Start the Weekend Right at These To-Die-For NYC Brunch Spots

Brunch is a time-honored tradition in New York City, and there's nowhere else in America to find so many incredible places to savor this all-important meal. Bring your appetite and head out to some of the best brunch spots in NYC.

Santina

Nestled in a glassed-in space directly under the High Line in downtown Manhattan, Santina is as great a place to people-watch as it is to eat. Decorated in a coastal Italian theme, Santina offers a brunch menu that brings together the best of its breakfast and lunch offerings. The Santina Sandwich is a surefire winner, with gooey fontina cheese, tomato sofrito and green chilies—bacon optional.

Queens Comfort

This cozy eatery in Astoria, Queens lives up to its name, serving modern takes on classic American comfort food. The brunch menu at Queens Comfort offers a choice between small plates like the Deep Fried French Toast Balls, served with maple syrup and powdered sugar, and heftier fare like the hearty Breakfast Lasagna Benedict, made with breakfast sausage, bacon, spinach, tomato, mozzarella cheese, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

Upland

Upland melds Italian and California influences in the kitchen, and its sleek, spacious dining room gives you plenty of elbow room. The roasted porchetta and egg sandwich is a brunch favorite, along with the tasty smoked salmon pizza. But if you want to fill up while keeping it simple, Upland makes a world-class cheeseburger—a grass-fed brisket and chuck beef blend—with avocado, cheese and peppadew peppers.

Daughters Cafe

The original Russ & Daughters location on Manhattan's Lower East Side has become something of an iconic spot, thanks to its mesmerizing displays of smoked fish, caviar, pastries, bagels, pickles and seemingly everything else you would ever want to eat. It has only one drawback—no place to sit. That's why the new location, known as Russ & Daughters Cafe (127 Orchard St., NY), is such a treat. Now you can slide into a booth to enjoy your knishes, latkes, or bagels with lox at your own pace.

El Rey

A lot of brunch fare falls under the heading of comfort food, and while there's certainly nothing wrong with that, El Rey offers another way of thinking about brunch. Their menu includes a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options, like an avocado pita with hummus, arugula, cucumber and za’atar seasoning—poached egg optional. They also serve great coffee, and you can watch the city whirl by in the morning from the cafe's huge front windows.

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