America's 25 Most Extravagant Brunches

We tend to think of brunch as a casual meal washed down with plenty of mimosas and enjoyed among friends over a lazy weekend afternoon at a neighborhood restaurant.  Brunch is usually inexpensive and fun, the opposite of what you might refer to as extravagant. But there's another end to the brunch spectrum, one overflowing with Champagne, caviar, and opulence. These are the restaurants where you'll find the 25 most extravagant and exclusive brunches in America.

America's 25 Most Extravagant Brunches Gallery

These are the fanciest, the most expensive, the poshest, and the most elaborate brunches that you're ever likely to encounter. They're the ones that are hosted by the country's finest hotels and restaurants, overseen by the nation's leading fine dining chefs. In short, they're the Rolls-Royces of brunch. It goes without saying that these brunches are of a completely different caliber than the ones you may be used to blinking your way into on a hung-over Saturday afternoon, possibly wearing the same clothes you had on the night before. These are special occasion brunches, ones that may involve a lavish buffet, tuxedo-clad servers, white tablecloths, live jazz, floral arrangements... you get the gist. These are also vacation brunches, the ones that are sadly out of the average American's price range, but definitely worth the splurge.

In many ways, shelling out cash for a lavish brunch is even more satisfying than saving up for an expensive dinner, because lavish brunches tend to involve Champagne and buffets, and who doesn't love Champagne and buffets? These places will make you full and happy, and also have the added bonus of making you feel like a king or queen for a couple hours, before settling in for an afternoon nap. Shell out for one of these extravagant brunches and you'll remember it for a very long time.