Weekend Brunch with a View: Brunch at One Willow in Highlands, NJ

Search for waterfront brunch in NJ and you'll notice something quickly: most of the results are places near the water, not on it. A diner a few blocks from the beach. A cafe with a marina across the street. If what you actually want is to eat eggs and drink something cold while looking at open water, the list gets short fast.

One Willow in Highlands is on that short list. The seafood and raw bar restaurant sits directly on Sandy Hook Bay, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings the same floor to ceiling windows and outdoor deck that define its dinner service belong to brunch. Here's how it works, what to order, and how to build a weekend day around it.

What a Waterfront Brunch Should Actually Deliver

The view from the table, not the parking lot. At One Willow, both the indoor dining room and the deck face the bay, so a brunch reservation comes with the water in front of you rather than a glimpse of it on the walk in.

A menu that goes beyond the standard lineup. Eggs and pancakes are easy. A brunch backed by a raw bar, local lobster, and a kitchen that hand selects fish at the Fulton Fish Market is a different category.

A reason to linger. Brunch on the Shore shouldn't feel like a table you need to turn over. Between the deck, the cocktails, and the boats moving across the bay, One Willow is built for the long version of brunch.

Brunch Hours and How It Works

Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. The brunch menu is served alongside the regular menu, which matters more than it sounds: one person at the table can order a lobster scramble while another goes straight to oysters, the Willow Burger, or the Spaghetti and Local Littleneck Clams. Nobody has to compromise.

What to Order

The Lobster Scramble. Organic farm eggs with local lobster, asparagus, creme fraiche, and crispy potatoes. It's the dish that makes the strongest case for eating brunch at a seafood restaurant.

Pork Roll, Jam & Cheese. The most New Jersey item on the menu, elevated: pork roll on a croissant bun with a fried farm egg, house-made mixed berry compote, melted triple cream Brie, and arugula. If you're hosting visitors from out of state, this is their introduction to the Shore's favorite breakfast meat done properly.

The Captain's Breakfast. Two fried eggs, crispy potatoes, bacon, and toasted Benchmark bread, the locally produced sourdough that shows up across the menu. The classic, done carefully.

Steak & Eggs. Prime flat iron with fried eggs, crispy potatoes, and chimichurri, for the table's biggest appetite.

Lighter sides of the menu hold up too: the Avocado Toast layers whipped feta, pickled red onions, and marinated tomatoes over that same sourdough, and the Parfait Bowl brings Greek yogurt, granola, fresh berries, and local honey. And because the raw bar is open, a dozen oysters is a completely legitimate brunch order here. Given how One Willow sources its shellfish, it might be the smartest one.

Brunch Cocktails Built for the Deck

The Willow Bloody is the headliner: Ketel One vodka and a house-made bloody mary mix, garnished with a snow crab claw and bleu cheese olives. It's part cocktail, part appetizer, and it only makes sense at a restaurant with this kind of seafood program.

The 732, named for the Shore's area code, is the brighter option, with Ketel One vodka, St-Germain, Aperol, lemon, and orange bitters. And if you're skipping alcohol, the spiritless list is a real list, not an afterthought: the Garden State blends basil, cucumber, and red bell pepper, and Seas the Day mixes black tea, ginger, cucumber, and mint.

Turning Brunch into a Full Day on the Bay

Brunch at 11 leaves the entire afternoon open. Sandy Hook's beaches and bike paths are minutes away, the Twin Lights overlook is just up the hill, and the bayfront makes an easy walking loop. Boaters can flip the order entirely: cruise over in the morning, reserve a slip at Sandy Hook Marina through Dock and Dine, and let brunch be the reward for an early start.

Coming from the city? Brunch is the anchor of a very good car-free day. Our guide to a day trip from NYC to Highlands lays out the ferry route and a full itinerary.

Plan Your Weekend

One Willow is open seven days a week in season, with brunch running Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. Weekend doors open at 11 AM, and service carries on through dinner, until 11 PM on Saturday and 9 PM on Sunday. Deck tables go fast on summer weekends, especially in the late morning window when brunch and the first boats of the day overlap.

Reserve your table at One Willow and take brunch back to the water, where it belongs.