Brunch Party

Champagne and OJ — disputed between Buck's Club London (MacGarry, 1921) and Paris Ritz (Meier, c. 1925), named for Acacia dealbata whose flowers match the color.

White peach purée and Prosecco — Cipriani's 1948 Harry's Bar Venice creation for a Bellini exhibition, the pale golden-pink recalling the painter's luminous amber.

Vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire, and hot sauce — Petiot's 1921 Harry's Bar Paris combination completed at the King Cole Bar of New York's St. Regis in 1934.

Champagne and orange juice in a 2:1 ratio — McGarry's 1921 Buck's Club creation, drier than the equal-parts Mimosa, the signature of Wimbledon and Royal Ascot.

The "wake me up then mess me up" cocktail that's taken over every bar menu. Vodka, coffee liqueur, and fresh espresso shaken into caffeinated elegance with a perfect foam crown.

Gin, fresh lemon, and champagne named for the WWI French 75mm field gun — documented since 1922 and cemented by Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book.

Champagne and crème de cassis — the sparkling version of the Kir aperitif named for Dijon mayor Félix Kir, who promoted it at official receptions from 1945 to 1968.

Gin, cream, egg white, and orange flower water — Henry Ramos's 1888 New Orleans saloon requiring 12 minutes of shaking and relay teams of shaker boys at Mardi Gras.

Vodka and fresh orange juice — the 1949 Time magazine documentation of American oil workers stirring vodka into OJ with screwdrivers in the Middle East.

Italy's orange-hued gift to summer drinking. Aperol, prosecco, and soda in the iconic 3-2-1 ratio. Bitter, bubbly, and impossibly refreshing. Spritz o'clock is always the right time.

Hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and floating cream — Joe Sheridan's 1943 Foynes Airbase creation, perfected at San Francisco's Buena Vista Café from 1952.

Vodka and grapefruit juice — first appearing in a 1930 Harper's Magazine piece, Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book documenting the gin version the same year.

Pimm's No. 1, lemonade, cucumber, and mint — James Pimm's 1840 gin-and-herb digestive turned Britain's most seasonal summer drink and Wimbledon's defining serve.

A concentrated caffeine kick combining vodka with fresh espresso and coffee liqueur for the ultimate pick-me-up.

Butterscotch schnapps, Irish cream, and OJ — butterscotch as maple syrup, Irish cream as the butter, OJ as the breakfast citrus, genuinely tasting like pancakes.

All the savory, spicy, garnish-loaded glory of a Bloody Mary without the vodka. Perfect for designated drivers, Dry January warriors, and anyone who just wants the tomato magic.

Orange juice and sparkling grape juice — the non-alcoholic Mimosa (Frank Meier, Ritz Paris, 1925), visually indistinguishable from the original.

All the peachy elegance of the Harry's Bar classic without the alcohol – white peach purée topped with sparkling water

Lavender syrup and fresh lemon — lavender from Latin lavare (to wash), Provence's aromatic herb migrating from farmers' markets to restaurant menus in the 2000s.

Iced tea and sparkling lemonade — the Arnold Palmer given effervescence, Arizona Beverages having commercially bottled the original the golfer (1929–2016) inspired.

Champagne and orange juice in a pitcher — Frank Meier's 1925 Ritz Paris creation and the bottomless brunch format that made it a major restaurant revenue stream.

Fluffy mini pancakes made with oats and banana—naturally sweet and plant-based

Crisp cucumber rounds topped with creamy homemade hummus—fresh, light, and completely plant-based

Buttery pastry cups filled with bacon, gruyère, and silky egg custard

Buttery croissants filled with black forest ham and melted gruyère

Eggs baked in spiced tomato sauce with feta in individual cups — shakshuka's name comes from an onomatopoeic Maghribi Arabic word for bubbling and sizzling, and the dish itself could only have existed after the Columbian Exchange brought tomatoes to North Africa in the 16th century.

Tender lemon-scented muffins bursting with fresh blueberries

English muffin rounds with fresh mozzarella, ripe tomato, basil, and soft quail eggs — a single bite that fuses two of the great New York and Italian food traditions into a brunch canapé.

Golden crispy French toast fingers with warm maple syrup for dipping — a dish whose milk-and-egg bread technique dates to ancient Rome, whose "lost bread" name comes from medieval France, and whose maple dip is a gift from North America's indigenous peoples.

Mini bagels topped with cream cheese, lox, capers, and red onion

Colorful fresh fruit skewers with a honey-vanilla Greek yogurt dip — two ancient foods that have been eaten together for at least 2,000 years, when Greek physicians prescribed yogurt with honey as both nourishment and medicine.

Sweet cantaloupe wrapped in paper-thin prosciutto — an Italian pairing whose first recorded appearance dates to 2nd-century Rome, when the physician Galen prescribed the salty-sweet combination as a medical treatment under Galenic humoral theory.

Tender, flaky mini scones studded with crispy bacon bits and sharp cheddar

Classic deviled eggs topped with crispy bacon and fresh chives — a brunch staple whose roots run from ancient Roman appetiser courses through 13th-century Andalusia, picking up the word "deviled" from 18th-century Britain along the way.

Crispy phyllo cups filled with spinach and tangy feta — a party bite inspired by spanakopita, Greece's national spinach pie, whose layered dough tradition stretches from Byzantine-era baking to every corner bakery in modern Athens.

Buttery mini croissants split and filled with ham, Gruyère, and honey Dijon — a party-sized take on France's definitive café sandwich, built on a pastry whose crescent shape traces back to 13th-century Vienna.

Seasonal fresh berries with a bowl of sweetened mascarpone cream for dipping — a lush Italian way to close a brunch, built around a Lombardian cream that has been made since the turn of the 16th century.