Penelope

Brunch at its best in Murray Hill!
This 10+ year staple of the Murray hill has been serving up some of the best brunch offerings the city has to offer.
When you get to Penelope there is one thing you will quickly notice which is the long wait time but it is worth it. The wait on the weekend is usually around 45mins-​2hrs depending on how busy it is. While you wait you can ask for a cup of coffee which is a really nice and shows the owners empathy of the long wait time.
On the inside of the restaurant it has a very
Homey feel with many tables some which are communal. When we got seated we were lucky enough to get our own table and ordered from the brunch menu. This came with coffee and juice and let me tell ya the coffee was very strong and delicious it didn’t need any creamer or sugar.
I got the farmers omelette which was customized with bacon, cheddar, and tomato. This omelette was very fluffy and rich from the cheddar cheese. And the other dish was the Nutella French toast which was incredibly sweet and delicious. This French toast was one of the best French toasts I have ever had. During our time here the service was great as well constantly getting out water filled and a fresh cup of coffee.
In short:
–Great Service
–Delicious brunch food
–long wait during the weekend

i came here for a work lunch with a group of 7, the seating here is tight so make sure to arrive early if you have a larger group as the do not take reso’s.
the menu has a nice variety for lunch with salads, sandwiches and large entrees. my group ordered a mix of everything. i got the pot pie per the server’s reco. it was ok, could of used more seasoning as i found myself repeatedly adding s&p. the side salad it was served with was dressed heavy with balsamic and was just lettuce and cranberries, kind of blah.
the chicken meatballs my co worker got were very flavorful, so surprised they were chicken! again the pesto it was served with couldve used salt.
service was a bit slow and mediocre on attentiveness.

I had corn on the cob, brussels sprouts, and beet salad delivered.
The corn on the cob was ice cold and the butter did not taste like truffle at all.
The brussels sprouts were just ok.
I don’t know if the corn would be hot (or even warm) if it was served in the restaurant. I don’t know why that would make any difference for the truffle butter. $ 8 for 2 ears of cold corn without truffle is a crazy price.

Enjoyed a post-​blizzard brunch here with friends this past weekend. For a party of 3, our wait wasn’t too bad (although I arrived late so my perception is probably skewed).
We ordered a combination of the egg white omelettes (with customized ingredients) and the pumpkin waffles. Each entrée came with a cocktail or coffee + juice, which was awesome. I had ordered an egg white omelette with mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. Halfway through the omelette, I was disappointed to find that the restaurant had accidentally put in ham instead of mushrooms. Not my ideal way to start the day, since I don’t eat red meat for religious reasons. We notified the waiter and obtained a replacement, along with a complimentary monkey bread.
When we received the receipt, we were surprised to find that Penelope didn’t comp the omelette. Most restaurants in the same situation would have taken it off the bill. My friend spoke to the restaurant manager, who was apologetic but didn’t seem to want to budge on the omelette. She finally relented and gave us 20% off our bill, but I personally feel it would have been less effort for her to just agree to comp the omelette.

The hostess was a typical hostess, even though I had to go up to her and call her out because she wouldn’t look up from her phone. sigh. The waiter made up for that because he was very enthusiastic, friendly and chirpy.
The food is always so so good. I love coming here for brunch and for lunch! Try their sandwiches, you won’t regret it.
They could use more seats, because it’s almost always packed in there, but well. I guess that’s normal because their food is so good.

Really cute restaurant with a vintage atmosphere. It’s a good date brunch spot. If you don’t eat at the bar then you’ll be sat at long farm table eating family style. The food was good with a few items on the menu that were pretty unique. It’s not the best brunch spot I’ve been to in NYC, but if you’re in the area and hungry, it’s worth a visit.

I was a little annoyed that they stopped serving breakfast/​brunch at 11:45. That seems kind of ridiculous for a place that advertises itself as a Mom & Pop breakfast kind of place. It was a weekday so I’m sure its different on weekends… but still… come on! Everybody loves breakfast.
Anyway, the lunch was good so I can’t complain too much. I had the kale salad and really liked it. Their mac n cheese is also to die for.
I really wanted some of their fresh squeezed OJ, but they were sold out of it by noon which seems strange.
Service was mediocre and we did have to wait a while for a table.

Really busy place. Do not go when you are super hungry. Wait time during the weekday was still a wait.
Staff: hostess was horrendous! Absolutely rude! No smile at all, no greeting and lots and lots of attitude! She was brunette with glasses.
Needs to reconsider her customer service position.
Atmosphere: very crowded. The tables are really close to each other so absolutely no extra room for big jackets or even an extra chair to add to your table.
Service: nothing above and beyond just your typical «what would you like?»
At the end we had to hunt down the waiter who could not be found so we inquired with the unfriendly host and she gave us a rude look and said «I don’t know, that’s not my job» and turned away when we asked if we could pay.
Food: decent and healthy. The only reason I would ever consider to come back.
I had a big glass of orange juice with a soup and chicken sandwich combo.
Overall a nice place to come for brunch and eat a healthy meal but don’t expect great customer service as this apparently is not mandatory.

Wir kamen zum Frühstücken und waren früh genug da, sodass wir nicht anstehen mussten. Die Einrichtung ist nett und gemütlich, nur stehen die Tische eindeutig zu nahe aneinander und schnell wird es laut wie in einer Bahnhofshalle, was dem ganzen den netten Charakter raubt.
Ich hatte das Croissant mit Ei und Pesto, definitiv eine zu kleine Portion als stand alone Gericht (9 $), geschmeckt hats, aber auch nicht außergewöhnlich. Meine Freundin hatte die Buttermilch Pancakes, die konnte man nur im «Brunchmenü» für 19 $ bestellen — warum auch immer, weil online stehen sie auf der Frühstückskarte für 12 $ und Wochenende war auch nicht. Die Pancakes waren etwas trocken, sodass man leider viel Sirup brauchte zum Essen. Dazu gab es Erdbeeren die frisch und lecker waren.
Angerichtet war es auch nett. Der Café schmeckte gut. Alles in allem war das Essen gut, aber nicht herausragend. Es gibts sicher bessere Spots in NYC. Das Ambiente vom Anfang hat höhere Erwartungen geweckt, schade.

This place has always proved solid. Came here on a weekday at 10 am not expecting it to be packed… every single table was full! Luckily they had a spot open at the bar for 3 people so we actually did not have to wait. Awesome! Noticed that they don’t have the free coffee anymore for people that are waiting. what a shame. Anyways… every single time I’ve gone there I’ve ordered the same exact thing: The Penny Egg Sandwich. You can’t go wrong with this. It’s classic, fully customizable (bacon, no bacon, faking bacon) — and just delicious. It’s surprisingly filling but if you think you may need more, try one of their toasted muffins to have on the side. Not too sweet, and perfect ending for a perfect meal!

I had been wanting to try Penelope for brunch for months but the consistently long wait times prevented me from doing so until last week. Although I enjoyed my meal (the salmon-​wrapped poached eggs), I think the prices and wait time we’re not worthwhile.

*** Cute atmosphere, Quick service, Small seating ***
This is a cute and quaint restaurant that’s more known for their brunch items. The food was delicious (I ordered the pesto sandwich), but it was nothing too spectacular. The restaurant doesn’t do reservations so expect a wait.

They have lunch at brunch.
It’s a great environment but does get RIDICULOUSLY busy.
I like the chicken meatballs and they have good salads and burgers.
Solid.

Good breakfast and brunch options for a reasonable price point. I got the Egg & Chorizo sandwich which was ok. Also got a side of home fries that ended up being a bit cold and there was nothing particularly unique or special about them. Friend got the apple waffles with a side of chorizo and she ranked her meal 5 stars.
Compared to the other spots in the city I think the Unilocal reviews here reflect the overall experience (it’s ok & good but there are cons that bring my rating down). I was a bit disappointed in the service of the waiters/​waitresses– they were not attentive, forgot sides, and it was a bit of a struggle to grab the bill.

I stopped by this lovely brunch spot yesterday with 3 friends in tow. It’s slightly off putting up see such a big crowd milling about in front and inside, but that’s to be expected for a small restaurant that does not take reservations. We were given an estimated wait time of 1 – 1.5 hours, which appeared to be a standard time if you were bigger than a party of two.
Luckily there are two benches each inside and outside of the restaurant for you to sit while you wait. The weather wasn’t too bad either, so we didn’t mind.
On to the food: there’s one side of the menu that has mostly breakfast sandwiches and another side that has a pre fixe option. All options were reasonably priced. The pre fixe was $ 19 and the sandwich options ranged from $ 10 – 15. The pre fixe gives you the choice of one beverage: cocktail, tea/​coffee or juice and an entrée. I went for the pumpkin waffles and a blackberry bellini. The bellini fell flat for me, but the waffles were spot on. It came with walnuts, cinnamon apple slices, cranberries and a side of apple butter.
I will definitely return to try some of their baked goods. I wish they had some sort of bread/​pastry basket option that gives you a sampling of the breads, cakes and muffins they have.
To sum up, it’s a cute brunch spot with a reasonably priced menu. If you don’t get there early or have a large party (over 4 ppl), you will have to wait a long time.

I have to say this place was quite nice to hang out. The place is small and they try to fit in as many people as possible, I get that! My hubby is not a small guy so he sat on the chair while I had to still move the table to get into my bench seat. That’s how tight it is in here. What was funny, they had a disco ball on the ceiling. Décor only?
We were greeted well. Had a few seats to wait for our table. We waited about half hour for a table of two. Our server was great. Food was not given as fast but still good service. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We just made it for breakfast as they serve only till 11:45a. I was still on west coast time! =}
We ordered the BBELT which was double the bacon. It’s like a BLT but more and we added avocado as suggested by our server. It was a huge portion and still served with fries for $ 15. I had the Chorizo egg sandwich. I ate it with hot sauce and it was then perfect. I did wish it had more chorizo though. ;-) We also ordered Latte and Mocha, both tasted great to me! I would come back here again! It’s walking distance from our Lex Boutique hotel.

Es gab leckeren Kaffee latte! Und ein leckeres frühstück! Die Preise für Lebensmittel in New York sind immer etwas teurer als gewohnt, aber man bekommt wirklich gutes Essen! Die Location war sehr niedlich! Hin!

Stopped here for a quick breakfast this morning and it was delicious! This is the first time I’ve had pesto on a breakfast sandwich and I’m glad I tried it!
We both ordered breakfast sandwiches and were very pleased. This is a great place for brunch. The tables are a little close but the servers were very friendly and service was pretty quick. The place was pretty full for a Monday morning so I imagine the weekends are packed.

What a tiny, cramped space. I felt so claustrophobic dining here. The wait was an hour long when I tried to put my name down, but luckily another person in my group had already put hers, so I only waited 10 min.
I’ve only had the Mhmm Biscuits and Gravy with a mimosa. The sweet potato biscuits were sweet, not super fluffy but at least with the gravy it wasn’t dry. If you’re expecting some hearty sausage gravy, than this isn’t really the dish to get. The vegetarian gravy had some kind of meat substitute but it wasn’t exactly the same. The addition of the fried eggs on biscuits and gravy was a nice touch, and I really enjoyed the side salad as a break from all the richness.
I would love to come back to try other brunch stuff on the menu, but not sure if it’s worth the long wait.

We decided to try this restaurant out after we Unilocaled what was around our hotel area. Glad we decided to try this place out.
Very homey and family style restaurant. We got seated pretty fast but it was still a full house on a Monday. We shared their NUTELLA FRENCH TOAST, PENNY EGG SANDWICH, & SAUSAGE AND GOAT CHEESE FARMERS MARKET OMELETTE! Best choices made!
My favourite is probably the nutella french toast since I tend to have a sweet tooth.
Next time I visit NYC I must try their BBELT as we saw lots of other customers ordering that.

Came at 9am on Saturday and were seated immediately (coming early is the key)!
$ 3 for unlimited coffee, hallelujah.
The food was just great, we ate brunch and were full until dinner time, the portions are generous and really really good.
I ordered the salmon wrapped poached eggs, would order that again, even the side salad is good. The green goddess dressing and whatever bread it was laying on was heaven.
Friend ordered the omelette and the home fries were really good, the omelette was HUGE and bacon was like, layered in…
Also, rosé mimosas were deeeelish!
Service was fast, we were done before 10.

The food here is your typical American comfort food, a bit heavy unless you’re feeling hungry, and nothing out of the ordinary. My friends and I came here for brunch. They ordered the $ 19 drink + entrée deal. They got omelettes, which they said were really good. I had the eggs penny sandwich, which was essentially scrambled eggs with cheese and pesto in a croissant. It was a good choice because I was definitely not hungry enough to finish the larger portioned options on the menu.
I didn’t love the overall environment. It was super loud and the service was essentially nonexistent. I actually had to get up to ask for utensils. There are plenty of great brunch spots in NYC, so I don’t think I’ll be coming back to Penelope anytime soon.

Super lecker, die Portionen sind sehr ordentlich.
Wir waren dreimal in einer Woche zum frühstücken dort.

Horrible!!!
L’une de mes pires experiences à New York.
Le service est minable, les serveurs sont désagréables au possible. Apres avoir attendu 30min pour avoir une table. (ce qui est tout a fait compréhensible et acceptable à NY) il à fallut attendre 15min que notre serveur termine sa conversation avec son collegue pour qu’il degne s’occuper de nous. Il a ensuite fallut attendre 30min pour qu’il se rende compte au final qu’il né nous avait toujours pas apporté nos plats (toujours trop occupé a discuter)
Il a envoyé l’un de ses collegues pour nous apporter notre commande. Ce dernier tout aussi dessgreable, à de plus renversé une sauce sur mon pantalon. Il s’est a peine excusé et s’est contenté de me donner négligemment une serviette.
Bien entendu nos plats sont arrivés froid. INNACEPTABLE!!!
Nous avons demandé a parler à la responsable. Elle s’est excusé. Nous a garantit que nos plats allait etre refait dans les plus bref délais… 15min apres nous avons prit nos affaires et avons quitté les lieux.
Nous avons au final passé pres d’ 1h30 dans ce restaurant et nous avons absolument rien mangé.
Ce qui est terrible c’est que nous n’etions ps les seuls dans ce cas. D’autres tables ont vécus la même experience…
PATHÉTIQUE!!!

Rooonndidju que c’était bon… et copieux ! Et bon… et copieux !
En suivant les excellentes recommandations de Morgan, j’ai petit-​déjrunché (entre le petit dej et le brunch quoi) chez Penelope. Et j’avais une idée bien précise en tête, je voulais des pancakes.
On peut dire que j’ai été servie. Un grand jus d’orange pressé commandé, mon assiette de pancakes arrive… Ah oui j’avais oublié ce détail, nous sommes aux Etats-​Unis et les portions sont gargantuesques ! 3 pancakes moelleux de la taille d’une crêpe me sont servis, avec fruits frais et sirop d’érable. Ils sont absolument délicieux, mais je peine à finir mon assiette.
Nous avons goûté également les délicieuses frites maison, admiré les préparations à base d’oeufs, les gaufres… Tout est fait maison à la commande, c’est délicieux. Une excellente adresse qui vaut la peine d’attendre un peu pour avoir une table.

Super petit dej., on y est retourné plusieurs fois. Varié et frais avec les fruits (selon arrivage).
Jus d’orange excellent.
Je conseille particulièrement le Yaourt et fruits rouges en «side»!! Et le B.B.E.L.T en plat si on a faim! Les gaufres sont aussi très bonnes.

Muy lindo lugar para tomar algo o comer. El café es muy rico, cosa difícil de encontrar en Manhattan a veces. La atención muy buena. El lugar es chico, pero muy bonito. La barra se la ve muy bien, con una agradable decoración. Los sandwiches que probamos, muy buenos.
El punto malo que le vi fue que cuando se fue llenando se empezó a hacer más difícil la charla debido al ruido producido por todas las personas hablando.
Recomendado!

Né le dites surtout à personne mais entre Penelope et moi, c’est une véritable histoire d’amour.
A chaque fois que je vais travailler à New York, elle m’accueille chaque matin à 8h pile pour me régaler avant une longue journée: «le petit déjeuner est le repas le plus important de la journée» disaient-​ils! C’est définitivement mon avis, surtout lorsque c’est Penelope qui le sert.
En arrivant, j’ai la chance d’avoir le restaurant pour moi, pour quelques minutes à peine car à partir de 8h30, le restaurant est déjà quasiment plein. Et oui, il faut croire que nous sommes quelques un (e)s à vivre cette belle histoire d’amour.
C’est bien simple, Penelope est le seul restaurant que je connaisse où j’ai eu l’opportunité de tester TOUTE la carte (du petit déjeuner): Punkin’ Waffles, Buttermilk Pancakes, French Toast, Penny Egg Sandwich, Irish Oatmeal, Mabel’s Homemade Granola. Tout est bon, même le café qu’elle prépare avec passion et me ressert très régulièrement pour me réveiller, ainsi que le jus d’orange.
Le cadre est vraiment relaxant avec du bois, des tons blancs et pastels, on s’y sent tellement bien.
Je lui fais parfois des infidélités mais c’est toujours pour mieux revenir dans ses bras.
Allez Penelope, vient t’évader avec moi sur une ile déserte, nous vivrons d’amour et de sirop d’érable!

Der Kaffee ist der absolute Hammer. Auch der Brunch blib mir so in Erinnerung, so dass ich nach 2 Jahren New York Abwesenheit gleich wieder ins Penelope ging. Einfach top!!!

Un Resto comme je les aime! Tous simplement bon. J y suis allée pour un brunch et me suis régalée. L accueil super!

Super bon, copieux, cadre sympathique et accueil chaleureux. Pour un ptit dej à l’américaine né cherchez plus.

Qui a dit que les américains né savaient pas faire à manger ?
Un petit tour chez Penelope café est la meilleure façon de se persuader du contraire.
L’excellent petit déjeuner et surtout le brunch du week-​end attirent les foules. Mieux vaut arriver avant 9h00.
Peu de tables (30 couverts maxi), une jolie déco un peu dans le style maison du bord de mer (parquet, lambris blancs, des murs clairs…), quelques photos de familles et un banc à l’entrée pour patienter lorsque le resto est plein.
Le service est très attentif, les prix sont raisonnables (mais moyenne haute pour New York) comptez 10 à 20 $ en fonction de votre faim.
Au petit dej les pumkin waffles arrosées de sirop d’érable sont terriblement moelleuses… Également de très bons pancakes, mais aussi un choix d’œufs sous diverses formes, souvent accompagnés de frites maison très gourmandes. Café filtre de bonne qualité servi à volonté pour seulement 2 $.
Pour le déjeuner et le diner, un large choix de sandwiches et salades tout aussi délicieux. Et de très bons desserts maison.
Le seul mauvais point de cette adresse: son jus d’orange, qui malgré ce qui est indiqué sur la carte n’est pas fraichement pressé. Ou en tout cas il est très largement coupé avec du mauvais jus en bouteille.