The Best Brunch Restaurants in New York

The Wall Street Journal said that Sadelle’s have made breakfast the new dinner. Considering that around 800 hungry customers walk through Sadelle’s in SoHo each morning, that’s no empty claim! Purporting to serve the best bagels in NYC, Sadelle’s has won award after award for their breakfast and brunch offerings. The house special is a bagel with sturgeon and smoked salmon, or if you’re in the mood for something sweet it has to be their sticky buns. For that special touch, add caviar to any meal.

A red canopy with gold writing announces the elegant presence of Balthazar on Spring Street. Primarily a French brasserie, besides the fine dining in the evening the restaurant has a fantastic brunch menu for weekend mornings and afternoons. There’s a dedicated egg menu with every style from Benedict to Norwegian: poached eggs with salmon, hollandaise, and home fries. If your brunch is culinary first aid, check out the hangover drinks menu; perfect for even the most delicate head.

Set in the exclusive Lotte New York Palace Hotel, Villard Restaurant boasts the city’s "definitive breakfast room," and the best brunch NYC has to offer. Numerous reviews back this up, praising the food, the ambiance, the staff, and the grand surroundings. Detailed and elegant, Villard offers an extensive brunch menu including a popular pastry basket, shrimp and grits, and of course, perfect Eggs Benedict. There’s even a Bloody Mary bar with variations on the classic vodka and tomato juice pick-me-up. An iconic part of NYC dining culture.

Lafayette is a celebration of French cookery in downtown Manhattan. The interior is a "cinematic landscape rooted in traditional brasserie style," with bright colors meeting mahogany floors and beautiful wall murals. Brunch ranges from a varying selection of pastries and bread from the boulangerie, to a huge selection of cheeses including Tumbleweed, a New York crafted cheese. There’s plenty of traditional options too, like steak and eggs. Guests highly rate the egg white frittata and the French toast.

Named after the 19th-century private homes where cooks served simple yet delicious food, Cookshop prides themselves on using seasonal produce to create a range of tempting menus. You can book at Cookshop all day, from breakfast right through to dinner. Morning pastries include jammy crumb cake and an indulgent double choc chip breakfast bread. Weekend brunch introduces a more extensive menu with healthy options such as grains and greens, plus richer, more hangover-friendly choices like an albacore tuna melt.

One of the top restaurants in Long Island, Casa Enrique delivers tasty Mexican food to locals and tourists day in, day out. So booking is essential! Lunch and brunch meet on the same menu, and why not? The whole menu is available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes lime-cured fish ceviche, sopecitos de chorizo, huevos rancheros, and a range of enchiladas and Mexican sandwiches. Backed up by flawless service and a great drinks menu, Mexican brunch at Casa Enrique is a great addition to your weekend.

Attempting to combine rusticity with seasonal eating and international cuisine, Upland is a smart and sophisticated fixture in the New York dining scene. Wood and leather abound in this brasserie-style restaurant that offers a full dinner menu with a Mediterranean flair, plus a weekend brunch menu with all the standards. For a kickstart to your weekend, how about Eggs in Hell, with tomato and chili? Or maybe the chef’s selection of doughnuts is the sugar rush you need? Whatever you choose, expect great service and a great atmosphere.

Enjoy Italian cuisine served in style at this modern and sleek restaurant at New York’s Lincoln Center. The restaurant works with local farmers and suppliers to get the best ingredients to produce authentic pasta, focaccia, and much more. Brunch is two courses at a fixed price, although sharing platters are available. Antipasti include the Lincoln salad, a creative mix of pickled fennel and greens. Mains range from traditional frutti di mare seafood pasta to braised duck ragu. A very different brunch experience, with regular rave reviews.

A mixture of Milanese tradition and New York elegance creates a welcoming atmosphere at Sant Amboeus’ Madison Avenue restaurant. Famous for risotto and stunning Italian wines, Sant Ambroeus also does a range of brunch options including Omelette Della Casa; the house omelet cooked with three eggs and just about anything else you want including ham, cheese, and a range of fresh vegetables. From the breakfast menu, avocado toast is a favorite among diners, regularly popping up in five-star reviews.

Owned by one of the most revered French chefs in New York, Daniel Boulud, Bar Boulud prides itself on making sure each guest knows that they are welcome and important. With a range of menus daily including pre-theater specials, it’s no surprise that there’s an amazing and well-received brunch menu at the weekends. Try a charcuterie sharing platter for the table, full of cold meats, condiments, and mustards. Or maybe classic French toast with maple syrup or apple butter. If you’re in the mood for something a little more local, they do a fantastic pastrami on rye with homemade sauerkraut.

If you like entertainment while you brunch, Temple Court in the Beekman Hotel is the place for you. Chef Carlos runs a seasonal brunch menu with live music from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Booking essential! Start your meal with half a dozen fresh oysters. Or if that’s not robust enough for you, try the breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon, cheese, aioli, and roasted tomato. Reviewers really liked the doughnut holes, the avocado toast, and the fact that there’s a range of bacon to choose from.

Bright and open, this welcoming restaurant on New York’s Second Avenue is recognizable by the cute sheep logo adorning the window. The brunch menu is extensive and ranges from cocktails and antipasti to generous mains. Scrambled eggs with avocado are a big hit, as are the spicy baked eggs; something a little different. Mains include spaghetti, chicken Milanese, and the house burger with bacon and mozzarella. Keep an eye out for free bellinis with certain brunch entrees!

Now known as Park Avenue Autumn/Winter/Summer/Spring, this most recent addition to the Park Avenue restaurant family focuses on reinterpretations of classic favorite dishes. The brunch menu has a fixed price option with a pastry, an appetizer, and a main. Appetizers range from crab and avocado with raspberry hot sauce, to sweet corn gnocchi. Mains include traditional brunch fare such as smoked salmon eggs benedict, or more unusual options like the Autumn Haystack with crispy shrimp and pine nut aioli.

Proud to run an unpretentious American joint serving nice food and drink, the experienced team at the Dutch aim to provide a menu that makes them and their customers happy. Get a couple of plates to share among friends, or keep it all to yourself; it depends how hungry you are! Brunch is a popular choice here, with diners sharing great reviews about the poached eggs with smoked ham, and the accompanying bellinis. A great place to stop in whilst out shopping or exploring the surrounding SoHo area.

If you fancy a rooftop brunch, NYC is the city that delivers. Add in fantastic Mexican flavors and a retractable glass roof to deal with the weather, and you've found Cantina Rooftop. Brunch is a popular mix of classic favorites like Eggs Benedict and melt-in-the-mouth French toast, and Mexican-inspired dishes such as a bulging breakfast burrito with chorizo, eggs, chili, and cheese. Brunch with a view, whatever the weather.

An Italian restaurant that’s much in demand at the moment, it’s worth booking while you can. Time Out says that diners are clamoring for a table due to "seductive food" served among wine-bottle-lined bookshelves and bare brick walls. Saturday and Sunday brunch includes well-balanced, delicious cocktails plus breakfast options such as oatmeal and frittata. The lemon curd pancakes are particularly popular. There are also hearty mains such as pasta and eggs. Get there early if you like it calm; they get busy later on!

The restaurant for ABC Carpet & Home is a popular destination for hungry shoppers and savvy diners alike. There's a beautiful dining room crafted from salvaged and repurposed materials, with gorgeous bare wooden beams and tables ranging from simple and elegant to rurally rustic. The menu changes regularly with the seasons, with some brunch standards including scrambled eggs with crispy potatoes, smoked salmon with horseradish, and seasonal glazed doughnuts. The bloody mary has just the right kick, and the service is impeccable.

Chef John Fraser and James Truman have created a celebration of vegan and vegetarian eating. Trying to move away from the idea that getting rid of meat is a sacrifice, they use seasonal, flavorful ingredients to create dishes that keep diners coming back for more. Weekend brunch consists of two menus, one fully vegan and the other vegetarian. From the vegan menu, you can enjoy tandoor bread with a trio of tasty dips, almond milk porridge with blueberry jam, or a beet burger with horseradish cream.

There are so many places to dine in SoHo but if you love seafood, it should come as no surprise that with a name like Aquagrill, this is the place to be. Billed as NYC’s Best Oyster Bar, Fish and Seafood Restaurant, diners tend to agree. Brunch runs all weekend from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and includess hearty dishes like Manhattan clam chowder, and Crab Benedict, with hash browns and ratatouille. Keep an eye out for daily specials and check out the "Exotic Brunch" menu. Diners enjoyed plentiful servings and attentive staff.