Best Brunch Restaurants In Orange County
Weekend mornings are quite the luxury. Perhaps you slept in past your normal wake-up call, took a leisurely walk with your pup or hit the gym to sweat it out. While a meal isn't last on anyone's weekend to do, brunch time is a popular way to start off any weekend day. Orange County locals like to meet up with favorite friends or gather for family time around brunch. Some of the best brunches in the OC offer reasonably priced all-you-can-eat buffets, bottomless mimosas, Bloody Mary carts and deals for families with children.
Oak Grill
Island Hotel Newport Beach
690 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 760-4920
www.oakgrillnb.com
On Sunday from 11am to 4pm weekly, brunch can be enjoyed indoors or out at Oak Grill, which is located in the Island Hotel Newport Beach. The brunch, which is presided by Oak Grill's Executive Chef Marc Johnson, features a wonderful California-style brunch with lots of delicious entrees. Menu favorites include chilaquiles made with Spanish chorizo and complemented by a smoked salsa verde, cinnamon roll French toast served with a Dark Myer's Rum Royale and cream cheese glaze, house specialty pancake soufflé, the lobster roll and fried chicken and a big biscuit. Bottomless mimosas are $10.
EATS Kitchen & Bar
Hotel Irvine
17900 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92614
(949) 225-6780
www.eatskitchen.com
The EATS' brunch is a new OC favorite way to spend Sunday Funday. Offered on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the brunch menu reflects comfort food that offers both savory and sweet choices. Passionate since he was a teen, Chef Jason Montelibano recently unveiled a new brunch menu for EATS. Sweet breakfast favorites include blueberry pancakes with almond butter and lemon sugar dust and cinnamon crunch brioche French toast with macerated strawberries. Savory options featured are pork and vegetable hash, chilaquiles con pollo served with roasted tomato salsa and a lime sour cream, Portobello Benedict (a veggie fave), quinoa omelet and shrimp & grits. Bottomless mimosas are offered all day long for $8, and EATS presents an epic $14 build-your-own Bloody Mary bar with all the trimmings.
Fig & Olive Newport Beach
151 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 877-3005
www.figandolive.com/menu/newport-beach
Fig & Olive Newport Beach's weekend Riviera brunch ($32 per person) is an "it-hits-the-spot" brunch choice. Guests are offered flavors of the South of France and Mediterranean-inspired fare, along with the restaurant's signature Bloody Mary cart Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3:45pm. Fig & Olive's buffet-style brunch offers an endless selection of dishes from salmon crudo with orange, grapefruit, dill, lemon and scallions to customizable omelets to whole-roasted Provençal chicken at the carving station. Families who come in for the weekend Riviera brunch may receive one complimentary kids' meal per each weekend buffet purchased.
Orange Hill Restaurant
6410 E. Chapman Ave.
Orange, CA 92869
(714) 997-2910
www.theorangehillrestaurant.com/brunch
Orange Hill Restaurant is truly one of the best places for brunch in the OC. In addition to some of the more spectacular views of the area, this restaurant presents a memorable brunch experience on Saturday from 10am to 2pm and Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Saturday's brunch menu is a la carte and includes "shareables" such as smoked fish plate, Benedicts and Maryland style crab cakes and "big brunchy plates" offering steak and eggs served with cheesy hash browns and breakfast burrito. Also offered are an extensive selection of pancakes and market fresh seafood tower. Sunday's brunch features a buffet with complimentary champagne, made-to-order pasta, personalized omelets, carving station, seafood and many desserts.
Stacks Pancake House
34255 Pacific Coast Highway
Dana Point, CA 92629
(949) 429-2222
stackspancakehouse.com
Pancakes are good any time of the day, especially for weekend brunch. Stacks Pancake House, which makes every kind of pancake thinkable including banana, blueberry, strawberry, chocolate chip, macadamia nut & banana (a house specialty and try it with coconut syrup), Oreo cookie, coconut pineapple, gluten-free and more. Not in the pancake mood? Not a problem at Stacks. The menu encompasses egg dishes (eggs Benedict or Japanese fried rice omelets anyone?), Korean kalbi ribs, "Loco Moco" (meat patty such as hamburger, Portuguese sausage or Spam served on steamed rice and topped with eggs and gravy), as well as salads and sandwiches.
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