Essex

We had reservations for a birthday brunch which I mentioned to the hostess when we arrived. I asked if we could sit upstairs- she takes us to a table for 2 with 3 chairs- clearly we were not going to fit. When I asked for the perfectly good table she walked us past - she said it was for a reservation- sorry thought that was what I had- she sat us at the table but with major attitude. Not a good way to start off the meal. Server was good for the most part, food was good- but not so special that I would need to go back there. All in all not what I had expected.

I ran into this place with a friend. It has a nice, open layout, an easy wait and unique brunch items. The Pancake Salmon Egg dish is really fun once it mixes up. The brunch special include 3 mimosas/screwdrivers/bloody marys and is well attended to by the staff. I would vote this to be a top 5 brunch destination in LES!!

Went here for Sunday brunch with my 6 girlfriends. The food was good except for the crabcakes. They were the worst....flat & flavorless. The home fries were fantastic. The service was another story. When we arrived, no one acknowledged our presence. Parties with yuppie blondes kept walking in and were approached and seated immediately. After the 4th group, I had to once again approach the greeter and ask her if she was going ot seat us. She was watching me watching this happen and had an attitude with us, glaring, for the rest of our servce. Our actual server was accomodating. I probably won't go back. There are so may other places that don't have snotty attitudes and preferential service.

Went along with some friends who made reservations for Sunday brunch. We were seated promptly, but then had to wait forever to be served our meal. We had 5 adults and 5 (well-behaved) kids in our party and one would think they could serve the mediocre food a little bit faster. The food was way too salty and the homefries had the texture and taste of potatoes that have been sitting under a warming lamp for six hours. The eggs were bland, the rolls stale, and the fruit salad not very appetizing. My coffee cup was never refilled. The noise level was also extremely loud. The staff seemed friendly enough, but I'll not be returning.

Went with a friend after checking the awesome menu, but maybe in an attempt to please a broad audience the food was lost. I had the salmon with potato pancakes, and it was bland. So much so, I had to pile tons of salt and pepper. I wanted the food to be delicious because we had to wait so long or a table (we waited 35 minutes for a table,with a reservation!, while dealing with a rude hostess. What is the point of making a reservation?!? If the wait the is the same for walk-ins. Altogether, it's hard to forgive a rude hostess and bland food. Definitely not worth a second trip.

In the last 8 weeks have had brunch @ the Essex...4 weekends. It may be filled with people and the reason is good food, drinks and staff. One if the best deals for brunch in the city.

Waste of a Sunday. Rude hostesses. Finally walked out without ever sitting down. Had made reservation for a going away party 1 month prior. I'll never go back and suggest you don't either.