Brand new from chef Julio Machado is Origen, a Bywater bistro serving brunch spreads of tequeños, tostones, and cachapas; Venezuelan-style ceviches; and spit-roasted carne en vara. Origen offers two menus: all-day and brunch. The best way to approach brunch, Machado says, is to order a range of small plates — cheesy tequeños with black beans and rice; tostones with a fried egg and avocados; cachapas (a Venezuelan corn pancake) with cracklings on the side.

The city’s newest special occasion destination is Miss River, chef Alon Shaya’s restaurant in the new Four Seasons hotel. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, featuring creations like duck eggs Creole; beignets and ham; and poached eggs and creamed spinach on toasted brioche bread with hollandaise and caviar. Of course, the cocktails are just as over-the-top: Bloody marys with garnishes like pickled quail eggs, okra, and steamed shrimp; and mimosas served from a roving mimosa station.

Rosella, a gloriously nostalgic restaurant with vintage vibes in Mid-City, debuted brunch this spring, adding to its versatile slate of food, wine, and cocktails. On Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the charming cafe serves avocado toast topped with smoked catfish dip and Cajun caviar, Huevos Rosella made with a short rib-topped pupusa, mushroom toast, and a Croque Madame, among other delights.

This French Quarter hotspot with a high-touch design and great vibes has introduced brunch — bulgogi and grits, anyone? Brunch offerings follow the same flavorful mashup formula as the regular menu — Asian-American and Korean-centric, but with a good dose of New Orleans flair. The breakfast potatoes are outrageous, a great side to pair with crawfish and grits or the baco breakfast tacos and extravagant cocktails. Served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Emeril Lagasse has a new restaurant downtown in New Orleans’s soon-to-be Caesars Casino, marking the celebrity chef’s first foray into French food. The elegant space serves dishes synonymous with a splurge, like a seafood tower, along with classic brasserie staples like French onion soup, tarte flambée, and steak frites au poivre. Beginning December 23 it opens for brunch on Saturday and Sunday (and Mondays during the holidays only), beginning at 10 a.m.

The elegant cocktail bar in Hotel Fontenot downtown serves a brunch menu that aims to get the party started, ideal for a group in every way. An eye-popping brunch tower great includes caviar & potato cakes, truffle deviled eggs, crispy Gulf oysters, salt and pepper shrimp, petite quiche Lorraine, shaved prosciutto di parma, pimento cheese & creole cracklins’ (there’s also Gulf shrimp and grits, bourbon pecan sticky buns, and the banana bread French toast with toffee crumble, bacon jam, and maple syrup). Drinks are equally group-friendly, like the Chambong Spritz for 2 or 8, mimosa service, and the Pineapple Express with vodka, Pimm’s, tepache, strawberry, lemon, and Cava in a punch bowl for 8.

Sunday brunch reigns at Nina Compton’s acclaimed Compère Lapin. From 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Compère serves items like an everything bagel with tuna tartar and chili cream cheese, braised pork with polenta, confit tomatoes, and sunny egg; and smothered rabbit with biscuit croquette. Don’t miss trying one of the restaurant’s delicious brunch cocktails, like the In the Valley Below (Cimmaron tequila, coffee-infused mezcal, Campari, cherry, and cacao), or opt for the bottomless brunch punch for just $20. Sweet endings include buttermilk pie with strawberry compote and zeppole with pecans and rum caramel. 

Mister Oso’s splashy downtown location serves a funky, festive brunch menu of breakfast tacos, tres leches French toast, crunch wraps, and chilaquiles verdes, plus mojo pork, quesabirria, cauliflower al pastor, and smoked chicken tacos. Start the morning with a margarita and end it with an order of churros.

Sunday brunch is a highlight at Palm & Pine, the inventive French Quarter restaurant that blends flavors from the Caribbean, Southern U.S., and Central America. An oft-changing brunch menu might include a crawfish chile relleno, duck boudin omelet, Texas wagyu and eggs, or chilaquiles. Cocktails, both alcoholic and non, are top-notch.

This charming, beautiful restaurant in the LGD is a delight — family-owned, friendly, and elegant. It’s also already serving brunch, a rarity for most new restaurants. On Saturday and Sunday, the normally seafood-centric menu gets a mid-day makeover with dishes like stuffed French toast, boneless short ribs with poached eggs, crab meat eggs Benedict, Gulf shrimp salad, pear toast, and a BLT.

A restaurant specializing in brunch opened in the LGD in March, banking on the bustling neighborhood’s affinity for the mid-day meal. A wide-ranging menu offers local classics like eggs Sardou and shrimp and grits alongside trendy creations like a duck bacon tower, fried chicken and waffle cone, Monkey Bread skillet, and a smoked salmon croissant benedict called the “Smokin’ Paris Models.” Brunch is served daily at Crack’d from 8 a.m.

Downtown’s new Tacos del Cartel brings splashy to a new level, with textural, extravagant interiors dripping with art, sculptures, and color; a true feast for the senses. The modern Mexican restaurant specializes in vibey brunch, serving a huge menu of dishes like like tres leches French toast, chilaquiles, a breakfast burrito, oyster mushroom omelette, and Huevos Ahogados, a classic breakfast of eggs poached in smoky tomato salsa. Its cold dishes are another specialty, like black aguachile, green ceviche, and tuna tostadas.

This is the new restaurant from Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, grandson of the legendary Dooky Chase’s restaurant founder and culinary icon Leah Chase and her husband Dooky Chase. While the Chase family may be best associated with gumbo, fried chicken, and shrimp Clemenceau, Chapter IV aims to do something different while honoring its legacy. The daytime spot celebrates brunch on weekends with live music, lively cocktails, fried oyster Benedicts, fish and grits, and fried chicken sandwiches, to name a few dishes.

Uptown’s most exciting restaurant serves dim sum brunch in a fun, upbeat atmosphere on Saturday and Sunday. The offerings will change frequently, as does the dinner menu, but diners can expect a $50, family-style brunch comprised of 6 dishes. It might include Kashmiri fried chicken, Chinese chicken and rice dumplings, or pork lumpia. Don’t miss the enticing brunch cocktails, or $35 bottomless mimosas.

Osteria Lupo is the impressive Northern Italian restaurant from the folks behind nearby Costera, a coastal Spanish tapas restaurant. It’s now serving a comforting, rustic brunch menu with a European flair, dishes like a pesto, pea, and provolone frittata; Eggs in Purgatory with arrabbiata, grilled focaccia, and ricotta salad; a Pane Perduto with rose water berries and lemon curd; and a breakfast sandwich on brioche with sausage, fontina, and an egg. Cocktails are elegant, like the La Mola with Cimarron Blanco tequila, Aperol, citrus, and bitters; and the classic Matralia, with red wine, amaro, and cola.

This D.C. favorite for steak has reopened its New Orleans restaurant on Magazine Street after taking a summer break and along with it an all-inclusive brunch deal that, price-wise, is pretty phenomenal. For $34.95 per person, diners can choose between bottomless bloody marys, screwdrivers, or mimosas; a starter of yogurt parfait, fruit salad, or a mixed greens salad (with bread); and for the main course, a choice of the famed steak frites, steak and portabella eggs Benedict, steaks and eggs, or french Toast and sausage. Hard to beat that.

This swanky new Metairie restaurant with a country club feel and individual gazebo dining serves upscale American cuisine using ingredients from an onsite herb and vegetable garden and beef from a local cattle farm. The new weekend brunch menu is best enjoyed outdoors, specializing in housemade pastries and biscuits, shareable dips and snacks, and hearty breakfast sandwiches. Served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. with $20 bottomless mimosas.