Sunday Brunch : Hi-Life

Hi-Life is a restaurant that has two faces depending on the time of day.  By night it is a restaurant that caters to the looking-for-a-good-time-involving drinks crowd; by day it is a family-friendly place for an Upper East Side brunch.

Last Sunday, a good friend had been aching to catch-up and my husband wanted to try their breakfast version of a bread basket (blueberry muffins and cinnamon toast) so we decided to meet up at Hi-Life.

The east side location of Hi-Life was closer to meet up so it was a natural fit.
With the 1930s decorating, Hi-Life seems more suited to a dinner crowd than brunch.  However the restaurant was still pretty full with strollers and small children, as well as young twenty-somethings trying to recollect their Saturday night. And unlike most brunch places if you arrive at noon you need to be prepared to wait, but we were quickly seated at Hi-Life. 

Bread baskets at its sweetest.

I do like the idea of complimentary muffins and toast in addition to a meal, but I felt the basket kind of lacking. Perhaps in a less economy-strapped time, these muffins would've been bigger and there would be more toast. Regardless everything tasted as it should - the muffins were cakey sweet and the toast was cinnamon sugary. The butter was actually a berry-flavored butter which was something different that I liked about Hi-Life.

Paul Bunyan needs at least two of these.

Hungrier than normal, I ordered the Paul Bunyan brunch special which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, and three silver dollar pancakes.  The silver dollar pancakes were more like regular-sized pancakes and was skeptically whether I could finish it all. Surprisingly I did - a rare feat that happens once in a blue moon.  Clearly this Paul Bunyan meal should be made double or triple if it's to be suited for a man who dug out the Grand Canyon.

Prices weren't outrageous, which seems right with all the families and young foodies; actually very reasonable for the amount of food and the so-so brunch satisfaction.

Overall Hi-Life is a restaurant is okay for a quick brunch before starting your day of shopping and walking around Central Park, but only if you are in the area and unable to find another restaurant.

Hi-Life Restaurant - East Side
1503 Second Avenue
212-628-5433