New York Dearest
The guide, $35

The Best of New York · Eat · Brunch

The brunch spots I actually go to.

In my order, from my own visits, updated September 2026. 10 places.

I used to think brunch was overrated. Two hours for eggs and an $18 mimosa? Pass. Then I found the places on this list and everything changed. These aren’t the Instagram-bait spots where you wait 90 minutes for a photo op. These are the ones where the food is genuinely, embarrassingly good.

I’ve been doing brunch in New York for years now and I’ve sat through a lot of mediocre eggs benedict to earn this list. Every restaurant here is one I return to regularly. Not because it’s trendy, not because someone told me to go, but because the food makes me genuinely happy. That’s the bar.

Antonina PattizI went to every one · how I decide

The brunch spots I actually go to, 2026

  1. BuvetteRestaurant · West VillageI come here when I want brunch to feel like a quiet morning in someone’s very beautiful apartment.
  2. Jack’s Wife FredaRestaurant · West VillageI’ve never waited more than 20 minutes here, even on a Saturday.
  3. GertieRestaurant · WilliamsburgThe pastrami egg and cheese on a roll is one of the best breakfast sandwiches in New York.
  4. Cafe MogadorRestaurant · East VillageThere’s a reason it’s survived four decades in a neighborhood that reinvents itself every five years.
  5. Sunday in BrooklynRestaurant · WilliamsburgThe malted pancakes with hazelnut maple praline are the single best pancakes I’ve ever eaten and I’m not being dramatic.
  6. Russ and Daughters CafeRestaurant · Lower East SideIf you like smoked fish, this is the best place in New York.
  7. Dudley’sRestaurant · Lower East SideThe ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter are fantastic.
  8. Jacob’s PicklesRestaurant · Upper West SideI bring out-of-town friends here when I want to impress them without taking them somewhere fussy.
  9. Cafe SabarskyRestaurant · Upper East SideThis is the brunch I choose when I want to feel like a slightly more cultured version of myself.
  10. Win SonRestaurant · WilliamsburgThis is the spot I send food-obsessed friends to.

On the map

Where they are.

6 neighborhoods, Williamsburg and West Village most of all.

Williamsburg

Lower East Side

West Village

East Village

Upper East Side

Upper West Side

The brunch spots I actually go to, 2026

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The brunch spots I actually go to, New York Dearest, 2026

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The full guide, with the ones that didn't make it and why: The Brunch Spots in NYC I Actually Go To.