I’ve completed a lot of new activities over the past 15 months, but one thing I’ve done without fail every single weekend is brunch. It’s the best meal of the week and the perfect excuse to quaff alcohol before midday.

So why don’t I start blogging about my favorites, eh?

Oh, I will – but today I’m sharing somewhere I’d never been before. Usually if I’m in the East Village I opt for The Smith (where booking is a must at the weekends) or the wonderful Mud (it never disappoints).

But recently I’ve had my eye on The Smile on Bond Street. Its takeout counterpart – Smile To Go – is near my office in SoHo and whips me up creative salads every week, so I’d hoped the actual restaurant would be just as good.

I headed there with Darius and Kate and, after ordering bottomless coffee for me and a Salty Dog (grapefruit juice and vodka sprinkled with salt) for them, we checked out the brunch menu.

Baked eggs and avocado, baguette french toast, pears & homemade ricotta? Why, yes please.

Actually, I kept it a little more simple and opted for cheesy scrambled eggs, sourdough toast and arugula salad with a side of sweet potato hash browns.

Then there was butternut squash quinoa topped with poached eggs for Kate, and a big ol’ pile of steak and eggs for Darius.

I may have kept it simple, but it hit the spot. The toast and eggs were so buttery – but I also had some salad on there, so it was healthy right? But the real winner was the hash browns – sweet, heavily seasoned shreds mixed with fried onions. I’m desperate to make them myself (when I get a bigger kitchen).

Kate and Darius made similarly happy noises and there were clean plates all around. It was also really reasonably priced and the staff were attentive, even though we were tucked away in the corner.

This is definitely one I’ll be adding to my East Village (well, NoHo) favorites, and I recommend you trying it out – but get there between 10 and 11am or you’ll have to queue!

And yes, the name says it all – because we did leave smiling.