The Union Square Greenmarket runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8am to 6pm. That single fact reorganises the weekend around here. Saturday morning the square is full of people carrying tomatoes and looking for somewhere to sit down; Sunday it is empty by comparison and the same restaurants are quieter at the same hour. If you are booking a weekend table near the square, the day matters more than the room. Below are eight brunch services with published windows, earliest opening first.

Quick answer

Earliest door: Barbounia, 10:30am both days. Latest finish: Barbounia again, and La Pecora Bianca, both to 4pm. Tightest window: Union Square Cafe, 11am to 2:30pm with the last reservation at 2:30. If you are coming off the Greenmarket with bags, the rooms on 19th Street are the shortest walk.

The Saturday problem, and how to use it

Between about 11am and 1pm on a Saturday, the blocks immediately around the square carry market crowds on top of normal brunch demand. The rooms one street back absorb this better than the ones facing the park. Two workable strategies: book the 10:30am opening and be finished before the crush, or push to 1:30pm and let it clear.

Sunday inverts the problem. No market, thinner foot traffic, and the same tables are easier to get at noon. If your group is flexible on the day and inflexible on the hour, take Sunday.

Brunch near Union Square, by opening time

Barbounia, 250 Park Avenue South, from 10:30am

The earliest and longest window on this list, 10:30am to 4pm both Saturday and Sunday. Mediterranean rather than Italian, on the corner of 20th Street. The brunch menu runs to four shakshukas, listed as classic, merguez, Turkish and green, plus two khachapuri, the Georgian filled bread, in creamed spinach and wild mushroom versions. Warm ricotta beignets for the table.

Best suited to: a group arriving across a wide time span, since the five and a half hour window means nobody is rushed.

La Pecora Bianca NoMad, 1133 Broadway, from 10am

Weekend service runs 10am to 4pm both days. This is the NoMad location, a nine or ten minute walk north of the square rather than a Union Square address, and worth the walk when everything closer is booked. The brunch menu lists Eggs Norwegian and a Strip Steak & Eggs. Reservations through OpenTable.

Best suited to: a Saturday when you failed to book anything nearer and do not want to eat at 3pm.

Il Fiorista, 17 West 26th Street, from 10am

Brunch runs 10am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday, in NoMad. It is a restaurant attached to a floral studio, which sounds like a gimmick and mostly is not. Reservations through Resy.

Best suited to: a brunch that is really an occasion, without being a dinner.

Tarallucci e Vino, 15 East 18th Street, from 9am Saturday

Opens 9am Saturday and 11am Sunday, running through to 10:30 or 11pm. This is the closest thing to a market café in the neighbourhood: half a block from the square, pastries and coffee from the door, a full menu through the day. If you are coming off the Greenmarket with a bag of produce and want to sit down immediately rather than book something, this is the answer.

Best suited to: Saturday, unbooked, holding groceries.

abcV and ABC Cocina, 38 East 19th Street, from 11am

The two share a building and both run brunch 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. abcV is vegetarian, ABC Cocina is Latin-influenced, and the choice between them is really a choice about what the table wants rather than about the service. Both book through SevenRooms. Large tables are accommodated up to 24 at abcV and up to 34 at ABC Cocina, which is unusual for brunch.

One caution: both sites currently show a notice about a short closure for a refresh with no year printed on it. Call before you rely on a booking.

Best suited to: a larger group, where most brunch rooms cap out at eight.

Union Square Cafe, 101 East 19th Street, from 11am

Brunch runs 11am to 2:30pm both weekend days, with the site noting the last reservation is at 2:30pm rather than the kitchen closing then. The tightest window here, and the one to book furthest ahead. Resy.

Best suited to: the brunch that is doing a job, where the room needs to be good.

Rezdôra, 27 East 20th Street, from 11:30am

Not labelled brunch on its own site, but it runs a midday service 11:30am to 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, which is the same thing by another name and with better pasta. Emilia-Romagna cooking, and the weekend midday seating is a meaningfully easier reservation than dinner. SevenRooms.

Best suited to: anyone who does not actually want eggs.

Isabelle’s Osteria, 245 Park Avenue South

Worth including with a caveat: the restaurant publishes a Weekend Brunch menu but does not print the days or the service times anywhere on its site, so call (212) 388-1145 before you plan a morning around it.

What is printed is the menu itself, and it is the reason this belongs on the list. There is a Bottomless Brunch listing a choice of bellini or mimosa at $23, and an à la carte section running to a Sicilian Shakshuka at $26, a Truffle Omelette at $26, Steak & Eggs at $31, Chicken & Waffles at $26 and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes at $23. Nothing about the duration or the terms of the bottomless option is published, which is exactly the sort of thing to settle on the phone rather than at the table.

It suits a celebratory weekend late morning rather than a quick one: the room seats 150 with a long bar, so a group of eight is more plausible here than at the smaller rooms, and the walk from the square is about six minutes up Park Avenue South. Look at Italian dining near Union Square to see the full brunch menu, then call to confirm the hours.

If your weekend is built around the market rather than the meal, the seasonal angle is covered in more depth in the guide to market-driven kitchens near the square. And if brunch turns into an afternoon, the neighbourhood’s happy hour windows start at 2pm.

Frequently Asked Question

How far ahead should I book weekend brunch near Union Square?

For Saturday between 11am and 1pm, book at least a week out, and two if your group is more than four. That window collides with the Greenmarket and it is the hardest reservation of the weekend. Sunday at the same hour is usually available a few days ahead, and Saturday at 10:30am or after 2pm often has same-week space. The rooms with the longest service windows, which here means Barbounia and La Pecora Bianca, are the most forgiving if your plans are still moving. If you are a party of six or more, call rather than using the booking widget, since several kitchens near the square handle larger brunch tables by phone and hold space the online system will not show you.

Before you go

Brunch hours move more than dinner hours, and several rooms trim service in late August. Everything here came from each restaurant’s own site in early August 2026, except where noted that the hours are not published at all. Confirm before you travel.

Hero image is an illustration and not a photograph of any restaurant listed above.

Editor’s note: Isabelle’s Osteria is affiliated with this publication. Restaurants were selected using the criteria described above.