Dining Guide | 5 Great Phoenix Brunch Restaurants

After a long week, and perhaps a little revelry to celebrate the end of the work week, be kind to yourself; sleep in. Roll out of bed as late as you can get away with, make yourself presentable and venture out into the world for the best meal invented; Brunch.

Brunch first became popular in the US in the 1930s replacing the early Sunday Supper and has quickly evolved into something that friends and family look forward to all week. Brunch is relaxed, cheerful and incredibly social. So gather your friends together and pick any one of these great Phoenix brunch restaurants and plan your next weekend meal.

5 Great Phoenix Brunch Restaurants

Bink’s Midtown
2320 E. Osborn Road| Phoenix| 85016| 602.388.4874
Chef Kevin Binkley is changing the landscape of dining in the Valley, with a total of four restaurants…for now. Bink’s Scottsdale focuses on the bounty of the area when creating contemporary dishes that are sophisticated and artistic. While the Brunch menu at Bink’s may not be extensive, the items offered are masterfully crafted and will be as much a work of art on a plate as they are an explosion of flavor. One dish not to miss is their Eggs Benedict. I realize a Benedict is typical brunch fodder, but when you incorporate Applewood smoked pork belly you find a dish that has been infused with love and peppered with happiness. You’ll want to have this dish for every meal. Every single one. If you have room, and you will want to make sure you do, order the cinnamon roll. Never one to stick with “traditional”, Chef Binkley has created a roll made with a luscious butterscotch sauce. The sweet flavor will make your heart and belly happy and almost forget that your weekend is almost over.

Photo by David Zickl

Crudo
3603 E. Indian School Road| Phoenix| 85018| 602.358.8666
Crudo has created a specialty menu that is incredibly straightforward and simple while still being creative and adventurous. Take the Brunch menu for example; it’s broken down into Eggs and Not Eggs. While that seems simple enough when you add in items like Bacon Risotto, Brisket and Beef Hash with Poached Eggs and Hayden Mills Polenta Hoe Cakes you can see that this is not going to be a pedestrian brunch. One dish that will sure get your taste buds dancing is the Pork Belly Poutine. A traditional poutine is made from French fried potatoes, gravy and cheese curds., but Crudo doesn’t really do “traditional”. Chef Campbell takes his poutine to a new level by topping thick cut fingerling potatoes with generous cuts of velvety pork belly and then that is lovingly dressed with a light gravy and fonduta. This dish alone is worth getting out of bed for.

Dick’s Hideaway
6008 N. 16^th St.| Phoenix| 85016| 602.241.1881
Feel like brunch on a Tuesday? How about a random Thursday? That’s no problem for Dick’s Hideaway; they are serving up brunch every day until 4pm. That means anytime that craving for a Benedict or huevos rancheros hits, just head over to Dick’s. As far as Benedict’s go, you’ll have your choice of three here; the Eggs Benedict Jalapeno, Tenderloin Benedict and the much sought after Carne Adovada Benedict. You’ll be delighted regardless of your Benedict choice, but the Carne Adovada really is a thing to behold. The generous portion of sweet, smoky and juicy pork piled so completely on the English muffins to the point that you can barely see them are topped with two perfectly poached eggs. The best part is the culmination of the creamy jalapeno hollandaise and the velvety egg yolk. Get a bite of all three together and your taste buds will think they have died and gone to breakfast heaven.

Sierra Bonita Grill
6933 N. 7^th St.| Phoenix| 85014| 602.264.0700
When you wake up find yourself in need of a little kick in the pants, head over to Sierra Bonita Grill for their innovative take on Southwestern fare. The restaurant got its moniker from the historic Arizona Sierra Bonita Ranch that is widely known for its innovative ranching methods, and now the restaurant is known for its innovative Southwestern cuisine. Some might say how exciting can you really make rice and beans. Well, the fact of the matter is that Southwestern cuisine is so much more than rice and beans (though, they’re pretty tasty here). How about some Atole Pinon Hotcakes? These are so much more than a simple pancake. The hotcakes are made from griddled blue corn masa and toasted pine nuts that are topped with a generous amount of sweet strawberry butter and a side of bacon. The combination of masa and pine nuts creates and entirely new flavor that explodes in your mouth and the sweetness of the butter balances out the savory flavor of the cake. If you prefer to save the sweet flavors for later, give their Cowboy Hash a go. The roasted root vegetables combined with Schreiner’s linguisa sausage would make any cowboy want to stay on the range as long as that was on the menu for breakfast. The addition of the fried eggs, salsa verde, and salsa fresca will wake you right up and give you all the fuel you need to wrangle all those on your ranch!

The Windsor
5223 N. Central Ave.| Phoenix| 85012| 602.279.1111
Now, if we’re being honest, one of the best (and sometimes medicinal) factors of brunch is the Bloody Mary. If you had an epic Saturday night you just might need to start of your day with a little “hair of the dog” and that cannot come in a tastier concoction than the Bloody Mary. At The Windsor you start out with your choice of two bases for your Mary. The Traditional base is made of tomatoes, roasted vegetables, Fresno chiles and fresh horseradish while the Verde base is comprised of cucumbers, tomatillo, Poblano chiles and fresh herbs. Once you have made that difficult decision you and your glass will make your way over to the Bloody Mary Cart and add in your choice of additions. Add in things like pickles, olives, cocktail onions, sport or pickled peppers, lemons or horseradish. And of course, there is food too. Southern Style Sausage & Gravy, Homemade Donut Holes, and Windsor Egg Benedicts will all help you recover from the fun of the night before.

This article was originally featured in the April 2015 issue of Uptown Magazine.