My first two years in New York City I lived one block away from Penelope. Every weekend, I saw crowds of people wait outside this Murray Hill hotspot to experience their infamous brunch, and if you don’t arrive by 11AM, prepare yourself to wait AT LEAST one hour. Penelope is cute and homey; the restaurant is small and has a menu to match its size. It would have been a shame to leave Murray Hill without experiencing the hype, so I finally went to Penelope for brunch one month before I moved.
All I have to say is thank goodness I like eggs. On the menu of 16 items, the only items that were conducive to the #nobread life were the farmer’s market omelet (fill it with your choice of 3 items), salmon wrapped poached eggs (nobread), scrambled eggs with asparagus (nocheese), and eggs done any style. I went with the omelet and home fries… the omelette was pretty big and tasted as I expected it to, but I was a bit disappointed with the home fries. They were pretty plain, which is great because it means they’re not drowned in butter or other oils, but I need a little more taste! As for dinner at Penelope, I haven’t been, but I’ve been over the menu plenty. Again the menu is small. To accommodate the #nobread life, have your sandwiches made with #nobread or try the hummus plate and guacamole side. I’ve heard the chicken meatballs (which are offered a few different ways) are amazing! But unfortunately, they are not gluten free.
All in, I loved the atmosphere, BUT as is the case at most restaurants with limited menus, I’ve had better luck and enjoyed my food experience more at other restaurants.