Blame it on Sex & the City. Brunch was always a thing, but it really exploded and became part of the cultural conversation when almost every episode of the series about the dating adventures of four New York women featured a brunch scene at a chic Manhattan eatery. Even before the mimosas arrived, Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda would begin their detailed and oftentimes outrageous postmortems of the night before.
As Carrie Bradshaw declared, “There are very few things this New Yorker loves as much as Sunday brunch.”
Here are some of the brunch hotspots that played cameo roles in Sex & the City.
PASTIS 9
9th Avenue New York
pastisny.com
Pastis, Keith McNally’s iconic French bistro in the Meatpacking District, was where Carrie and her sophisticated Russian artist lover Aleksandr Petrovsky, played by Mihkail Baryshnikov, went for brunch. Killer steak and fries. Pastis unfortunately closed in February last year when the building it was located in was sold to a new owner, who tore it down to build a new development. McNally promises to recreate the restaurant when it reopens in the same spot, sometime in 2016.
BLUE WATER GRILL
31 Union Square West New York
bluewatergrillnyc.com
This is where Charlotte has a brunch date with Arthur, a Harvard graduate, who, to her horror, has a penchant for punching people in the face. For less combative customers, the award-winning Blue Water Grill serves amazing seafood with a generous helping of jazz.
MERCER KITCHEN
96 Prince Street and Mercer Street New York
themercerkitchen.com
The combination of interiors by Christian Liaigre and cuisine by Jean-Georges Vongerichten makes this low-key eatery in the basement of the Mercer Hotel in SoHo a great place to have brunch. The menu is extensive, featuring everything from Belgian waffles with warm blueberries and whipped cream, and French toast with caramelized apples, to organic omelettes with goat cheese and rosemary potatoes, as well as crispy squid with sweet chilli sauce, crab fritters and three cheese ravioli.
GIRLS CHOICE
GIRLS, another HBO series, has been called the grittier version of Sex & the City. Set in Brooklyn, the girls of GIRLS – Hannah, Jessa, Marnie and Shoshanna – don’t do brunch the way Carrie & Co. do, but they’ve hung out in quite a few cool places, too.
ROBERTA’S
261 Moore Street Brooklyn, New York
robertaspizza.com
Marnie and Charlie get back together again at the end of Season 2, going for brunch at Roberta’s, an unpretentious but popular pizzeria in East Williamsburg in Brooklyn, famous for its artisanal style wood ovencooked pizza and burgers.
SPRING STREET VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT
62 Spring Street New York
springstreetnatural.com
This downtown restaurant plays an extended cameo in the Season 4 premiere of Girls as the setting for the jazz brunch farewell for Hannah, who is leaving New York for the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Marnie and Desi take the stage to perform their music, until one cranky child begs his mother to make the signing stop, upsetting Marnie.
FELIX
340 West Broadway New York
felixnyc.com
Okay, so Hannah doesn’t exactly have brunch here when she meets up with Patti Lu- Pone to interview her, but Felix is one of the best places for brunch in the city. It’s got a great location and a great vibe; small wonder it attracts an international crowd. One more thing that works in its favour? The manager of Felix is the charming and gregarious ex-beauty queen, Thea Robles.