(Credit: istock)
The Belvedere
What: Midday at the elegant Peninsula Hotel is a good excuse to dress fancy, then stuff your maw with Kobe beef, Peking duck and a dessert buffet—hello, all-you-can-eat!—that buries most local bakeries.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Yes, and it's free-flowing. For the label-whore, the brand is Perrier Jouët—"prestige champagne since 1811," thank you very much.
Menu: For $59 per person, diners receive family-style appetizers, a choice of entrée and unlimited access to the dessert buffet.
Available 1/1/08?: Yes.
blue on blue
What: It's the quintessential California poolside setting alongside the tres soignée, Kelly Wearstler furnishings. Get there early enough and you may see a hipster—or a pregnant Spears or two—passed out in the patio from the previous night's revelry.
When: Sundays, 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Sorta. A bottomless glass of Bollinger champagne (it's the only stuff that touches James Bond's lips...okay, not really) or Bortolomiol Prosecco (that's Italian, not French). But, it's an additional $12.
Menu: À la carte.
Available 1/1/08?: Yes.
Café del Rey
What: There's a fireplace and views of the Marina—need we say more? Brunch is popular with young families and execs that lap up the California cuisine and live jazz.
When: Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m
Real champagne from Champagne?: Nope, Wolf Blass is Australian, therefore sparkling.
Menu: Three-course prix fixe for $36. Includes glass of sparkling wine or mimosa.
Available 1/1/08?: No.
Chaya Brasserie
What: The intimate, pillow-lined garden patio provides sustenance before a shopping orgy along nearby Robertson.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Absolutely. Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon (1999) and Louis Roederer Cristal Brut (2000) are available by the bottle. For the teetotalers, buzzkills or lightweights: half-bottles of Laurent-Perrier, Veuve Clicquot, Spumante Italian sparking wine and Schramsberg California sparkling wine.
Menu: À la carte. A bottle or half-bottle order of champagne comes with fresh berries, pitchers of O.J., peach purée and crème de cassis. Play bartender at the table and mix mimosas, bellinis and other creative cocktails.
Available 1/1/08?: No.
i Cugini
What: Good thing you can't really see the Pacific or any bikini-clad bods as you pile your plate with shrimp cocktail from the iced seafood bar or any of the 16 sweets from the dessert buffet.
When: Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: No, Freixenet sparkling wine.
Menu: $49.95 buffet includes all the orange juice, coffee, tea and bubbly you want. A live jazz band from 10:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. helps lull you into a food coma.
Available 1/1/08?: No, but open for regular lunch and dinner.
jer-ne restaurant + bar
What: It's the Ritz-freaking-Carlton, so be sure to look the part as you peruse the stations of caviar, sushi and prime rib.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Yes, it's a French Cuvée blend house champagne and it's unlimited.
Menu: Buffet, $70 per person.
Available 1/1/08?: Sorry, but normal breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are available.
Maison Akira
What: Most people opt for the buffet at this sumptuous French restaurant with a Japanese twist, since it’s the only time all week that Chef Akira Hirose prepares sushi. Yeah, go figure.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: It's French, but Carousel sparkling wine is not from the Champagne region.
Menu: Both the $36 buffet or à la carte option come with the effervescent drink. The $24 bento box is a relative bargain for five samplings of premium seafood and sliced rib eye.
Available 1/1/08?: No.
The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel
What: Want some wheeling and dealing for a quiet Sunday morn? When the next Ben Stiller debacle opens next summer, you can tell friends you saw the whole thing go down over Belgian waffles and an order of McCarthy salad.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Perrier Jouët (see above).
Menu: $48 per person for three-course prix fixe with choice of beverage.
Available 1/1/08?: No, but the regular lunch menu is served.
The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air
What: The air up in the hills above UCLA is rarefied indeed. Pull out your Sunday best and chillax with the super-rich hotel guests and super-rich locals.
When: Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: No. The Hotel Bel-Air label is a Napa Valley sparkling wine.
Menu: Prix-fixe; $65 for three courses.
Available 1/1/08?: Yes, but the prix-fixe is hardly that. The special rate is $85 that day. Geez—Happy New Year.
The Tam O’Shanter Inn
What: It's champagne brunch with a slab of prime rib in a Scottish-themed room. Kilt not required.
When: Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Varies—so...we'll take that as a "no."
Menu: À la carte.
Available 1/1/08?: No, but open for dinner at 5:30 p.m.
Whist
What: What is it about Kelly Wearstler and mid-morning champagne? A feast from chef Warren Schwartz in the setting of stylishly hung wallpaper and English china alongside the manicured greenery and poolside cabanas totally beats breakfast in your ratty old bed.
When: Sundays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Real champagne from Champagne?: Of course, Piper-Heidsieck Brut.
Menu: The buffet normally costs $55 per person, plus an additional $15 for unlimited champagne or mimosas. But, to celebrate 2008, brunch in the month of January is $20.08, while the bottomless flute inflates to $20.08.
Available 1/1/08?: No
