Champagne Sensibility

Everything about the Sutton Place Hotel’s Sunday brunch is so grand you’ll want to set aside a big chunk of the day to slowly sip champagne and graze among the buffet tables.

Orchestrated by French-trained executive chef Dominique Briaire, the brunch features more than 50 dishes, including rotisserie-roasted meats, a wide selection of hot entrees, seafoods, homemade breads, salads, cheeses and desserts.

For those celebrating special occasions, Sutton Place may be just right. Attentive servers keep champagne flutes full, musicians note birthdays and anniversaries, and social and political swells work the room. Silver, crystal, white linens and fresh flowers contribute to the luxury.

In Orange County’s competitive restaurant market, a dining room has to go to great lengths to justify a $29 brunch ($34 with house champagne; $39 with monthly specialty champagne). And the Sutton Place succeeds by offering an assortment of food and champagne, plus entertainment. In addition to a magician, the Gerard Barbut string and woodwind trio performs jazz and show tunes.

Seafood and salad are a good place to start an unhurried meal. Perfectly cooked crab claws, large shrimp, mussels, salmon, smoked fish and seafood terrines can be paired with fresh field greens, rice curry, tomatoes, vegetable timbales, onions and herbs.

The bread table brims with brioche, bagels, nut loaves, baguettes, sweet and savory croissants, cinnamon buns and coffee cakes. The fruit and cheese station features dozens of imported cheeses, with fresh tropical fruits and dried figs, currants and apricots.

For many people, brunch isn’t complete without a bite of Belgian waffles, eggs Benedict with a lemony Hollandaise or omelets.

Pastry chef Jean-Francois Houdre is in charge of desserts. The lemon tarts, caramel cremes, chocolate fondues, ice cream bars, truffles, cakes, pies and petit fours are outstanding.

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The Sutton Place Hotel, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. (949) 476-2001. Reservations recommended. Sunday brunch hours: 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.