Lobster and mimosas: 5 Long Island brunches worth the price

There are few more relaxing ways to start a Sunday than to sip a regularly refilled coffee cup, nosh on some eggs — maybe even a lobster tail — while you and your pals or family members linger over a sun-drenched meal.

Brunch comes in all shapes and sizes, prices and vibes, and since nearly everything is expensive these days, upscale, boozy brunches rather than dinners — many headlined by steakhouses — are one way to spend a spring Sunday feeling indulgent.

From elaborate buffets to refined morning menus in swank dining rooms, we scoured Long Island for brunch experiences that delivered the goods. Whether you prefer buffet or a la carte, you’re in it for the shellfish, the waffles, the mimosas, or the cinnamon rolls, here are five upscale brunch options that satisfied both our bellies and budgets. 

THE OVERALL BEST 

Red Salt Room

45 Seventh St., Garden City

PRICE: $120 a person includes mimosas, Bloody Marys and wine ($65 younger than 13)

There is brunch and then there is brunch. And brunch at celebrity chef David Burke’s Red Salt Room at the Garden City Hotel eclipses them all. It has been around for decades, a lavish hotel tradition, and it never disappoints. Is it wildly expensive? Yes. It is worth every penny? Yes.

The buffet is within a long, dramatic hallway and anchored by a literal tower of shellfish offerings — lobster, clams, oysters, shrimp, crab — surrounded by stations with servers in tall white culinary hats. On offer: Customized omelets, crepes, meat carvings (du jour) and classic breakfast fare including cinnamon French toast, fluffy scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Whimsical touches include candied slabs of bacon hanging from a clothesline — a rich, decadent Burke special — with treats such as frosted doughnuts, cake pops and a chocolate fountain beckoning amid colorful displays of jelly beans, cupcakes, cake by the slice, pies, tartlets, rainbow cookies and pastel-colored macarons. Bagels, muffins, croissants and fresh fruit abound.

Those who run savory on Sundays will find sushi, smoked salmon with tobiko caviar, seafood salads, grilled shrimp, platters of roasted vegetables and salads from Caesar to Caprese to Italian orzo to lentil to Mediterranean couscous.

Hot plates change frequently and might range from vegetable paella to rigatoni with lamb ragu. There’s even a kids section filled with playful fryer baskets of chicken fingers, french fries and fried shrimp under red heat lamps.

The moody and modern dining room has black leather seating, globe lighting, white tablecloths and dark wood walls. Service is impeccable. The premium coffee flows, plates are cleared frequently, cocktails are constantly refreshed — no detail is left unattended. Think what you want of buffets, "brunch at the Garden City Hotel" is fine dining in your Sunday best, and a Long Island experience that will never get old.

More info: Sunday seatings begin at 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., 516-877-9385, gardencityhotel.com

IF YOU WANT SHELLFISH

Rothmann’s Steakhouse

6319 Northern Blvd., East Norwich

PRICE: $69.95 includes a brunch cocktail ($36.95 younger than 8)

If you are a lobster fan, there is little better than the Sunday brunch at Rothmann’s. Shiny, bright red cracked Maine lobster shells are piled high over ice, accompanied by crab legs, shrimp cocktail, oysters and clams. Make no mistake; there is a line to get your share of the goodies, which feels aggressive for a Sunday morning. However, this is the reason to shell out the $69.95 for a daytime meal at the venerable steakhouse, which dates back to 1907.

The old-school ambience — high ceilings, stone fireplace and dark wood — is temporarily interrupted to accommodate the long glass tables of brunch options that extend past shellfish to sushi, smoked salmon and gravlax, a carving station featuring skirt steak and prime rib, a waffle and pancake station, an omelet station and plenty of sugary desserts. On a recent Sunday, the only breakfast carbohydrates in sight were French toast, bagels and Cheerios — no croissants, Danish, bread or toast. But rounding out the options: Pasta and vegetable salads, jammy — rather than runny — Benedicts, fruits, cheeses, blintzes and a chocolate fountain for dipping cut bananas and strawberries.

More info: 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sundays, 516-922-2500, rothmannssteakhouse.com

GOOD VALUE

Captain Bill’s

122 Ocean Ave., Bay Shore

PRICE: $45 includes brunch cocktails ($22.50 ages 5-11, $15 younger than 5)

On the waterfront in Bay Shore, on Sundays as the clock approaches noon, a valet line forms down Ocean Avenue. Car after car lets out nicely dressed ladies with obedient gentlemen in tow, carrying flowers, balloons and gifts of all kinds. Not only is brunch being served at Captain Bill’s, but also baby and bridal showers and all sorts of family celebrations are commencing around the buffet. The nautical-themed restaurant, full of wood furnishings and the aroma of sea salt, is in full swing as the masses form another line, this one into the Harborview Room to partake in an affordable array of prepped Bennys, omelet and carving stations, an abundance of salads like Asian pasta, Italian shrimp, sun dried tomato, Caprese and Caesar. There’s penne a la vodka, chicken Marsala, smoked salmon, plus peel-and-eat shrimp. Classic breakfast selects includes waffles, bacon, sausage and hash browns. A bread and dessert table is piled high with cookies, raspberry crumb cake, muffins, bagels, pastries, danishes, croissants, fresh fruit, pudding and brownies.

If you don’t make a reservation, you are out of luck at most of these brunch spots, but Captain Bill’s leaves the barroom open for walk-ins. Loud and festive, this is brunch on the South Shore at its peak without any of the pretension or price.

More info: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays, 631-665-6262, captainbills.com

FOR CARNIVORES

Fogo de Chão

160 Walt Whitman Rd., Huntington and 235 Old Country Rd., Carle Place

PRICE: $55 a person (half-price ages 7-12) includes churrasco or $36 for market table buffet only. For an extra $20, you can add a lobster tail, black truffle butter, lump crabmeat or roasted bone marrow and dessert. Brunch cocktails start at $10.50. 

For the brunch carnivores, there are few meatier spots to consume it than Brazilian import Fogo de Chão, which launched in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1979 and made its stateside debut in 1997 in Dallas. If you’ve dined at any chain location of Fogo, you know that fiery cuts of meat — picanha (top sirloin), fraldinha (bottom sirloin), pork sausage, filet mignon, bone-in rib-eye, chicken, lamb chops — are cooked over an open flame, then circulated through the dining room as tableside carving commences for any choice that your hungry heart desires. Turn your paper chip to the green-sided "yes, please," if you want to partake in that cut; turn the chip to the red-sided "no, thanks," if you want to pass. Repeat until you are full. Visit the Market Table buffet for an accompanying selection of Brazilian salads, fruit, charcuterie, rice and feijoada — a black bean and pork stew — and pao de queso, or Brazilian cheese bread.

On the weekend, Fogo ups the ante. The Market Table becomes brunch-themed and includes a made-to-order omelet station, Belgian waffles, braised beef rib hash, Brazilian sausage, yogurt parfaits, plus the naturally gluten-free array of seasonal salads and nutrient-dense super foods of the Amazon.

More info: Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 631-382-6161 (Huntington), 516-588-7100 (Carle Place), fogodechao.com

IF YOU GO A LA CARTE

Tellers: An American Chophouse

605 Main St., Islip

PRICE: Brunch entrees run between $21 and $39, with the regular steakhouse menu also available. Endless brunch cocktails are $25.

Many brunch-lovers reject the premise of a buffet and that’s where Tellers triumphs. Its new Sunday brunch is an untraditional way to experience dining at the stunning, restored bank-turned-restaurant that rounds a quarter-century this year. The grand dining room, which boasts a soaring ceiling, 25-foot windows, and deep red upholstery on spacious banquettes and chairs, is one of the more exceptional spaces on culinary Long Island. More importantly, the food matches the vibe of the room, which is further enhanced by light jazz in the din.

Co-owner Michael Bohlsen said the new brunch is "both a celebration of our 25-year legacy and a way to invite our guests to create new memories with us."

A rolling cart delivers oversize complimentary cinnamon rolls. The menu features classic eggs Benedict, as well as a crab version ($32), sausage gravy and biscuits ($24), ricotta pancakes with lemon blueberry butter ($22), a 10-ounce burger with pepper bacon, egg and Cheddar cheese ($29), as well as braised beef short rib and eggs ($29). Modern spins include lobster huevos rancheros ($39) with butter-poached lobster, and pastrami hash and eggs ($22). Endless brunch cocktails include the Teller Royale made from blackberry cassis syrup, cranberry and lemonade, topped with prosecco.

More info: Noon-3 p.m. Sundays, 631-277-7070, tellerschophouse.com

By Marie Elena Martinez

marieelena.martinez@newsday.com@mariesworlds

A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.