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NYC's 20 Hottest Brunch Restaurants, Fall 2013

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2013_brunch_heatmap_helo.jpegThis city has plenty of restaurants that offer lame brunch prix fixes with sloppy egg dishes and weak mimosas — these places give brunch a bad name. Here's a guide to 20 new restaurants that are serving non rip-off brunch menus with great food. Seek these places out if you like breakfast, lunch, or both:

Note: A handful of these establishments are older restaurants that recently launched brunch. New brunches, all around:

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Corkbuzz

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Laura Maniec's convivial wine bar is an excellent choice for a boozy brunch. The brand new menu has things like short rib hash, Moroccan-style braised lamb, lobster salad, and French toast. Corkbuzz's Champagne Campaign extends to brunch, so that means that all bottles of Champagne are 50 percent off. And, as a bonus, Maniec is offering a "bucket list," which is a selection of wines that pair well with brunch food, all priced at $40.

Nobu Next Door

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ABC Cocina

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ABC Cocina's brunch menu has several sandwiches, plus breakfast dishes like huevos rancheros, Mexican-spiced French toast, and coconut pancakes. But the best thing to do at ABC Cocina is order several of the vegetable plates, seafood starters, and fried snacks, and share everything.

Three db Bistro Moderne alums recently opened this airy French-influenced Dumbo restaurant. For brunch, Atrium is serving pancakes, omelettes, hanger steak with eggs, and homemade pastries. Beverage director Alexander LaPratt is also mixing up Pimm's Cup pitchers and other large-batch brunch cocktails for $35.

Porsena

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Sara Jenkins just started serving brunch at her year-and-a-half-old East Village pasta parlor. Brunch skews slightly more Mediterranean than dinner, but you can still order pasta carbonara and pene arrabbiata. Other options include French toast with Nutella, orange-ricotta pancakes, fried eggs with porchetta hash, and a seared pork chop with polenta. Brunch rolls from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Milkflower

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River Styx

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Dennis Spina's new Greenpoint restaurant has a cool, slightly industrial dining room that gets great light during the day. The chef's food is quirky at times, but always satisfying. For brunch, consider the Roman egg drop soup, the focaccia-like "Big Chef" with mortadella and eggs, or the fried eggs with corn and tomatoes. River Styx also serves a killer plate of nachos, which works as an entree or as a dish to share.

The Butterfly

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The brunch menu at the Altamarea Group's retro Tribeca restaurant includes a fancy patty melt, fried chicken, egg dishes, pancakes, and salads. Eben Freeman's elaborate cocktails are also available during brunch, if you want to go down that road. The crisp, pleasantly creamy Grasshopper cocktail might be a good choice for brunch.

The Meatball Shop

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The Meatball Shop is a great place to go if you're nursing a hangover, because you can either dive head first into a big plate of carbs, or order an assortment of proteins and vegetables, all for very little money. The new Upper East Side location is the first Meatball Shop to offer brunch. The options include balls Benedict, "smash bun" French toast, and a version of biscuits and gravy made with meatballs.

Montmartre

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Michael Toscano's new menu at this Chelsea hot spot includes things like tuna Niçoise, a dry-aged-beef burger, chicken & waffles, and several egg dishes. If you're really hungry, consider the shoulder steak with roquefort butter, pommes frites, and eggs.

The Harrison

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Jimmy Bradley's Tribeca charmer recently started serving brunch for the first time in its 12-year history. In addition to egg dishes, the menu has a duck and bacon terrine, a falafel sandwich, several salads, and a cheeseburger. After all these years, The Harrison is still a crowd-pleaser.

Lafayette

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Lafayette's cushy dining room is an ideal place to start your weekend. It's not a mob scene in the morning, and the menu includes many of the standout dishes from the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. You can get a foie gras terrine, salads, soups, omelettes, steak frites, pastries, tripes Bourguignon, and fancy pressed juices.

Cocina Economica

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Head to this well-reviewed new Upper West Side restaurant for monster tortas, tacos made with fresh tortillas, hearty egg dishes, and fresh baked pastries. Nothing on the menu is over $12. Pro tip: Make sure to get an order of the avocado cornbread.

The Marrow

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The brunch menu at Harold Dieterle's West Village restaurant includes one of NYC's best new burgers. If you want something sweet, you can order some of Ginger Fisher's excellent pastries, or ricotta toast with honey and huckleberries. For savory dishes, the entree list includes a peekytoe crab frittata, pain perdu with duck liver mouse, and homemade bratwurst. The dining room is lined with huge floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto charming stretches of Greenwich and Bank Streets, making this an ideal place to dine during the day.

Maysville

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If you are hungry (or especially hungover) get the mighty pulled pork sandwich at this great new Southern restaurant. The meat is smoky and very juicy, and it comes topped with a lightly dressed chopped kale salad. And, although this is listed as an entree, the plate of crispy grits with smoked ham is a great dish to share in addition to the main courses. Check out the full menu here (PDF).

After almost a decade in business, Marco Canora started serving bunch at his East Village Italian restaurant earlier this year. The menu includes a Bev Eggleston pork blade steak with eggs, veal meatballs with polenta, pig trotter with poached eggs, and several vegetable-based entrees. The brunch menu offers a great taste of Canora's cooking at a very reasonable price, and the space has a nice, airy feel during the day time. Check out the menu here.

Littleneck

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This stylish Gowanus seafood restaurant introduced a new brunch menu this month. The menu changes frequently, but right now it has poutine with clam gravy, shrimp with grits, a smoked trout omelette, and chicken & waffles. And if you want a lobster roll or a bowl of chowder, of course you can get that too.

L'Apicio

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The brunch menu at Joe Campanale and Gabe Thompson's East Village restaurant has a little something for everyone. You can get Italian pastries, salads, pancakes, fried chicken, pastas, and egg dishes. The brunch menu also includes one dish made with that cheesy starch that Pete Wells loved so much: polenta with shrimp, bacon, and tomato.

Pig and Khao

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On weekend afternoons, Leah Cohen's fun new Lower East Side restaurant serves dinner standouts like the sizzling sisig and the Chinese sausage salad, plus more brunch-oriented dishes like steak and eggs, pain perdu, and donuts. Bottomless mimosas are $15.

Salvation Taco

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During brunch, Salvation Taco serves two of the best dishes from the lunch and dinner menus: the chicken thigh torta and the stellar lamb naan tacos. You can also get chilaquiles, a steak and egg burrito, a Spanish tortilla, or assorted fresh baked pastries. This is a cool choice for a long, boozy brunch, or a round of midday cocktails with Mexican bar bites. Brunch drinks are $10.

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Corkbuzz

Laura Maniec's convivial wine bar is an excellent choice for a boozy brunch. The brand new menu has things like short rib hash, Moroccan-style braised lamb, lobster salad, and French toast. Corkbuzz's Champagne Campaign extends to brunch, so that means that all bottles of Champagne are 50 percent off. And, as a bonus, Maniec is offering a "bucket list," which is a selection of wines that pair well with brunch food, all priced at $40.

Nobu Next Door

[Photo Credit]

ABC Cocina

ABC Cocina's brunch menu has several sandwiches, plus breakfast dishes like huevos rancheros, Mexican-spiced French toast, and coconut pancakes. But the best thing to do at ABC Cocina is order several of the vegetable plates, seafood starters, and fried snacks, and share everything.

Atrium

Three db Bistro Moderne alums recently opened this airy French-influenced Dumbo restaurant. For brunch, Atrium is serving pancakes, omelettes, hanger steak with eggs, and homemade pastries. Beverage director Alexander LaPratt is also mixing up Pimm's Cup pitchers and other large-batch brunch cocktails for $35.

Porsena

Sara Jenkins just started serving brunch at her year-and-a-half-old East Village pasta parlor. Brunch skews slightly more Mediterranean than dinner, but you can still order pasta carbonara and pene arrabbiata. Other options include French toast with Nutella, orange-ricotta pancakes, fried eggs with porchetta hash, and a seared pork chop with polenta. Brunch rolls from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Milkflower

[Photo: Facebook]

River Styx

Dennis Spina's new Greenpoint restaurant has a cool, slightly industrial dining room that gets great light during the day. The chef's food is quirky at times, but always satisfying. For brunch, consider the Roman egg drop soup, the focaccia-like "Big Chef" with mortadella and eggs, or the fried eggs with corn and tomatoes. River Styx also serves a killer plate of nachos, which works as an entree or as a dish to share.

The Butterfly

The brunch menu at the Altamarea Group's retro Tribeca restaurant includes a fancy patty melt, fried chicken, egg dishes, pancakes, and salads. Eben Freeman's elaborate cocktails are also available during brunch, if you want to go down that road. The crisp, pleasantly creamy Grasshopper cocktail might be a good choice for brunch.

The Meatball Shop

The Meatball Shop is a great place to go if you're nursing a hangover, because you can either dive head first into a big plate of carbs, or order an assortment of proteins and vegetables, all for very little money. The new Upper East Side location is the first Meatball Shop to offer brunch. The options include balls Benedict, "smash bun" French toast, and a version of biscuits and gravy made with meatballs.

Montmartre

Michael Toscano's new menu at this Chelsea hot spot includes things like tuna Niçoise, a dry-aged-beef burger, chicken & waffles, and several egg dishes. If you're really hungry, consider the shoulder steak with roquefort butter, pommes frites, and eggs.

The Harrison

Jimmy Bradley's Tribeca charmer recently started serving brunch for the first time in its 12-year history. In addition to egg dishes, the menu has a duck and bacon terrine, a falafel sandwich, several salads, and a cheeseburger. After all these years, The Harrison is still a crowd-pleaser.

Lafayette

Lafayette's cushy dining room is an ideal place to start your weekend. It's not a mob scene in the morning, and the menu includes many of the standout dishes from the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. You can get a foie gras terrine, salads, soups, omelettes, steak frites, pastries, tripes Bourguignon, and fancy pressed juices.

Cocina Economica

Head to this well-reviewed new Upper West Side restaurant for monster tortas, tacos made with fresh tortillas, hearty egg dishes, and fresh baked pastries. Nothing on the menu is over $12. Pro tip: Make sure to get an order of the avocado cornbread.

The Marrow

The brunch menu at Harold Dieterle's West Village restaurant includes one of NYC's best new burgers. If you want something sweet, you can order some of Ginger Fisher's excellent pastries, or ricotta toast with honey and huckleberries. For savory dishes, the entree list includes a peekytoe crab frittata, pain perdu with duck liver mouse, and homemade bratwurst. The dining room is lined with huge floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto charming stretches of Greenwich and Bank Streets, making this an ideal place to dine during the day.

Maysville

If you are hungry (or especially hungover) get the mighty pulled pork sandwich at this great new Southern restaurant. The meat is smoky and very juicy, and it comes topped with a lightly dressed chopped kale salad. And, although this is listed as an entree, the plate of crispy grits with smoked ham is a great dish to share in addition to the main courses. Check out the full menu here (PDF).

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Hearth

After almost a decade in business, Marco Canora started serving bunch at his East Village Italian restaurant earlier this year. The menu includes a Bev Eggleston pork blade steak with eggs, veal meatballs with polenta, pig trotter with poached eggs, and several vegetable-based entrees. The brunch menu offers a great taste of Canora's cooking at a very reasonable price, and the space has a nice, airy feel during the day time. Check out the menu here.

Littleneck

This stylish Gowanus seafood restaurant introduced a new brunch menu this month. The menu changes frequently, but right now it has poutine with clam gravy, shrimp with grits, a smoked trout omelette, and chicken & waffles. And if you want a lobster roll or a bowl of chowder, of course you can get that too.

L'Apicio

The brunch menu at Joe Campanale and Gabe Thompson's East Village restaurant has a little something for everyone. You can get Italian pastries, salads, pancakes, fried chicken, pastas, and egg dishes. The brunch menu also includes one dish made with that cheesy starch that Pete Wells loved so much: polenta with shrimp, bacon, and tomato.

Pig and Khao

On weekend afternoons, Leah Cohen's fun new Lower East Side restaurant serves dinner standouts like the sizzling sisig and the Chinese sausage salad, plus more brunch-oriented dishes like steak and eggs, pain perdu, and donuts. Bottomless mimosas are $15.

Salvation Taco

During brunch, Salvation Taco serves two of the best dishes from the lunch and dinner menus: the chicken thigh torta and the stellar lamb naan tacos. You can also get chilaquiles, a steak and egg burrito, a Spanish tortilla, or assorted fresh baked pastries. This is a cool choice for a long, boozy brunch, or a round of midday cocktails with Mexican bar bites. Brunch drinks are $10.

Related Maps