Best Brunch in Brooklyn NYC
Of the hoods in New York City, my top favorites would be East and West Village and Brooklyn! Since i've spent a considerable amount of time in Manhattan, i thought i'd dedicate this post to the awesome capital of hippie that is Brooklyn (and in particularly Williamsburg)! It took a fair bit of eating and running/yoga-ing/spinning to work it off so i hope you guys enjoy it!
Let's start with the conventional brunch food and then move on from there. Obviously the hippies in Brooklyn aren't gonna stick much to the mainstream.
THE ENGLISH/AMERICAN
Five Leaves is still a personal favorite after all that brunching i did in the Big Apple. The Big Breakkie ($13) will satisfy any egg, bacon or hash brown craving and the Ricotta Pancakes ($13) were the most amazing disks of fluffy goodness- They had us at honeycomb butter!
18 Bedford Avenue. Daily: 8am - 1am
Down the rabbithole i'll gladly go, for the Stuffed French Toast with strawberries mascarpone at Rabbithole. I loved that airy home made brioche which was paired with a fragrant and light cheese. The same can't be said of the Rabbithole Florentine which had a rather overpowering caramelized onion taste (though S thought it was fine). I did regret not having their signature Eggs Benedict when we were hit by the delicious smell of bacon came wafting through the crisp air from the nearby table.
352 Bedford Ave Brooklyn. Daily Breakfast: 9am till 5pm
606 R&D
Doughnuts and coffee are quite the standard American breakfast even though i'm not a huge fan. Oh but well, we gotta pay respect to traditions right? 606 RD serves freshly made dough throughout the day alongside their grilled pimento cheese sandwich with crispy bacon (another American favorite), three onion buttermilk bread with salted caramel butter (holy moly)!
606 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights
THE JAPANESE
You would miss this plain looking cafe from the outside. Well that's what happened to me, many times in fact. Until i was enlightened by YELP. ;) Breakfast in a garden under a tree (with AC) aye? You've come to the right place! Other than the quaint space, you can bite into the most amazing Japanese influenced home baked croissants which are buttery and crisp, with a lovely pull inside. Go for the Organic Egg Scramble Sandwich ($4.50) which pairs a creamy Parmesan thyme scrambled egg with the lovely pastry.
I'll also recommend the Organic Apple Soy Shake ($6), made with home made organic apple vinegar, soymilk, cinnamon and pickled apple. For a heartier option, the Sashimi Zuke Don ($15) is a hit with the umami soy sauce marinated sashimi, avocado and sweet mushrooms over sushi rice. Bring cash! If not there's an ATM inside.
77 N 6th St, Brooklyn. Daily: 8/10am till 5pm
THE MEDITERRANEAN
Glasserie
The answer to Jack's Wife Freda (possibly my favorite brunch spot in Manhattan). This highly acclaimed Greenpoint spot is a hike from the G train, but destination dining in an old glass factory? That's quite worth the trip no? The cardamom sugar bun and labneh (creamy yogurt cheese) bring your legs back to life. If not, have a go at the lamb pies or Shakshuka.
The answer to Jack's Wife Freda (possibly my favorite brunch spot in Manhattan). This highly acclaimed Greenpoint spot is a hike from the G train, but destination dining in an old glass factory? That's quite worth the trip no? The cardamom sugar bun and labneh (creamy yogurt cheese) bring your legs back to life. If not, have a go at the lamb pies or Shakshuka.
95 Commercial Street, Greenpoint
THE SOUTHERN
Egg
After an early morning run up and down, to and from the Williamsburg bridge, the best way to recharge is to head to Egg for their Southern-accented breakfast (and breakfast only). What's popular here is their Organic Grits (with cheese if you please) ($5) made using stone-ground grits from South Carolina's Anson Mills. It's the first time i had grits and it was kinda bland for me. Their buttermilk biscuits were also tad too dry for me (i still prefer the biscuits from Clinton Street Bakery). Eggs Rothko is another favorite (essentially a toad-in-the-hole with sharp cheddar) here. Go early before it gets packed (hence the morning run).
109 N 3rd St, Brooklyn. Daily: 7/8am till 5pm
Go BIG or you go home. If BIG is your thang then Pies and Thighs is a must. They have earned their badge(s) for the best fried chicken, best biscuits, best doughnuts, best apple pie... You can't go wrong with their Chicken Biscuit ($7.50) which is a hot sauce-honey butter coated fried chicken cutlet buttermilk sandwich. Pair it with the Fish & Grits ($12), a side of creamy Mac & Cheese ($5) and then end it off with their Banana Cream Pie ($5.50) or any of the other sweet pies/doughnuts. The guilt is worth it.
166 S 4th St, Brooklyn. Daily: 9/10am - 12am.
Sweet Chick
Along the same line, Brooklyn Star does a weekend brunch of Fried Pork Chop, Fried Eggs, and White Grits. Do not miss their good ol' chicken and waffles.
593 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn. Weekend brunch: 12 - 4pm.
Sweet Chick
For the Manhattanites who want a Southern Breakfast experience that is well.. tamer than Pies and Thighs, then Sweet Chick is for you. Here you get your organic poultry deep fried and served on flavored Belgian-style waffles. Pick from the following flavors of bacon and cheddar, rosemary, and mushroom. More greens are available alongside your roasted pork tenderloin and dry-aged rib eye meal. , and humble sides such as mustard greens, pickled watermelon rind and homemade buttermilk biscuits.
164 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn. Daily: 11am till 12/2am
THE JEWISH
This is my favorite bagel spot in Williamsburg. I went dizzy with the overwhelming selection of bagels, cragles (a croissant-bagel), home made spreads of creative cream cheeses, tofu, and crutter (cream cheese with butter)! Don't know what to get? Well, you can't go wrong with the Bacon, egg and cheese bagel with bacon, egg and cheese. GET OUTTA HERE! Or how about a sweet french toast bagel people? I made my special of kale olive cragel with bacon and cheddar cream cheese and it was too dang good, plus they were really generous with the amount of spread they slap on. Part of the menu is here and it doesn't even list the whole range of flavored bagels and cragels. Start planning now. Or you'll never get to eat.
349 Bedford Ave or 754 Metropolitan Ave. Daily: 6am till 10pm.
Bagelsmith
Head here for the dense and chewy NYC style bagels. The selection of cream cheeses and bagels isn't as wide as the Bagel store's but the quality is good enough. I wasn't too happy with the amount of cream cheese I got on mine, also, their cheese spread is kinda runny and i'd prefer something a little richer.
189 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn. 24h.
THE INTERNATIONAL (COFFEE)- i feel like i gotta sneak this in. #caffeineaddict
Of course, bagels have to go with coffee! a couple of places that i'd recommend in Williamsburg would be Brooklyn Roasting Company, Blue Bottle, Black Brick, and Oslo Coffee Roasters.
TIP: Grab a double chocolate sea salt cookie from Blue Bottle while you are there. It's amazeballs!
THE HEALTH NUT
Cold pressed juices is all the rage these days, be it in NYC or Singapore. Head to Mr Pinas for their value for money cold pressed juices! It's $3 for a small and $4 for a large cup. Pick any ingredient that you fancy and they will mix it up for you. What's more, they give you every bit of the juice that you create so you actually get about 1.5 cups of juice. I had this every day on the way back from yoga class, with bagel in hand, or on the way out to Manhattan! It's super convenient because it's right by Marcy Ave subway.
221 Havemeyer St
221 Havemeyer St
THE MIX OF EVERYTHING
This not the most inventive brunch you can get in Brooklyn but it's old school. And it has a mix of everything from the definitive Rye Benedict ($12) with grilled pork belly on a buttermilk biscuit to a runny Scotch Eggs. Me? I'd share the mega huge Meatloaf sandwich ($16) which is piled with salty fried onions and a BBQ sauce. For sweets, go for the Challah French Toast or homemade Cake Doughnuts.
247 S. 1st St., Brooklyn. Weekend Brunch from 11am.
One cannot miss Smorgasburg! Where else can you find everything New Yorkish in a spot? Expect long queues for lobster rolls, ramen burgers, tacos and more. The shrimp tacos were the bombdiggity.
Sat: East River State Park
Sun: Prospect Park
Tell me if there's a reason to stay in Manhattan now that all the awesome stuff is in Williamsburg? #foodismylife
So go forth and spread the love. It's the Brooklyn way! Also, share with us what is your favorite brunch food/spot in Brooklyn.
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