America's 25 Most Extravagant Brunches Gallery

We tend to think of brunch as a casual meal washed down with plenty of mimosas and enjoyed among friends over a lazy weekend afternoon at a neighborhood restaurant.  Brunch is usually inexpensive and fun, the opposite of what you might refer to as "exclusive." But there's another end to the brunch spectrum, one overflowing with Champagne, caviar, and opulence. These are the restaurants where you'll find the 25 most extravagant and exclusive brunches in America.

If none other than Wolfgang Puck is attaching his name to a Sunday brunch, you know it's going to be good. Puck's unique brand of California cuisine is on full display at Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, with ingredients sourced from Chino Farms and local farmers markets. To start, opt for garden vegetable crudité with olive tapenade, lemon vinaigrette, and tzatziki; house-cured smoked salmon with herbed crème fraiche; or heirloom tomato soup. Then, follow up with a soft French-style omelette with wild mushrooms and gruyere; Alaskan halibut with summer squash and shelling beans; or blueberry buttermilk pancakes with Vermont maple syrup and salted maple butter. 

Thomas Keller plus brunch equals insane levels of deliciousness. There are three locations of his Bouchon Bistro – in the Napa Valley town of Yountville, Las Vegas, and Beverly Hills – and their traditional French brunch is second-to-none. Start with a Grand Plateau of fresh shellfish, then share some fresh pastries and beignets. Foie gras served with a toasted baguette sounds like a good follow-up, with steak and eggs or trout amandine as a main course. Some pommes frites with truffles on the side? Sure, why not. That meal will set you back more than $200 before cocktails, but hey, it's Keller. 

The best Sunday brunch in Atlantic City can be found at Nero's Italian Steakhouse inside Caesars. Overlooking the ocean, the restaurant offers many different stations serving everything from breakfast classics like made-to-order waffles, pancakes, crêpes, and omelettes to fresh-made sushi, shrimp cocktail, pasta, prime rib, oysters, crab legs, and a huge variety of desserts. All-you-care-to-drink mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Champagne certainly doesn't hurt, either. It's not cheap at about $63 per person, but they could get away with charging a lot more.

The Carlyle is synonymous with luxury, and the legendary hotel's restaurant doesn't disappoint. Mirrored alcoves, six-foot floral arrangements, and English hunting scenes on the walls serve as the backdrop to a $65 three-course Sunday brunch. Start with lobster bisque, oysters, or a foie gras terrine before moving onto braised short rib hash, a Kobe beef burger, steak frites, or wild striped bass, and top it off with a chocolate mousse tower or crème brûlée. With a glass of prosecco thrown in, brunch may be the best way to experience this hallowed dining room. 

When you picture "brunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel," do you picture bellinis and sangria, the sun shining onto a lush garden, live jazz, and perhaps dishes including an asparagus and goat cheese frittata, soft scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and diver scallops? Well, congratulations, because you hit the nail on the head. For $75, you can choose from a lovely cocktail list (it is one of the best bars in America, after all) and two courses. There are few better ways to while away a Sunday afternoon in Beverly Hills. 

Steve Wynn, the man behind Bellagio's legendary buffet, outdid himself with the stunningly gorgeous Wynn Buffet, full of fresh flowers and natural light. With a whopping 15 cooking stations, it's easy to get lost in the selection, but you can't go wrong with prime rib, sushi, homemade pastas, ceviche, lamb chops, soups, pizza, Mexican food, jerk chicken, Thai beef, made-to-order crêpes, brisket, crème brûlée, waffles, and tiramisù. On second thought, just have one of everything. 

The dining room at this glamorous hotel on the edge of Beverly Hills is home to one of the city's most renowned brunches. For $85 per person (up $10 from last year), you can feast on a lavish buffet with 10 food stations, a fresh juice bar, and a Bloody Mary bar. Made-to-order Belgian waffles and omelettes, eggs Benedict, sushi, dim sum, quesadillas, salads, prime rib, and plenty of dessert treats (including a chocolate fountain) make this a no-brainer.

Arguably the most renowned resort in the Napa Valley, Auberge du Soleil offers no shortage of spectacular dining. In fact, the resort got its start as Napa's first fine dining restaurant back in 1981, when restaurateur Claude Rouas set out to open a restaurant that resembled the sun-drenched eateries of his native Provence; the inn and spa came later. Visit the restaurant today for its $65 three-course brunch and you'll see what all the hoopla has been about; it's spectacular, and a perfect showcase for seasonal ingredients. Appetizers include sweet white corn soup with Maine rock crab and chervil oil; poached wild shrimp with butter lettuce, avocado, and orange; onion tartlette with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and watercress; and sautéed foie gras with chocolate pain perdu, cherries, and cacao nibs ($15 supplement). For your entrée, choose between items like blueberry buttermilk pancakes; Maine lobster omelette with tarragon, leek, and ricotta; duck confit hash with slow cooked farm eggs; Sonoma chicken with haricots verts; or heirloom tomato risotto with bacon and wild Gulf shrimp. The bad news is that it'll be nearly impossible to decide what to order. The good news is that no matter what you decide on, it'll be delicious. 

The super-luxe Four Seasons Georgetown is home to Seasons Restaurant, where power brokers and movers and shakers rub shoulders with regular folks in search of the city's finest brunch buffet. For $85, diners can enjoy a selection of meat, fish, and game (grilled lamb chops, braised short ribs, Maryland crab cakes, seafood gumbo); seafood (shrimp cocktail, oysters, crab claws, house smoked salmon, grilled octopus poke, blackened tuna, scallops, lobster salad, ceviche); salads (grilled endive, Cobb, escarole with caramelized pear, baby kale and Brussels sprouts); omelettes with fillings including shiitake mushrooms and jumbo lump crab; a wide variety of sides; assorted cheeses and charcuterie; Vietnamese crêpes; and an astounding array of housemade desserts. Bring your appetite! 

The Sterling Brunch is one of the most expensive in the city, at $85, and is only available on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but it's nothing short of a wonder to behold. Held in Bally's Steakhouse, the best way to describe it is to simply list off what's available: unlimited Perrier-Jouët and Mumm's Champagne, whole lobsters, crab legs, caviar, filet mignon, truffles, prime rib, rack of lamb, oysters, sushi, and made-to-order desserts. It's the ultimate in luxury.

New York's Waldorf-Astoria is synonymous with high-end amenities and high-class people, so it's only fitting that the hotel's Sunday brunch, served at Peacock Alley just off the lobby, would be upscale and decadent. But nothing prepares you for the sheer level of opulence that this brunch buffet offers: it's truly spectacular. There's a huge raw bar with lobster, littleneck clams, Long Island oysters, shrimp, five varieties of house-smoked salmon, and four varieties of caviar. Breakfast selections include pancakes, breakfast potatoes, thick-cut bacon, and made-to-order eggs Benedict; rotating hot entrées include braised short ribs, pan-seared fish, pastas, and quiche; and roasted leg of lamb and beef Wellington are carved to order at carving stations. Make sure you save room for dessert, though, because more than 20 items are available, including made-to-order baked Alaska "lollipops," a dark chocolate fountain, Norman Love truffles, croissant bread pudding, and limoncello tiramisù. It's clear that a lot of care goes into each item served here, and the $145 price tag ($85 for children), while steep, is certainly justified when you're enjoying a meal like this in the heart of one of the world's most famous hotels.

The Sunday brunch at the newly reopened Rainbow Room definitely suits the space; both are insanely lavish. Tipping the scales at $125 per person, the brunch buffet showcases the international influence of chef Jonathan Wright, with plenty of roasted meats, fresh and smoked seafood, Thai curry, pork buns, cheese, charcuterie, pastries, and tableside-delivered desserts including freshly-fried beignets.