Place: Three of Cups
Neighborhood: East Village, 83 1st Ave. (at 5th St.)
Mimosa Rating:
The scoop: Marilyn and I have been planning on brunching at Three of Cups for some time. They have a pretty good brunch special and their brunch menu sounded delicious. Once I saw the menu and since this is an Italian restaurant, I was looking forward to ordering something with prosciutto, mozzarella or Italian sausage.
Wood-burning oven
As I walked into the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was a man baking bread in the wood-burning oven. Pizza looked like a good bet, but I was here for brunch. At the front corner of the restaurant, a worker was toiling behind the full bar. As I walked toward the back of the restaurant, there were booths to my right, and even further to my right, there was a well-lit narrow room in a separate section that is perfect for throwing brunch parties. We were seated at the back of the restaurant, where it was pretty dark. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling and candles on the tables didn’t provide much light. The intimate setting makes this place good for a date. The decor was pretty simple yet cozy — from the wooden tables and chairs to the wine bottles placed in a shelf on the brick wall.
Narrow room at Three of Cups
Service was extremely slow, and it took us a while to get our drinks and food. We ordered five minutes before the table next to us, and yet they received their dishes before us. When we were ready for our second mimosa, I had to get the waiter’s attention, and we had to wait a good amount of time to receive our drinks.
Bottoms up: Each brunch entrée comes with a choice of coffee or tea and two bloody Marys or mimosa. For an additional $5, you can have unlimited bloody Marys and mimosas.
Mimosa
Mimosa
The mimosa had more of an OJ taste, but I was able to taste a hint of alcohol. Two mimosas seemed like a decent amount of drinks so I didn’t consider going with the unlimited option. It’s probably best that we didn’t get unlimited drinks since service was slow and we received our second drink after we were completely done with our meals.
Chew on this:
Ouva al Forno
Ouva al Forno 14.95 / Baked eggs on a bed of wilted greens with prosciutto & mozzarella
Unfortunately due to the darkness in the back of the restaurant, I was unable to capture a good picture of this dish. Marilyn was not impressed with her meal and thought the prosciutto was too salty and hard. Although the menu doesn’t mention potatoes, the dish came with them, but she didn’t enjoy them since they were burnt. She thought the eggs were the best item on her dish as they were perfectly prepared and runny.
Ouva al Omelet
Ouva al Omelet $14.95 / Alla Piedmont sautéed onions, peppers, fresh basil and prosciutto with mozzarella cheese
The omelet was pretty thick and reminded me of a frittata. With the exception of the hard prosciutto, I thought my omelet was good. There was an ample amount of onions, peppers and basil and each were equally spread throughout and made the eggs very flavorful. I also enjoyed the mozzarella cheese and thought it was pretty fresh. Since the menu doesn’t make any reference to a side, I asked the waiter if this dish came with one. He told me potatoes come with the omelets, but I asked to substitute it for a salad. The salad consisted of fresh mixed greens, a couple of olives and a small amount of balsamic dressing.
Entrance to Three of Cups
The final bite: Although we weren’t completely satisfied with our brunching experience, I think Three of Cups offers a good brunch deal. Hopefully slow service doesn’t occur often because I’d like to go back to try one of their pizzas, which are freshly made in their wood-burning oven.
Reviewed by: Victoria
