The Moon and Sixpence, Hablis:
A combination of strong, hot coffee, whiskey and brown sugar topped with whipped cream might not sound like the ideal drink on a hot summer day. But this Irish coffee at MASP sure hits the spot. As part of their set Sunday brunch, diners can choose from a soup or salad, a main course, dessert and any drink from the menu.
We sampled barbeque chicken on pan fried potato discs, an Irish lamb stew, open faced vegetable ravioli and stuffed mushrooms. The menu changes periodically. Set in a cozy Irish pub-like atmosphere, our meal ends with a choice between warm apple pie with ice cream and custard or Bailey’s cheesecake.
Price: Rs 499 + taxes
Address: No.19, Grand Southern Trunk Rd, Guindy
L’amandier
The brunch buffet at this chic French style café will appeal to European cuisine aficionados. The menu changes almost every week based on locally available seasonal ingredients.
Oeufs L’amandier, a twist on age old poached eggs recipe, offers fresh bread overlaid with cold cuts of chicken and topped off with warm boiled eggs – a truly delectable combination.
Vegetarians can opt for cottage cheese with salsa which is crispy and chewy in equal measure. Live counters serve made-to-order eggs and pasta. A salad bar and cold cuts are also available. As part of the brunch, a dessert buffet offers choices like cheesecake, panna cotta and ice cream.
Price: Rs 499 + taxes
Address: 57, 2nd Main Road, RA Puram, Chennai
Zara - Tapas Bar and Restaurant
This weekend brunch menu overwhelms you with its choice of 23 starters. The oversized buffet has several main courses, a chef-manned pasta station and five types of desserts.
Non-vegetarians will appreciate the tender grilled chicken with roasted chilli marinade and a dollop of mashed potatoes. The crispy bacon-wrapped chicken, served with a honey mustard sauce, is a unique fusion of sweet and salty flavours.
For vegetarians, there’s rice cooked with grilled cottage cheese, tossed with pepper and baby corn and marinated with a tangy chipotle sauce. Diners can choose to complement their meal with sangria.
Price: Rs 645 (non-alcoholic) + taxes, Rs 995 (with alcohol) + taxes
Address: Cathedral Road, Kanakasri Nagar, Gopalapuram
Simar
If you’re in the mood for an Indian brunch, head to Simar for a Punjabi meal. With both buffet and a la carte, diners can start with soups and four appetisers each for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The eternal tandoor favourites – chicken, mutton and paneer kababs – are part of the spread.
For mains, choose between biryani, a rice dish and a variety of rotis and naans served with side dishes. End your meal with Indian sweets like halwas, kheer or gulab jamuns; ice cream is available as well.
Price: Rs 462 (vegetarian), Rs 586 (non-vegetarian) incl. taxes
Address: 20B, Ground Floor, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam
Little Italy
For a restaurant that has been around for nine years and a Sunday brunch special for around seven years (Nungambakkam branch), Little Italy finds a mention as it’s one of the go-to places in Chennai for Italian vegetarian food. With an exhaustive list of dishes to choose from – soups, starters, breads, salads, pizzas and even Mexican and Thai cuisine (although that’d be rather amiss here) – it’s a little overwhelming, we might say. But their pasta counter, where you can pick a pasta, sauce and toppings, is rather popular and so are their desserts.
Price: Rs 699 incl. taxes
Address: Besant Nagar and Nungambakkam
