The Upper East Side's brunch scene is quieter than its midtown neighbor but no less satisfying, from the tapas-meets-tasting-menu format at Pil Pil (where every dish maps to a different Spanish region) to Chez Fifi's polished French-Basque townhouse. Alison rounds out the neighborhood with an all-day menu that skips the fuss.
Upper East Side · 265 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075, USA
The brunch menu is split into four Spanish regions (Basque, Catalan, Galician, Andalusian) with non-overlapping dishes in each column, which means the only hard part is picking a region. All-Spanish wine list (Rioja, Ri…
Upper East Side · 140 E 74th St, New York, NY 10021
A Michelin-noted French-Basque bistro tucked into a 19th-century Upper East Side townhouse. Downstairs, white tablecloths and mahogany set the mood for letter-perfect escargots and steak frites that feel like a bargain …
Upper East Side · 1651 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10029, USA
Deliberately unprecious (burgers, farro bowls, and a salmon rice bowl with coconut rice and ponzu) the kind of lineup that can carry a quick lunch or stretch into an unplanned second glass without changing gears.
Upper East Side · 36 E 61st St, New York, NY 10065, USA
Six stories of Beaux-Arts townhouse on East 61st, with dining rooms stacked between original artworks, velvet banquettes, and a year-round rooftop terrace. The Josper charcoal oven drives the menu (split branzino in sal…