Waking up on the last day of the weekend can be a drag, and that’s why we have drag brunch! The city-wide phenomenon of turning your mid-morning meal into an often-interactive show is probably the best way to cap off the weekend, and leave you smiling (or twerking) through the Sunday Scaries.
New York is full of pop-up and special appearance drag brunches, but here are some weekly reservations at LGTBQ+ bars and otherwise that you can rely on for delicious food, boozy drinks and a really good show. Remember to bring plenty of cash ($1 suffice, but $5s and $20 are better) to tip your queens—they’re working hard!
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LIPS’ Broadway Brunch is a must for the diva-obsessed. The all-you-can-drink affair is known as one of the city’s longest-running drag brunches—25 years and counting—and combines the magic of show tunes with brunch food. $45 gets you a Broadway-themed entree (Like a “Mamma Mia” mozzarella omelet” and endless cocktails, to help you enjoy the Vegas-style revue just a bit more. Singalongs are often encouraged and brunch tends to book up weeks in advance.
Another OG in the New York drag and dine scene, Lucky Cheng’s iconic palace of divas offers a bottomless brunch every Saturday. Stewardesses start boarding tables on “Drag Airlines” at 1pm for a raunchy-themed show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. It’s more about the performance and the endless white wine and mimosas here, but expect brunch staples like eggs and avocado toast.
One of New York City’s longest-running drag brunches, “Brunch Marks the Spot” with local queens Emi Grate and Nancy Nogood is a gay old time. The show runs from 1pm to 4pm, every Sunday, and the performances are as epic as the food (poly pancakes, LGBLT sandwiches) and cocktails (the Saturday Morning Cartoons made with Cocoa-Puff-infused Jim Beam, fino sherry, creme de cacao, cinnamon, amaro and oat milk can’t be missed). Bonus: Unlike drag brunches in Midtown, this queer-run Bushwick event is typically tourist-free.
This Hell’s Kitchen pan-Latin cocteleria and restaurant hosts a hyper-popular drag brunch every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The food and drink is bomb, and $40 gets you unlimited mimosas or upgrade to bottomless cocktails for $60. Enjoy strong margaritas alongside dulce de leche French toast or pulled pork tostadas while queens serenade and dance on stage and around the tables.
This locally queer-owned cocktail bar in Astoria hosts a lively drag brunch every weekend, with Saturday and Sunday shows at 1pm and 3:30pm. Watch drag stars led by Freeda Kulo slay their way through the intimate space while you sip bottomless bellinis ($30 per person) and munch on chilaquiles or creme brulee French toast.
Rise and shine every weekend at this 21+ drag brunch with seatings at 12:15pm and 2:30pm. Holly Box Springs and Egypt host weekly. $29 gets you unlimited Bloody Marys and Mimosas, and most entrees are $30 including benedicts, avocado toast, an omelet bar, a fried chicken sandwich and more. It’s a party, so fuel up.
Head to Fort Greene on Sundays for drag bingo and drag brunch on alternating weekends at this woman-owned bar. Queen Antonio Amor helps ease your Saturday night hangover with flashy performances, plus $10 spritzes and $25 mimosa pitchers to keep Sunday Scaries at bay. To eat, hearty platters of biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, and fluffy Southern-style pancakes help chase down that ill-advised cold brew martini. You’re having fun, it’s fine!
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Every Saturday at 12:15pm and 2:30pm and Sundays at 12:30pm and 2:30pm, this 21+ drag brunch delivers a generous side of shade with your eggs. Benedicts, omelets and a sunny side up topped burger are all on the menu and a live DJ helps you dance up an appetite. Reservations via OpenTable.
Head to SONA every other Saturday for a fun, music-filled drag brunch hosted by Queen Malai. Along with Bollywood realness, expect delicious Indian-brunch cuisine, including spice-cured salmon with everything seasoning naan, desi eggs benedict with gunpowder hollandaise, a cardamom waffle with caramelized bananas and more
A family-friendly brunch at Macy’s Herald Square—yes, the winter home of Santa Claus. Stella 34’s drag brunches are known for their elaborate themes, from Taylor Swift to Selena to Mamma Mia, Madonna, Dolly Parton and more. You can take the kids every week to see a different show and taste your way through the Italian menu because nothing goes better with a drag show than baked ziti.
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