I get asked pretty frequently what my favorite brunch in the city is. The truth is, I don’t really brunch as often as you may think (mainly because I’m still mourning the loss of Little Pete’s, aaaaand I just can’t drink that early in the morning like I used to). But when I find a gem, I’ll definitely make an exception.
As soon as I heard about it, I knew I had to get to Suraya (1528 Frankford Avenue) for brunch ASAP. And now that there are articles in pretty much every paper coming out, I’m glad I made it there when I did!
Suraya (named after the grandmother of two of the owners) is a Lebanese market, restaurant (brunch & dinner), and soon-to-be-opened garden in Fishtown. They serve brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9am-2pm. There is a freeeeee parking lot behind the restaurant (at the corner of Front & Oxford Streets) which is wild, because the Uber from Rittenhouse to Fishtown on a Saturday AM was quite steep, so, with the added convenience of a promised lot, I decided to DRIVE, something I never get the luxury to do in my parking-nightmare-induced city life.
The place is just stunning inside. My friends and I made a reservation on OpenTable a few days before (but now that all the reviews are out, I’d make your plans a little earlier) and got seated in a booth in the middle of the restaurant. Seriously, the whole place is styling – from the art to the bar to even the bathrooms – it’s genius-ly decorated.
The brunch menu is a bit overwhelming if it’s your first time, but when we asked, our waitress brought us through the menu and gave us some tips for ordering. We started off with a few drinks (the Spritz, the Mule, and so much delicious coffee) while we planned our attack.
The menu is separated into a few sections: Pastries, Man’oushe (Lebanese flatbread), Plates, Sandwiches, Yogurt, and Salads. In an effort to try as much as possible, the three of us ordered the Pastry Basket ($20), which included a rose & pistachio cruller (my fav), kouign amann, labne coffee cake, chocolate & almond financier (sweet & salty unrealness), and olive oil cake.
We went with the Shish Taouk (chicken) Kebab Plate ($21), which was paired with traditional hummous, spiced french fries (YES), tabouleh, and warm pita. The fries were amazing and the hummous was perfect.
To finish off our meal, we had to get a Za’atar, Onion, and Tomato flatbread, topped with an egg, of course ($10.50). It was the perfect amount of food for the three of us, and we loved being able to sample everything. We were also really surprised at the cost – for so much delicious food and drinks, our bill was under $100.
I can’t wait to go back to Suraya for brunch again, but let’s be real, I’m now way too curious about their dinner to pass that up first!
Have you been to Suraya yet? What were some of your favorite dishes?
