We've got loads of new options on the table for the coming month of August. Vargas vehicle Ceviche, La Poste and Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen have all thrown their hats into the ring. They're joined by a returning champion El Patio. Tuck in... ***

El Patio

After several months on hiatus El Patio's popular Spanish Sunday tapas brunch is back. Appropriately, options are heavy on the huevos, with eveything from basics like the tortilla, or Spanish-style omelet, to eggs poached with potato cream wild mushrooms and summer truffle. In addition, you'll find other Spanish staples like gazpacho with a scoop of olive oil ice cream or ensaladilla rusa, a Russian-style potato salad that's ubiquitous in Spanish restaurants. To sate any carnivorous cravings, they've got dishes like steak tartare and lamb chops. For 178rmb, you can choose any two tapas, and you get a choice of three desserts. These are definitely worth a look, too. We especially like the torrija, which is basically a Spanish-style French toast. El Patio's comes topped with a caramelized pumpkin and carrot pudding, saffron soup and orange sorbet. All of this should be enough, and the more people you dine with, the more stuff you can try. If you're still feeling peckish, though, all additional tapas are 78rmb. Paella portions big enough for two and 50g of 5J Iberico ham are also available at 288rmb. To drink, there is a selection of sherry cocktails at 58rmb as well as pitchers of sangria at 198rmb. More conventional cocktails like bloody Marys are 48. ...Oh, and we almost forgot. There's entertainment, too: live flamenco guitar and dance performances. Very cool. Sun: 11.30am-3.30pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen

Okay. There is not a single pancake or Benedict to be found on the menu, so, strictly speaking, this is more of a lunch. But why split hairs? Isn't brunch really more about a long leisurely midday meal after a long week of work? The Vintage Lunch, as Napa calls it, may seem a little confusing at the outset. It's based on a point system. You pay 238rmb and this gets you 10 "points." These points are basically a currency that can only be used on delicious food created by Chef Patrick Dang. You use these points to purchase various menu items. For two points you can get a luscious imported oyster garnished with an apple cucumber and horseradish granita (pictured above). For three points you can order mussels with chilies, capers and piquillo peppers. Larger dishes are range from four to six points. You'll find dishes like veal escalope (six points) or slow-cooked lamb with herbs de Provence (four points). Then there are extra large plates like a whole roasted chicken with a chorizo and a warm navy bean salad (10 points) or whole line-caught catch of the day (15 points). The whole idea is to encourage trying a little bit of everything and sharing your meal family-style. Maybe order a large dish and a bunch of small bites to supplement it. Or maybe build your own bespoke tasting menu. There are loads of options, so you could hit Napa up a few times before you've gone through the entire menu. And, as always, there is Napa's sterling wine list. They truly have some of the best grape juice for grown-ups in town. If you can't make it here on the weekends, they also offer a slightly smaller menu from Tuesday to Friday between 12 and 3pm. This one's priced more conventionally: 158rmb for two courses, 188rmb for three, 218rmb for four. Sat: 12-3pm Sun: 12-4pm For a full listing click here.

La Poste

There's no set deal at La Poste, it's a la carte all the way, opening with eggs Florentine (88rmb), a fry-up with hashbrowns, bacon, sausages, tomato and toast (98rmb) and an asparagus, ham and gruyere omelet (78rmb). The Florentine is served not on an English muffin, but on a very heavy wodge of something like soda bread, and it proved far too stodgy for both of those in our party who ordered it. We like omelete much better, loaded with bubbling, stringy cheese. Also recommend is the steak sandwich (108rmb), which comes buried under a fried egg, bacon, cheese, a mound of fries and a smear of onion jam. It's huge. In fact, portions across the board are large. A couple of these dishes and one of the salads (there are three of them, all 68rmb) would easily feed three or even four. Service is bit scrappy, though. On our visit, one unordered dish came to the table (though they let us have it rather than throwing it in the bin) and the steak sandwiches arrived around 15 minutes after the first eggs appeared. The highlight may be the dining room, which is industrial in feel with high ceilings, exposed concrete and large, historic iron window frames. It feels cool inside, even in this heat, but remains bright and sunny. Sat-Sun 11am-2.30pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Ceviche

just started a new summer brunch set. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, 150rmb gets you a main, house salad, one drink and dessert at this low-key Peruvian dining spot, the reincarnation of Eduardo Vargas' now-defunct Chica. It's pretty much the same concept here -- straight-forward, well-done Peruvian classics -- but scaled down in size and (slightly) lowered menu prices. The seven brunch mains on offer are mostly culled from the regular menu, such as lomo saltado (beef tenderloin and vegetables stir-fried in soy sauce), chicken and rice with spicy aji amarrillo sauce, plus sandwich versions of their butifarra (roasted pork leg) and chicharron (braised pork belly). The portions here are pretty big, so by the time we finished our flan, we were stuffed. All in all, at 150rmb for all that food, it’s a pretty solid brunch deal at a place where appetizers alone usually go for 50rmb and up. And their flan alone is worth going back for -– some of the best dessert we've had in town. The place is small but cozy, with only four tables on the inside and four on the patio out front, so be sure to book ahead if you want to sit inside with the AC on. Otherwise, you’re stuck grubbing and nursing your food coma out in the sweltering heat. Sat-Sun: 11am-4pm For a full brunch listing, click here.