Come Sunday morning, the sister spot to Bowery heavy hitter Il Buco keeps it light (a huge skylight helps). Whether you’re on the market (side-by-side perches at the bar) or off (family-size banquet tables), we suggest a shared meal of crispy artichokes, fresh bread, daytime pastas, and — our go-to order — the kale and egg torta. Note: The blood orange mimosas are tops.
Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, 53 Great Jones Street (212-837-2622 or ilbucovineria.com).
Our resident breakfast taco expert declares the Nolita hang’s egg- and chorizo-filled delicacies the closest city dwellers will come to the real (Texas) deal. High praise is due for fresh lupita juices, huevos rancheros, chilaquiles verdes with queso, and chill vibes.
Tacombi at Fonda Nolita, 267 Elizabeth Street (917-727-0179 or tacombi.com).
The wait can be a mother clucker, but the prosecco on tap and eggs laid fresh by the flock of hens cooped on the roof are worth it. Get them poached with spaghetti, mushrooms, and prosciutto; sunny-side up with Fresno chile and pomodoros; or baked into a veggie, herb, and stracchino frittata.
Rosemary’s Enoteca & Trattoria, 18 Greenwich Avenue (212-647-1818 or rosemarysnyc.com).
You want an egg white omelet? Bless your heart. A tide of Southern staples (fried chicken and waffles, cheddar shrimp and grits, fluffy pancake stacks) rolls out from the kitchen every Saturday and Sunday at the Bedford Avenue insta-hit. You can never have too many Bloody Marys (with or without house-cured bacon) if you remember to say please and thankyama’am.
Sweet Chick, 164 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg (347-725-4793 or sweetchicknyc.com).
Visiting friends and moms are never not impressed by the soaring greenhouse with chandeliers. Blow their minds further and ask for the porchetta hash and tuna carpaccio pizza. Since you’ll probably be walking all day, carbo-load with lemon ricotta pancakes and a basket of sweet and savory croissants.
Isola Trattoria & Crudo Bar, 9 Crosby Street (212-389-0000 or isolasoho.com).
Don’t be intimidated by cured fluke with green tea blini and lemon or burrata under green strawberries, honey, and brioche early in the day (or do; it’ll make the line shorter). Once warmer weather hits, Gowanus’s coolest kids migrate to the backyard for day drinking, grilled clams, and in-depth conversations about sneakers.
The Pines, 284 Third Avenue, Gowanus (718-596-6560 or thepinesbrooklyn.com).
Bottomless mimosas, fifteen bucks. Never-ending lychee, watermelon, or mango mimosas, also fifteen big ones. If you haven’t already G-chatted that stat to your friends, throw in sizzling crepes with shrimp, bacon, and bean sprouts or sirloin and fried eggs for dramatic effect. It’s brunch that helps you bring home (and eat) the bacon.
Pig and Khao, 68 Clinton Street (212-920-4485 or pigandkhao.com).
If the average UES dinner starts at 5 p.m., do you count a 2 a.m. pizza slice as brunch? Discuss the logical ramifications (or just recap the previous night’s hijinks) over a pile of scrambled eggs with spiced beef, Irish cheddar, and taters; or smoked trout Benedict. You may conclude that brunch without booze is absurd; make the smart fix with a house spritz.
The Penrose, 1590 Second Avenue (212-203-2751 or penrosebar.com).
Nothing bursts your bubbly like a poorly mixed mimosa. Next time, DIY it with a tray of mixers, fresh juices, liqueurs, and plop-ins (berries, candied ginger, pomegranate seeds). Recipes are provided, though we suggest you wing it and use the time brushing up on tapas-style brioche French toast sticks, baked crespelle and eggs, and wood-fired pizza.
Sotto 13, 140 West 13th Street (212-647-1001 or sotto13.com).
We loved morning pizza before college made it a necessity. Now that we’re mature adults who never need to overcome hangovers, we prefer our a.m. pies fresh and topped with fennel-cured salmon, capers, and red onions or ham, Provel, eggs, and Tabasco. If you don’t want the dough, there are three frittatas on tap (kale, pancetta, mushroom).
Speedy Romeo, 376 Classon Avenue, Clinton Hill (718-230-0061 or speedyromeo.com).
The cozy French-American bistro serves a mean croque madame and has a beer sommelier on hand to pair your meal with a special brew from its list of more than 110 labels. A true gem for beer geeks.
Cafe d’Alsace, 1695 Second Avenue (212-722-5133 or cafedalsace.com).
Hearty brunch options at this deco drinking joint include smoked bluefish rillette with pumpernickel toast, braised pork over cheddar grits, and fried oysters served on the half shell.
Clover Club, 210 Smith Street, Carroll Gardens (718-855-7939 or cloverclubny.com).
Harold Dieterle, winner of Top Chef season one, whips up seasonal American fare (spicy duck burger, Parmesan polenta, and crispy calamari and watercress salad) in his cozy West Village nook.
Perilla, 9 Jones Street (212-929-6868 or perillanyc.com).
The simple American menu at this Brooklyn space includes spicy crab cakes and roasted beet salad with goat cheese. Grab a chair on the backyard deck when the weather turns warm.
Apartment 138, 138 Smith Street, Boerum Hill (718-858-0556 or apt138.com).
Regulars to the West Village outpost should try its East Side sister, which serves eggs every way (we like them with asparagus and Parmesan), vegan sausages, and seven types of salad.
Westville East, 173 Avenue A (212-677-2933 or westvillenyc.com).
The unassuming decor — white concrete walls, pine tables — lets Williamsburg locals concentrate on the down-home dishes in front of them. Breakfast (grits, country ham on a biscuit, homemade granola) is served until 6 p.m.
Egg, 135 North 5th Street, Williamsburg (718-302-5151 or pigandegg.com).
After chefs Lisa Hall and Ann Nickinson outgrew Kitchenette’s Tribeca outpost, they took their small-town charm to the UWS. Late sleepers can nab Southern-style comfort food (flaky biscuits, cheesy grits, cinnamon swirl French toast) as late as 4:30 p.m. on weekends.
Kitchenette Uptown, 1272 Amsterdam Avenue (212-531-7600 or kitchenetterestaurant.com).
A bright, airy, neighborly bistro from the folks behind The Odeon. Menu is short and to the point (short rib hash, brioche French toast). Memories of your plate last awhile longer.
Cafe Cluny, 284 West 12th Street (212-255-6900 or cafecluny.com).
Deer head says what? Find out at this taxidermy-laden dining room down a hipster-attracting alley. Don’t leave without eating the artichoke dip.
Freemans, end of Freeman Alley, off Rivington Street (212-420-0012 or freemansrestaurant.com).
At this retro caboose diner with cozy booths, chummy waiters memorize the changing menu and pull up a chair to scribble it on your tablecloth. The specials are out of this world. Hipsters are plentiful.
Diner, 85 Broadway (718-486-3077 or dinernyc.com).
If you build it, they will come (with curly mustaches and flannel shirts.) Freemans alums create a homey American dining room on a quiet street far from any subways.
Vinegar Hill House, 72 Hudson Avenue, Vinegar Hill (718-522-1018 or vinegarhillhouse.com).
An unusual name for a restaurant that’s all about intimacy and hominess. The menu features grilled venison burger with tomato-chile jam, as well as black pudding waffles with whipped foie gras butter. The private back room and individually wrapped takeaway soaps in the restrooms add to a cozy warmth and stylish elegance.
Public, 210 Elizabeth Street (212-343-7011 or public-nyc.com).
Neil Kleinberg’s blueberry pancakes have induced massive brunch lines and many a carb coma. The rest of the menu — including brioche French toast and a smoked salmon scramble — keeps the 32-seat joint swamped.
Clinton St. Baking Company, 4 Clinton Street (646-602-6263 or clintonstreetbaking.com).Zak Pelaccio turns up the heat with funky Malaysian dishes like quail egg shooters, steamed pork buns, short ribs, and sardine tea sandwiches.
Fatty Crab, 643 Hudson Street (212-352-3592 or fattycrab.com).
The bargain at this Down Under beach party: $18 for any brunch dish (try the Barrier Reef Benedict with crab cakes) and well mimosas, Bloody Marys, and more.
The Sunburnt Cow, 137 Avenue C (212-529-0005 or thesunburntcow.com).
Made with fresh eggs, milk, and flour, the golden puffs at Popover Cafe redefine the standard for NYC’s baked goods scene.
Popover Cafe, 551 Amsterdam Avenue (212-595-8555 or popovercafe.com).
Keith McNally drops his usual bistro fare for German- and Cuban-inspired comfort food and draws the look-at-me masses in the process. Order your steak and eggs with a Balthazar Bakery sticky bun and cup of Stumptown coffee.
Schiller’s Liquor Bar, 131 Rivington Street (212-260-4555 or schillersny.com).
Hungry like an animal? Get your fill of Beast’s marinated steak sandwiches, rock shrimp and cheesy polenta, chorizo hash, and eggs Benedict with organic, house-cured salmon.
Beast, 638 Bergen Street, Prospect Heights (718-399-6855 or brooklynbeast.com).
This rustic Brooklyn hotbed for serious foodie types has a coveted outdoor garden and an old stable for private parties. It’s the envy of the neighborhood.
Frankies 457 Spuntino, 457 Court Street, Carroll Gardens (718-403-0033 or frankiesspuntino.com).
Keith McNally’s overcrowded version of gay Paris. Scene always trumps substance at weekend brunch-fueled frenzies and sobering standing lines. Learn to love your neighbor.
Pastis, 9 Ninth Avenue (212-929-4844 or pastisny.com).
Think of it as having dinner at your English aunt’s country cottage in Cornwall. Try the goat cheese crepes, baked polenta with poached eggs, and rose water lemonade.
Rose Water, 787 Union Street, Park Slope (718-783-3800 or rosewaterrestaurant.com).
The owners of Frankies 457 Spuntino and Frankies 17 Spuntino borrowed the name for their 1920s-style restaurant from an old kosher butcher shop. Steak, eggs, and cheese are farm fresh, and the Bloody Marys are impeccably mixed.
Prime Meats, 465 Court Street, Carroll Gardens (718-254-0327 or frankspm.com).
Like those of any good diner, Tom’s exhaustive breakfast and lunch options please the pickiest of eaters. (The pancake selection alone ranges from lemon ricotta to pumpkin walnut.) Arrive with the weekend crowds and you can curb your gnawing hunger with a cookie and coffee on the house.
Tom’s Diner, 782 Washington Avenue, Prospect Heights (718-636-9738).
Even the most fickle will find a favorite amid the mishmash of offerings at this casual eatery. Order the unlimited-mimosa brunch special ($13) on weekends.
The Spot American Bistro, 417 Prospect Place, Prospect Heights (718-638-1733).
Travel to a quaint country cafe in the midst of Gramercy Park. Mimosas are made with freshly squeezed OJ, and omelettes (try the broccoli, cheddar, and onion) are served in individual cast-iron pans.
Friend of a Farmer, 77 Irving Place (212-477-2188 or friendofafarmernyc.com).
Stop in as early as 8 a.m. for pastries and espresso in the cafe, which spills out onto the sidewalk. Go back for dinner — lots of antipasti (hooray — the legendary Sardinian sheep’s milk ricotta is back) and Pan-Italian favorites.
Locanda Verde, 377 Greenwich Street (212-925-3797 or locandaverdenyc.com).
The mock bistro masterpiece — part noisy media hang, part Euro pit stop — is packed with action (oysters, steak frites, champagne) day and night. Lattes and pastries are best enjoyed on the outside benches while judging passersby.
Balthazar, 80 Spring Street (212-965-1414 or balthazarny.com).

Come Sunday morning, the sister spot to Bowery heavy hitter Il Buco keeps it light (a huge skylight helps). Whether you’re on the market (side-by-side perches at the bar) or off (family-size banquet tables), we suggest a shared meal of crispy artichokes, fresh bread, daytime pastas, and — our go-to order — the kale and egg torta. Note: The blood orange mimosas are tops.
Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, 53 Great Jones Street (212-837-2622 or ilbucovineria.com).
Comments