NYD's 17 Best Brunches to Start Your 2023

NYD's 17 Best Brunches to Start Your 2023

Bloody Mary at Hull & Oak

FROM MEXICAN “HANGOVER” soup to the crème de la crème of omelets, black eyed peas, and bottomless mimosas, Houston restaurants are ready to celebrate your day off and the New Year. Cheers to 2023!


Brennan's of Houston

Brennan's Jose’s Hoppin’ John (photo by Kimberly Park)

Sunday jazz brunch is a Houston tradition, and the weather promises to be cooperating for a courtyard seat. Don’t miss chef José’s Hoppin’ John as a good luck lagniappe. Reservations by phone, 713.522.9711.

Cyclone Anaya's

Mimosa refills for just a penny?! Sign us up. Find that and classic Mexican brunch dishes at all six locations of Cyclone Anaya's on Jan. 1, 10am-12pm.

Eloise Nichols

The all-day café is celebrating with a weekend brunch featuring $5 mimosas starting at 10am, and signature brunch items like Salmon Hoppin’ John with sautéed rice and poached eggs and the Biscuit Benedict with pulled pork, poached eggs, hollandaise, pickled green tomatoes and hash. Yum!

Eunice

Omelets with blue crab, artichokes and creamy spinach; Gulf shrimp étouffée; and hearth-roasted oysters are just a few tempting brunch dishes at this gorgeous Cajun-Creole brasserie.

EZ's Liquor Lounge

Hit the Heights for this fried chicken special served with black eyed peas and collard greens ($15). Pair it with the bar’s extensive cocktail options or specially priced bottles of Champagne.

Hugo's

The popular New Year’s Day “Return to Life” brunch buffet will be served 10am to 2pm ($42 per adult, $15 per child). Bring your appetite for the colorful spread.

Hull & Oak

The southern-inspired restaurant located in the new Laura Hotel offers a cure-your-hangover brunch from 11am to 2pm. Enjoy black-eyed peas, two brunch dishes, and bottomless John Dalys, signature mimosas or Bloody Marys ($75 per person). Standouts include peaches-and-cream waffles, brisket hash, market salad and chicken-fried steak and eggs.

Hungry's Cafe

Hungry's brunch (photo by Julie Soefer)

Indulge in croissant French toast and a three-egg omelet, or start off your health kick with a vegan dish like tofu migas or a nutritious bowl. Mimosa carafes and frozen bellinis await, as well as New Year’s party favors.

Local Table

Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict at Local Table (Photo by Becca Wright)

All locations will be open for brunch serving favorite dishes like crab cake egg benedict, cast-iron-baked goat cheese, chicken and waffles, kid’s French toast and more. Order two or more La Marca prosecco carafes and receive New Year’s party swag.

Max's Wine Dive

On New Year’s Day, hit Max's Wine Dive for hangover brunch with rib-sticking specialty dishes from 11am to 4pm.

The Original Ninfa's

Ring in the new year with traditional Mexican hangover soup, available at both locations. The soulful red-chile-pork posole ($18) is on offer from 10am to 2pm, so don’t sleep in.

Ostia

Ostia (photo by Jenn Duncan)

Chef Travis McShane whips up a family-style brunch designed for three or more guests that is well worth the $42-per-person tariff. It comes stacked with seasonal pizzas, roasted chicken with salsa verde, pastas, and other brunchy delights. Reserve a table in the pretty greenhouse!

Postino

All five Houston locations — Cinco Ranch, Uptown Park, Heights, Montrose, Town & Country — will be open for brunch on New Year’s Day. Dig in!

Savoir

Pumpkin pancakes at Savoir

Brunch is on from 10:30am to 2pm, with specials including seasonal pumpkin pancakes, peanut-butter-and-jelly cronut holes, and honey butter chicken biscuit. Holiday libations including eggnog, a peppermint-chocolate martini, and coffee cocktails beckon for those who dare. Cheers!

State Fare

As a part of its "12 Days of Brunch" promotion, all State Fare locations will offer a New Year’s Day Brunch Board special served from 10am to 4pm, along with other a la carte brunch dishes.

The Warwick

The Warwick's cocktail tree and Brunch Board (photo by Brandon Holmes)

The Board Room Brunch platter ($100) feeds four or five guests — think butter-pecan waffles, candied bacon, sausage, four eggs cooked your way, green chili hash, fruit, muffins and croissants. Pair it with a martini tree: a tower of six or 12 Casamigos Reposado lemon drops in a variety of flavors.

Weights & Measures

Follow the call of the disco ball and spend the first day of 2023 at disco brunch starting at 10am. Expect bloody Marys, scrumptious house made pastries, classic brunch faves and disco jams (disco inferno dress is encouraged!).

Food

Matthew Dirst (photo by Jacob Power)

FOR FANS OF early music — an often scholarly lot who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves — bad-boy Baroque-era painter Caravaggio certainly nailed something in his dramatic 1595 painting, “The Musicians.” (Simon Schama talks about this in his TV series The Power of Art.) One look at his masterpiece, and you feel as if you’ve stumbled upon and surprised a roomful of dewy-eyed musicians, their youthful faces swollen with melancholy, with the lutist looking like he’s about ready to burst into tears before he’s even tuned his instrument. So no, you certainly don’t need a Ph.D. to enjoy and be moved by the music of Handel, G.P. Telemann, or J.S. Bach, but a little bit of scholarship never hurt anyone. Knowing the history of this music may even deepen your appreciation of it.

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'A Hidden Agenda'

On Saturday, Jan. 6, artist-owned Archway gallery greets the new year with Inward Journey, an exhibition of unapologetically beautiful abstract paintings by Houston painter Mohammad Ali Bhatti.

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Art + Entertainment