Lacroix’s regular Sunday buffet has given way to a different weekend brunch at The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. The restaurant now serves an à la carte menu on Saturdays and Sundays, with tableside carts, live music and individual prices replacing the weekly unlimited spread.
The redesigned service debuted September 13. An October 22 account from local publication Rittenhouse Ramblings clarifies the change that buffet regulars will care about most: the buffet is being reserved for selected holidays. It has lost its weekly appointment, but it has not vanished from the restaurant.
The old Sunday experience ranged through a raw bar, kitchen carving stations and a dessert room. The new menu asks diners to choose individual dishes, including crab cake Benedict, lobster hashbrowns, the LCX Croque Madame and French Toast Suzette.
Prices on the current official menu include $20 for the French toast, $24 for the croque madame, $26 for crab cake Benedict and $28 for lobster hashbrowns. A giant browned-butter cinnamon roll, finished tableside and listed as serving two to four, costs $35. The sundae cart is $18.
The menu also lists a $30 bottomless bubbles option, with a choice of mimosa or Bellini. Food is now ordered and priced by the dish.
The buffet keeps its holiday dates
The hotel’s own holiday program confirms Thanksgiving buffet brunch with East and West Coast oysters, caviar, chilled seafood, traditional sides, turkey and prime rib. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day brunch buffets are also advertised, along with a New Year’s Eve brunch buffet.
Those are specific services to look for when booking. Christmas Eve dinner, for example, is advertised separately as a five-course prix fixe. A holiday reservation at Lacroix does not automatically mean a buffet reservation.
Food and beverage director Aman Gopinath told Rittenhouse Ramblings that a buffet was not sustainable every week and that the restaurant wanted a more approachable brunch for a wider group of diners. The new format also adds Saturday service to what had been a Sunday-only brunch tradition.
Chef de cuisine Joshua Quintana leads the menu. Regular weekend brunch runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 210 West Rittenhouse Square. For anyone specifically missing the raw bar and carving stations, the holiday calendar is now the one worth watching.
