Caramella Italian Restaurant & Lounge

FOOD

Caramella’s endless brunch is built around a full restaurant menu rather than a breakfast buffet, and the food moves between raw-bar starters, Italian appetizers, familiar brunch dishes and dinner-weight pasta and entrées. That enormous variety is the point: a table can begin with oysters and chilled shrimp, move through pancakes or eggs Benedict, then land on carbonara or chicken Parmigiano without leaving the fixed-price format.

The opening section gives the meal a lighter beginning before the richer dishes arrive. Oysters on the half shell and jumbo shrimp cocktail bring a cold seafood start, the shrimp paired with Calabrian chili cocktail sauce. Arugula and shaved fennel adds roasted pine nuts, Parmigiano and lemon vinaigrette, while prosciutto di Parma with seasonal fruit brings aged balsamic and mint. Garlic cheese bread comes with marinara and pesto, and veal Parmigiano meatballs pull the first round toward red-sauce comfort. Tuna tartare arancini and bone marrow surf and turf are available for small supplements.

The dedicated brunch dishes are where Caramella loosens up. Florentine pancakes come with citrus, vanilla, toasted hazelnuts and whipped mascarpone. Chicken Caesar Salad Eggs Benedict stacks poached egg and pecorino over focaccia with Caesar hollandaise, while chicken and waffles pairs crispy chicken with candied pecans, Calabrian crema and bourbon maple syrup. Tiramisu French toast pushes furthest into dessert territory with mascarpone, espresso and Kahlúa. Farmers eggs and a ham, mozzarella, basil and scallion Caramella omelette cover the more recognizable breakfast side of the menu.

Then the meal becomes unmistakably Italian. Spaghetti carbonara layers guanciale, prosciutto and pancetta with pecorino and black pepper. Spicy tomato penne folds Calabrese chili and parmesan into a creamy sauce. Stuffed chicken Parmigiano is available for an added charge, and Chilean sea bass piccata brings lemon, capers and butter for another supplement. Steak and eggs provides a similar upgrade path when brunch needs to tilt toward the grill.

The trimmings work as supporting pieces rather than a separate course: bacon, home fries, breakfast sausage, grilled broccoli and Wagyu steak fries can fill in around the larger dishes. They also make it easy to move between sweet and savory rounds without committing every order to another entrée.

Dessert is outside the base brunch price at $10 per item. The signature Caramella tart combines dark chocolate custard with salted caramel; there is also citrus budino, tiramisu and New York-style cheesecake with raspberry coulis and berries. Bottomless Bloody Marys, classic mimosas or Bloody Marias are available for an additional $29 per person with a two-hour limit, with a higher-priced Champagne option for the mimosa package.

What distinguishes the spread is the amount of restaurant-style food kept inside the unlimited format. Shellfish, composed salads, brunch sweets, eggs, pasta and substantial Italian house specialties all occupy the same meal. Caramella’s brunch is a destination experience centered around working through a broad Italian menu with the freedom to return to what fits the table.