The plethora of options for the greatest meal of the weekend can make selecting the best feel like a quest. Skewing toward breakfast or lunch, coffee, tea or boozy, uptown or down; the options are unending. But our definitive guide to Gotham’s best brunch destinations leads the way (both here and over the river in Brooklyn, too). Including casual spots and fancy foods at some of the best restaurants in NYC, we’ve picked our favorite brunches to satisfy your portmanteau desires in the city’s busiest borough.
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New Yorkers crave a comforting breakfast and Clinton Street Baking Company is the ideal spot to satisfy even the most discerning New Yorker. The beloved Lower East Side hotspot co-owned by Chef Neil Kleinberg and DeDe Lahman offers eclectic takes on classic American food and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes well worth the two-hour weekend waits.
There is not a single wrong decision to be made once you arrive at this Upper West Side staple. That said, consider your options wisely: which of the many biscuit sandwiches will best complement your choice cocktail – or beer, of which you can choose from literal dozens – the sausage, egg and cheese, or the southern BLT (of which there are several)? And if your sweet tooth is activated, the biscuit French toast has you covered.
Step away from the chaos of SoHo’s bustling streets and into Odd Sister, a cafe that is at once cool and sophisticated and cozy and casual. Brunch, which is available every day of the week here, includes decadent takes on a breakfast sandwich made with everything bagel-seasoned focaccia, Manchego and thick cut bacon, a French omelet with tomato, caramelized onions and Gruyère, and pancakes topped with brûlée bananas, candied nuts, caramel and vanilla cream.
Everything in this Noho café from Andrew Carmellini—the man behind perpetually crowded downtown spots the Dutch and Locanda Verde—is considered to create the ultimate bistro. The brunch menu incliudes indulgent classics like croque madame, a brisket burger comté and lighter niçoise salad or lemon ricotta pancakes. Save room for the pastries.
If you're looking for brunch for appetites great and small, this is the place. Though the extensive brunch menu does include standards like a hefty cheeseburger and a dutch baby pancake, there are market-table small plates like the peekytoe crab toast with lemon aioli and baked eggs with butternut squash, smoked bacon, fontina and dill. And if you can't get a table, luckily you have neighboring ABC Cocina and ABCV as backups.
Roughly translating to “home away from home,” Bessou is possibly the best Japanese-style brunch available in NYC. Expect savories like the hot honey nanban chicken sando slathered in shiso goddess sauce and smoked daikon on a scallion bun and sweets like the beignets dusted in cinnamon sugar and fresh yukari cherry dip.
Ophelia is both home to one of the most beautiful spaces in the city and boasts some of NYC’s most breathtaking views. And now that it offers a cocktail brunch menu, it's truly serving a trifecta of weekend delight. The Sunday brunch is centered on the “Top of the Tower” fruit and tea sandwich platter offerings–a creative play on the lounge’s location at the top of the Beekman Tower–which include three options ranging in levels of indulgence. There’s also a vegetarian tower option, as well as several hearty a la carte plates.
This popular West Village eatery serves a two hour, $35 bottomless brunch (with the purchase of a entrée – think huevos rancheros and salmon Benedict) until 5pm on Sundays. Although Agave takes reservations, be sure to book at least a week in advance as tables fill up quickly.
Harlem staple Amy Ruth's is a true soul-food institution and a fried chicken-and-waffle paradise. The cheery, laid-back spot serves dishes named for famous figures, many of whom have stopped by over the years. Traditionalists will love the Rev. Al Sharpton—crunchy fried chicken and waffles.
Nestled next to the High Line, Cookshop is perfect for seasonal, locally sourced dishes and an array of fresh cocktails. For an especially decadent brunch, order the buttermilk-cornmeal pancakes with caramel apples and whipped cream AND the egg sandwich (don’t skip the house-smoked ham if you eat meat.) If you’re imbibing, the cocktail menu is a divine mix of traditional brunch favorites like bloody Marys and seasonal specialties like When Doves Cry, made with tequila, blood orange, cinnamon and chili.
A “California-inspired” ethos is behind the menu at Upland, including donuts drizzled with salted vanilla glaze, raspberry and Boston creme and a pappardelle prepared with spicy sausage ragú, kale and parmigiano. If you’re hosting or just would rather indulge at home, you can order ahead for pick up and the entire menu travels well.
The fare at this bright, Instagram-ready Lower East Side shop stays true to the SoCal-inspired ethos from which it was born. Frozen bowls of acai are blended with nature’s sweet and creamy treats: berries, dates, and nut butter. The Encino Man, a bowl filled with sweet potato, bacon, escarole, a sunny side up egg, and topped with Za’atar.
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