Rise and shine: Brekki Brekki offers breakfast and brunch all week in a vibrant setting

Cozy breakfast and brunch offerings served in a fun, lively environment is what Brekki Brekki offers the greater Albuquerque area.

The restaurant is currently decked out for the winter season but outside of the holidays, patrons are welcomed with foliage and trellises dropping from the ceiling and along the wall with whimsical signage in between. Some patrons also bring their own ambiance.

Rise and shine: Brekki Brekki offers breakfast and brunch all week in a vibrant setting

“In all of my years of doing restaurants, I’ve never had a concept where people will bring their own table decor and set up their whole table for brunch,” said Robert Punya, co-owner of Brekki Brekki. “It’s so interesting. People bring full on arrangements of flowers and candles and ornaments and dress up their table for brunch. It’s really cool. People are really into it.”

You do not have to be an early bird or wait for the weekend to enjoy Brekki Brekki’s vast breakfast and brunch menu. It is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Its menu consists of a variety of salads, burgers, hash, sandwiches, waffles, and biscuits, as well as traditional New Mexican favorites, variations of eggs Benedict and a twist on crepes.

“The menu came before we hired any kind of chef,” Punya said. “(Co-owner) Lee (Caperton) and I, we just thought a lot of breakfast restaurants in this town don’t have things like pork belly on the menu. They don’t have brisket on the menu. And so we just thought, why not offer a different array of meats and also offer a different type of brunch.

“It’s brunch all week long is kind of how we thought about it. Most places are only Saturday, Sunday for brunch, where they bring out the eggs Benedicts and the biscuit sandwiches, and so we’re like, ‘Man, you know, I want to eat brunch all week.’ So why don’t we just do that?”

Its Pork Belly Benny ($15.50), which comes with a red pepper glaze, is one of the restaurant’s most requested items, according to Punya.

“It’s like sweet but savory at the same time, and then with the hollandaise on it, and with the smashed potatoes on the side, it’s to die for,” he added.

The Brekki Chilaquiles ($12.50) are another hit with patrons. The dish consists of corn chips tossed in red or green chile topped with two eggs any style. Patrons also can add avocado for an additional $2.

“Those are really popular right now,” Punya said. “They’re gluten-free, so a lot of people who are coming in with a gluten intolerance, generally, we always tell them to go toward that.”

Each of Brekki Brekki’s burgers range from a simple cheeseburger served on a potato bun ($13.50) to its Red Chile Hawaiian Burger ($14.50).

“Each of them has their own thing, like the Red Chile Hawaiian Burger, if you’re looking for spice and sweet, it’s super good,” Punya said. “It comes with a slice of pineapple. It comes with bacon, so it kind of cuts that sweetness as a salty, savory feature on it. The green chile burger ($13.50), our green chile is so good and the burger is so good. And then the Breakfast Burger ($15.50) is just unique, because it comes with a spicy (Scotch bonnet chile pepper) syrup on top, and then you get a little spicy ketchup on the bottom, and then you get a poached egg on it, so when you cut into it or you bite into it, it kind of drips down.”

Brekki Brekki offers a unique style of crepes ($12-$14.50) that are inspired by the traditional French creation.

“They’re really thin, they’re big, they’re kind of big in volume and have crispy edges,” Punya explained. “If you order them with any kind of a flavoring, like strawberry or Oreo or choco chip, we roll them up, almost like cannolis, big cannolis and they’re really good.”

Brekki Brekki also has its own craft beer and cider program called Cantina Craftworks. Its ciders and beers are brewed in-house by head brewer Julian Nuñez, who also serves as marketing director of Cantina Hospitality Group, which works with Brekki Brekki and other local restaurants, including Poki Poki, which Punya also co-owns.

There are currently eight craft beers and eight ciders on tap. Nuñez also will occasionally throw a seasonal on tap.

“People come in and they’re always like, ‘Oh, you don’t have guest taps?’” Punya said. “And I say, ‘No, man, you got to try our stuff. I promise you, it’s just as good as anybody else.’ And sure enough, people try it and they love it.”

Punya highly recommends the Cantina Gold Mexican Lager and said it is his favorite beer on tap. The Mexican lager features a light malt backbone with a touch of corn sweetness. The Tweaker Wheat Ale, with hints of citrus and spice, is an approachable beer for patrons looking for something easy-drinking, according to Punya.

Other craft beer offerings include the Sancho IPA, Double Trouble Double IPA, Outlaw Oatmeal Stout, Rusty Rail Red Ale and the Chitose Rice Lager. Cider options include blood orange, lemon ginger, hibiscus, sangria, cran apple, berry, pear and hazy lemon.

“The ciders are really nice,” Punya said. “They’re well balanced and sweet. As far as the beer goes, I don’t drink IPAs at all, but as someone who doesn’t, the (Blurry Vision) hazy IPA is so delicious that I would probably convert into drinking those.”

Patrons can enjoy $4 beers during Happy Hour held every day from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Cocktails made with the ciders or craft beers are also offered at Brekki Brekki. Two of its most popular are the Golden Globe, made with the hazy IPA, orange juice and a splash of champagne, and the Cranberry Fizz, made with its pineapple cider, cranberry juice and a splash of champagne.

“What’s really popular are our mimosas right now,” Punya said. “Tons of people come in and order buckets. And then, our espresso martini, honestly, I think it’s one of the best in the state. I’m really proud of our recipe on that. The type of espresso that we use is just unique. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody use our little secret combination of items. It’s sweet, but very good with the espresso. We get our espresso from Castle Coffee, so it’s actually a local roaster in town. Their bean is so good.”