the also-revamped “pastries and breads,” “starters” and “eggs and griddle” sections—plus dishes from the pizza, pasta and lunch-leaning regions of the menu. We advise a few lemon ricotta fritters with buckwheat honey for the table, then further taking advantage of the Italian restaurant’s summery brunch menu with items such as fried goat-cheese-stuffed squash blossoms before moving onto heartier fare—like that beef-belly hash or the pizza bianca with prosciutto and potato.
Sat & Sun, 11am–3pm