Is there anything better than Sunday brunch?
That was a rhetorical question. Not only is Sunday brunch my favorite meal of the week, but I think the quintessential place in Boston to have this meal is the South End.
This morning I met my nanny from growing up at the South End Buttery for our 10:00am reservation. She had been to the restaurant before and suggested we reserve a table since it's so popular. Thankfully, the South End Buttery is on Open Table, so it was an easy click to make a reservation.
The South End Buttery looks like a brunch spot you'd see on the streets of Manhattan. It's located at the corner of Shawmut Ave and Union Park.
When you first walk in you see a counter to your left, up against the front window which has about ten stools. To the right, there are about ten, two person tables and straight ahead is the bustling counter, serving baked goods, coffee, tea, juice and more. The upstairs caters to a grab-n-go crowd.
The staff all wear brown and yellow Red Sox hats, which are the South End Buttery colors! I love that.
The hostess stand is located at the back of the front room and once we gave our name we were walked down a flight of stairs to the restaurant section. The room our table was in was so cozy! We sat in a gorgeous, milk chocolate colored leather booth, which was punctuated with maroon and gold throw pillows. The room also had a working fireplace and large bay windows casting natural sunlight across the room.
To start we ordered a cappuccino and a hot chocolate. The cappuccino got a rave review (from a non-coffee drinker no less!), but my hot chocolate was about 99% milk, 1% chocolate.
We decided to begin the brunch with the Buttery Bakery Basket which comes with an assortment of baked goods from upstairs. Our basket arrived with a blueberry scone, an apple muffin and a mini loaf of banana bread. It also came with fruit preserves and meticulously swirled butter.
I am not normally a scone fan. I find them painfully dry and their crumbly nature annoying. However, this blueberry scone was one of the best things I have ever tasted in my life! The banana bread was also delicious, though my Mama still makes the best. I would pass on the apple muffin next time.
My nanny ordered the Buttery Breakfast which is two eggs any style (she went with fried), breakfast meat (she picked bacon) and two pancakes. She said the eggs weren't great, the bacon wasn't quite crispy enough, but the pancakes were fluffy and super delicious.
My brunch go-to is typically a veggie omelette, but since that wasn't on this brunch menu, I decided to go with the huevos rancheros, which I am noticing I order more and more. I was able to select the style of eggs and I chose scrambled. They came served with home fries, black beans, and a cheese quesadilla topped with salsa verde, guacamole and sour cream. Absolutely everything on the plate was superb, particularly the home fries and the quesadilla. Yum!
Since we hadn't finished our Buttery Bakery Basket, our waitress offered to pack the remaining muffins and bread to go. Now I have breakfast for tomorrow too!
When we were first seated at our table, there was only one other booth with diners. By the time we left at 12:00pm every single table was full!
I would highly recommend the South End Buttery for either sit down brunch or grab-n-go as you explore the boutiques and beautiful brownstones of the South End. Don't forget to order the blueberry scone!
