Sunday Brunch at Republica!

All of my brunch posts have been in Brooklyn or Manhattan and I know you guys were starting to see that I was avoiding uptown and The Bronx🥴 I’m a Brooklyn girl until I die so it’s not very common to see me in the boondocks. However, we needed some diversity in our brunch posts, and to do so, I risked possibly running into a rat in Timbs so we could experience some new scenery. (No offense to my Bronx readers but you guys know what the best borough is)

Republica or Republica, NYC is an up and coming brunch spot in Upper Manhattan, which is just a fancy and gentrified way to say Dyckman *shrugs*. To be completely honest with you guys, I knew absolutely nothing about this place until my friends suggested it for our anniversary brunch ( a little something we do annually). It is a bit far uptown so this is the perfect place for people who live in Washington Heights or The Bronx. The most accessible way to get there would be on the A train to Dyckman. However, if you have the money for it take an uber.

Since this place is becoming so popular we had to make reservations. Even with those (which were made months in advance), we still had to wait in the line for quite some time. So, don’t plan to get there at 2 and brunch at 2 unless you have someone willing to stand in line. Also, if you are going with a large party, just make sure that your party is all there on time because they definitely do not play about that 15-minute reservation rule.

Once we made it inside we were immediately ID’d ( sorry to all my under 21, expired IDs, using my older sister’s IDs, this place is legit). I was not a fan of the service we were getting, the doorman was being quite rude, we were required to check our coats and pay for it (only in cash) and they just were not being an overall welcoming place. I was beyond and I mean BEE YOND ready to just start writing my bad review for this place. I know you’re probably thinking ” well damn Brianna. if you hate it so much why did you end up staying there?” MY ANNIVERSARY BRUNCH. )

When we were all settled in and checked she led us to an upstairs portion of the bar ( its a rooftop, y’all know I love to see the sights) and I have to say, this place was beautiful. Smack dab in the middle of December and we weren’t freezing. It honestly made me forget that it was winter. this was giving me magic hour springtime vibes.

TIP: if you’re there for the aesthetic, ask to be seated upstairs. It doesn’t have the same party vibe but the cute rooftop look is literally to die for. You’ll still get your copious amounts of liquor but with the scenery.

This is Sie, shes a freelance social media content manager check her out on instagram @sie.pr

Look at the flowers behind us; think of all the photo ops you can have there. These were a seating right next to our table which we later came to learn were not just for decorative use, people would brunch here when the area got too full. So, this beautiful top floor did have a few issues with it, because we were so far up it took forever to get some service. We practically begged for some extra chairs and a table cloth because they really gave us a table with nothing on it ( y’all I wish I was lying or had a photo for proof). However, outside of that minor, no table cloth but “here are some drinks to drink on the empty wood table” issues, everything was gorgeous. The Sunday brunch was amazing, it was unlimited drinks for 5 hours along with a three-course meal ( breakfast, lunch, and dessert.) for $38.50. The vibe upstairs wasn’t too crowded and the music wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t speak, it felt like such a great escape from not only winter but the neighborhood.

Republica is also one of the few places to still offer hookah after uptown has started to enforce a ban on hookah in most establishments. Hookah must be paid for in cash only and good luck flagging down the hookah guy because there’s usually just one or two people working the whole place. Speaking of cash, if you’re going to opt for a large group of people make sure everyone carries cash because there is a 4 card max on the bill and nobody likes begging people to Zelle and Venmo you at the table; listen we all have those * SHAAAADY* friends.

Realistically speaking, never did I expect such a gorgeous and “happening” brunch location to be around here, I know Dyckman as the place for happy hours and tons of hookah but brunch…it never crossed my mind. Overall, it was actually a great brunch experience. We got there at 1 and we were there so long we didn’t leave until about 8pm. Our server was quite kind to the 15 college-aged adults asking for constant refills on our drinks and asking him to mix our sangrias and mimosas just for the hell of it. We pretty much took over half of the upstairs portion and still nobody complained. So far, Republica is shaping up to be one of my favorites if not my favorite brunch spot. All for about $50 after tax and gratuity.

Stay tuned for my birthday brunch post at this location but a different day… let’s see how Republica handles Saturday brunch. In the meanwhile here are some pics from Brunch.