The Circle At The Breakers Palm Beach: A Sunday Brunch Unlike Any Other
Brunch is nothing if not an opportunity to be a little lavish, and an upscale brunch buffet is the most lavish way to brunch. We had the opportunity to dine at the most lavish brunch buffet of them all, the Circle at the legendary Breakers resort in Palm Beach, which we named the most exclusive brunch in America, and it very well might be the most stunning and opulent brunch in America as well.
To start, the dining room itself is sumptuous and sprawling, constructed in the 1920s and adorned with frescoed ceilings featuring a massive chandelier and eight oval murals depicting Renaissance landscapes. Huge windows look out to the ocean. If there's another dining room anywhere like it anywhere in America, I've yet to see it.
Champagne, mimosas, Bloody Marys, and house-made red and white sangria are free-flowing, and offered as soon as you sit down. (You'll also notice a harpist traveling from table to table at this time, a novelty if I've ever seen one.) But don't' get too comfortable, because there's food to be eaten. A whole lot of it. The offerings are expansive and exquisite. Perhaps you'll start with some seafood: shrimp cocktail, stone crab claws, king crab, lobster, caviar with all the accoutrements, fresh sushi, smoked salmon and trout. Then maybe you'll hit the carving station: ham and prime rib. Then onto the entrées: cavatelli with lobster a la vodka, lamb chops, butternut squash ravioli in sage cream sauce with roasted corn. Or maybe you'll be in the mood for breakfast dishes, like eggs benedict, cheeses, bacon, omelettes made to order, French toast, pancakes, and several types of sausage. Bagels, pastries, fresh-made crepes, and even wo-nuts (doughnuts pressed in a waffle iron) can help fill any extra stomach space. And – oh, right! — dessert! A full ice cream sundae bar, mini-cakes, chocolates, crème brûlée, chocolate-covered Oreos, brownies... the offerings truly seem infinite, and it's all washed down with all the Champagne and coffee you desire.
This brunch certainly isn't cheap, clocking in at $105 per person. But when you're in the lap of luxury, being treated like royalty, being serenaded by a tableside harpist, it's worth every penny.
