PHILADELPHIA, PA — Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel this week introduced a redesigned weekend brunch, expanding its French-inspired menu with tableside carts, live music, and a broader beverage program as the restaurant seeks to turn brunch into a more elaborate dining occasion.
The restaurant, which holds a AAA Four Diamond designation, is serving the new brunch Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Chef de Cuisine Joshua Quintana leads the menu.
Three roaming carts are central to the service. A giant browned-butter cinnamon roll designed for two to four guests is finished tableside with frosting and cinnamon, while another cart offers build-your-own sundaes.
A rolling spritz cart mixes Aperol, Hugo and rotating seasonal drinks to order. Lacroix is also adding a monthly off-menu pastry available in limited quantities.
The main menu includes lobster hashbrowns with lobster salad, arugula and hollandaise; crab cake Benedict with brown butter hollandaise; a Croque Madame with Parisian ham, Gruyère, Comté and béchamel; and French Toast Suzette with brioche, crème anglaise, blood orange and Grand Marnier.
Other dishes include a raclette-and-chive French omelet, croissant avocado toast and steak and eggs. Raw-bar offerings range from oysters and chilled prawns to king crab remoulade, while a larger seafood plateau combines oysters, caviar, tuna crudo, king crab, prawns and lobster tail.
The beverage menu continues Lacroix’s collaboration with James Beard Award winner Danny Childs, founder of the Slow Drinks Movement. Cocktails include the Espresso du Mondé, made with cognac, chicory coffee syrup, China-China and espresso, and an A.M. Old Fashioned featuring bacon fat-washed rye, Luxardo and bitters that is smoked tableside.
Bottomless Bloody Marys and bubbles are also available, along with French press coffee, cold-pressed juices and smoothies.
“We created this menu to bring people together and make brunch feel like an occasion,” Quintana said. “Everything people love about brunch is there, but elevated with elements that feel surprising and indulgent.”
The restaurant is positioning the service around a “Sunday’s Best” concept, drawing on the tradition of dressing up for Sunday occasions. Piano and violin performances reinterpret contemporary music during brunch.
Guests arriving Sept. 19 and 20 will also receive complimentary spritzes and bubbles at a temporary welcome bar presented with Juliette and St. Dalfour. The promotion was also offered when the brunch debuted Sept. 13.
A separate children’s menu includes a pancake skewer, La Petit-Dèj and Toad in the Hole.
More information about The Rittenhouse Hotel is available at www.rittenhousehotel.com. Reservations for Lacroix can be made at www.lacroixrestaurant.com.
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