NYCGuide
Great Brunch Spots That Take Reservations
Avoid long waits by booking a table at one of these restaurants.
Planning brunch can be stressful, especially when you wait until the last-minute and have to convince five hungry friends that the IHOP on 14th Street was your first choice all along. Do the responsible thing, and book ahead of time. The restaurants on this guide serve great food, and more importantly, take reservations.
THE SPOTS
If you want to grab brunch in Jackson Heights, join the rest of the neighborhood at The Queensboro. People like to come here on weekends, and for good reason. The dining room is spacious, with hanging plants and wooden ceiling beams, and the menu has everything from yogurt and waffles to jerk chicken and Spam fried rice. Try to snag one of the big leather booths if you’re coming with a group.
Park Slope’s most popular brunch destination is Miriam. But Miriam doesn’t take reservations for brunch, and it tends to have a line out the door. If you don’t feel like standing around on the sidewalk while you make small talk with new parents, get brunch in the colorful, plant-filled dining room at nearby Bogota Latin Bistro. Start things off with an empanada sampler before moving on to some steak and chicharrón.
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For a great Southern brunch, make a reservation at Melba’s. This Harlem restaurant serves catfish, crab cakes, and crispy fried chicken on an eggnog waffle, which doesn’t actually taste like eggnog, but is delicious nonetheless. Most of the dishes come with a few sides, and we highly suggest both the mac and cheese and collard greens.
Chez Ma Tante is a great little restaurant in Greenpoint where you can eat interesting takes on roast chicken and steak tartare in a nice, homey setting. But Chez Ma Tante will always be known for one thing and one thing only: their charred, butter-soaked pancakes. People mainly come here for those, so this place gets busy on weekends. Brunch reservations aren’t impossible—but you’ll want to make them at least two weeks in advance.
Sunday in Brooklyn attracts a brunch crowd for three reasons: the food, the space, and the fact that it’s called “Sunday in Brooklyn.” Their hazelnut praline pancakes are NYC famous, and their dining room looks like the beautiful home you’ll never own in Williamsburg. Make a reservation, or risk having to wait several hours for your brunch.
If you stop by Sadelle’s on a weekend afternoon and tell the host that you don’t have a reservation, they’ll look at you as if you just threatened to commit arson. At brunch, this upscale Soho bagel spot from the people behind Carbone gets so busy that it qualifies as a scene. Make a reservation, and get the smoked fish tower.
Lafayette is, above all, a useful place. It looks like a big, bright brasserie that you’d find in a touristy part of Paris, and it’s never tough to get a table. So if you need to plan a nice brunch with family members or people visiting from out of town, keep this Noho restaurant in mind. You can eat a burger or a croque madame, or you can just get a few Bloody Marys and a basket of baked goods.
The East Pole on the Upper East Side works for a lot of situations. It’s upscale, but it’s not especially stuffy, and it’s cool enough for anyone who usually brunches below 14th Street. The restaurant is located in the bottom of a very expensive-looking townhouse, and the brunch menu covers all your classics, from avocado toast to huevos rancheros.
Plan your next bottomless brunch at Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side. It’s never too hard to secure a reservation at this Filipino/Thai restaurant, and there’s plenty of space for groups. For $21 (in addition to the cost of food), you can get unlimited mimosas to go with your sisig, khao soi, or french toast topped with coconut whipped cream.
A Chelsea classic, Cookshop should be one of your default picks for when you can’t decide where to go for brunch and would rather not spend three hours debating the topic with your friends. Sit on a green banquette in the spacious, light-filled dining room and eat a burger or some poached eggs with sweet potato hummus. If it’s warm out, reserve a seat on the patio.
It’s surprisingly hard to find a good brunch spot in the West Village. Lots of places are walk-in-only, and most of the others are booked far in advance. But Hudson Clearwater usually has reservations, even day-of. This place looks like someone’s rustic upstate home (complete with ivy-filled backyard), and it’s perfect for a brunch that feels a little more upscale. Bring your in-laws for some duck hash or Southern eggs benedict.
Peaches Prime, the younger sibling of Bed-Stuy’s Peaches (which doesn’t take reservations), is a solid option for when you need to eat with a group in the Downtown Brooklyn/Fort Greene area. The room has high ceilings and a sleek, industrial feel, and reservations are as abundant as Nets fans who dislike Kyrie Irving. Skip the calamari, but get the juicy burger.
