Try a dim sum brunch or get breakfast where President Biden dines at the Delaware beach
Looking for a good brunch spot at the Delaware beach?
We have five suggestions, including spots frequented by President Joe Biden and a former University of Delaware/Notre Dame basketball coach. Dig in.
Sunrise Restaurant
2300 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach; sunrisedeweybeach.business.site
Dewey Beachers have long started the day at the Sunrise, a humble diner feeding locals and tourists for 40 years.
The low-slung, oceanside building hugs Route 1. Customers slide into plastic seats at one of the four-top tables and eat the most important meal of the day, any time of the day. The service is quick, the portions are generous, and, as a testament to its popularity, the lines are usually long.
Things have changed recently at the diner. The new owner is Robbie Holson, who has worked at the Sunrise since he was 14, according to an April 4 article in the Cape Gazette.
The Sunrise is also open year-round and has late-night hours on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The gyro omelet is stuffed with sliced lamb, fat chunks of feta cheese, green peppers, tomatoes and onions. The omelet is so big, it practically flops over the plate. But the crowning jewel is the side bowl of tzatziki sauce blended with fresh shredded cucumbers, oregano, garlic powder, and made in-house yogurt.
Another customer favorite is the chicken breast and cheese omelet.
The Sunrise is also known for its fried potatoes. The potatoes are peeled and boiled the night before and kept overnight in a walk-in. In the morning, the potatoes are cut into chunks and fried with garlic, butter, paprika, oregano, salt and white pepper.
Egg
510 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; eggrehoboth.com
Owner Melissa Postles opened the brunch restaurant in 2016 and has counted Biden and first lady Jill Biden as customers. The couple has a beach house not far from Egg.
Egg took over the former McQuay’s Market near the drawbridge and Rehoboth's traffic circle, quickly becoming a favorite of locals and tourists alike. It has indoor dining and seating outside in the garden cafe.
The sunny and bright cafe has intriguing menu items including Sriracha bacon candy; the "Uncle Charlie," sauteed chicken livers, bacon, and shallots over fluffy scrambled eggs served with home fries and toast; the Eastern Shore Benedict made with jumbo lump crab, poached eggs and hollandaise served over an English muffin with home fries; or Eggs Norway, eggs scrambled with smoked salmon, goat cheese on top of rye toast with fresh fruit.
New menu items include sausage, apple and cheddar balls served with bourbon maple syrup and stone-ground horseradish mustard.
Egg is open daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the bar opens at 8 a.m. The restaurant does not take reservations.
Bramble & Brine at the Buttery
102 Second St., Lewes; bramble-brine.com/
Start the morning with a Pony Express-o, a nitro-tapped espresso martini, at this restaurant in one of Lewes' best-known historic houses.
Owner Megan Kee, who runs the Rehoboth restaurants Houston-White Co., La Fable and Dalmata Italiano, in 2021 took over the former Trader Mansion at the corner of Second Street and Savannah Road in downtown Lewes. It was most recently 2nd Street Tavern, but for 20 years before that was known as The Buttery. Kee had previously run a Rehoboth restaurant named Bramble & Brine.
She returned both names for the Lewes restaurant that serves brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Try the Bramble French omelet made with Gruyere, chives, mushrooms, greens and potatoes, or the "Flying Saucer Sammny," a fried egg on a brioche with spiced candied bacon and cheddar cheese. The menu changes often.
The Starboard
2009 Coastal Highway (Delaware Route 1), Dewey Beach; 302-227-4600; thestarboard.com/home
The Starboard is easily one of the best bars at the Delaware beaches, but it also offers a popular Sunday brunch and breakfast served daily from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (It opens at 8 a.m. during the summer season.)
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You can't go wrong with one of its omelets, especially one made with shrimp and lump crab meat, or the Breakfast Brey'ritto. The breakfast sandwich is named after former University of Delaware and later Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey, a Starboard customer who has enjoyed an OrangeCrush (or two). The Brey'ritto burrito is made with scrambled eggs and wrapped up with bacon, sausage, or scrapple, and includes cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, and fresh pico de gallo. It's served with homemade hash browns or tater tots.
Don't leave without trying out the Starboard's famed "Make Your Own" Bloody Mary Smorgasbord.
Bodhi Kitchen
10 N. First St., Rehoboth Beach; bodhirb.com
Bodhi Kitchen, a Pan-Asian restaurant offering street foods, opened last summer. If you're looking to start the day with something a little different, try the 52-seat restaurant's Dim Sum Brunch. It's served every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Reservations are highly suggested for the brunch which starts at $23 and includes shrimp steam buns, pork soup dumplings, crab rangoon, shrimp toast, summer rolls, dan dan noodles, and duck fried rice.
If you want to read more stories from Patricia Talorico, visit delawareonline.com/staff/2646617001/patricia-talorico You can find her on Instagram, X and Facebook. Email [email protected]. Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Brunch at the Delaware beach can be dim sum or President Biden's spot
