This month, gorge yourself on endless tapas, soak in Huangpu views, have an intimate lunch with friends and let the rug rats roam freely while you guzzle bubbly. Our June brunch picks are in. ***

La Finca

Every Saturday and Sunday, La Finca in Xintiandi offers a surprisingly extensive selection of Spanish staples for brunch. The bulk of it is classic tapas like garlic prawns, croquettes of ham or mushroom, fried calamari with a garlic emulsion and, of course a potato tortilla. They also serve some pretty delicious marinated sardines as well as a confit of pork neck with oyster mushrooms. Be sure to order both. Additionally, they do two different paellas as well as a couple of Italian pasta dishes for the occasional rubes afraid of Spanish cuisine. Conspicuously absent, however, is patatas bravas. Isn't it, like, Spanish law or something to have that on a menu? Is it the best Spanish cuisine in town? No. Not by a longshot. But La Finca only asks 158rmb per person, and what you get in return is all the Spanish food you can eat. That is a more than favorable quantity-to-quality ratio; we'll take it. Not only that, for an extra 150rmb, they'll pour you endless sangria, bubbly and house wine endlessly. That's a pretty fair deal too. Teetotalers can pay 88rmb for all of the coffee, juice and soda they can drink, too. Sat-Sun: 11am-3pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Cafe 1188 in The InterContinental Shanghai Expo

As with most high-end hotels, InterContinental Shanghai Expo's brunch has a little of something for everybody. Their all-day dining restaurant Cafe 1188 features live cooking stations preparing Indian curries, English roasts and Chinese stir-fries and dim sum. A seafood station does everything from from steamed shellfish on ice to freshly-cut tuna and kampachi as well as hand-rolled maki. There is a salad bar offering fresh greens, Mediterranean olives, crudité and the like. They even have a guy preparing Beijing roast duck and another guy doing Vietnamese-style spring rolls. It's all fairly solid, as far as hotel brunch buffets go. But the real draw here is the distractions for the kids. A surprisingly expansive property gives the kids plenty of room to spread out and be, well, kids. They don't just shove them in the corner with an ayi to keep an eye on them. Instead, they've put up one of those inflatable bouncy castles. There's a face painter on hand as well as someone who will teach them how to make kites. They've even set up a small pitch where the kids can play football. Needless to say, it's become a popular option with busy parents who could use a break. While your youngsters are out exhausting their seemingly endless energy reserves, you can kick back and eat all you care to for 348rmb+15%. Add 88rmb for endless soft drinks. 150rmb to that for unlimited prosecco, domestic beer, and selected wines. If your kids are under 12 they get to eat for for free. Sun: 12-3pm For a full brunch listing click here.

Sunday Lunch Club by Amelia's

at Studio No. 5 – that cozy collective workspace on Jiashan Lu – technically isn’t a brunch, but it falls into the right time slot and is so damn good that it’s going to become a popular brunch pick anyway. The casual luncheon is organized by Amelia of Amelia’s Jams, who either rounds up one of her friends or cooks a three course family-style meal herself every Sunday at 1pm. If you’ve ever tasted one of her jams, then you’ll know what kind of food to expect: simple yet expertly balanced flavors that make for excellent rustic, hearty homemade food. The meal usually revolves around a theme. On the week that we went, we had a traditional British Sunday roast that included a spinach, sun-dried tomato and feta quiche, perfectly done roast chicken with carrots, leeks and potatoes and the best sticky toffee pudding we’ve had… pretty much ever. What makes the Sunday Lunch Club particularly special is the setting: Amelia has set up a dining experience that really mimics an intimate dinner party with friends. Upon arriving, everyone gets together over drinks and complimentary appetizers in the patio, and the meal doesn’t begin until all guests have had a chance to get to chat with one another. The food is served home-style as well – passed along a single large table and available for second or even third helpings. It costs 200rmb per person; the first drink is free (you can choose from beer, homemade lemonade, wine or juice) and after that you pay per drink, from 15-35rmb. Seats are limited to 12-14 people per event, so email amelia@ameliasmarketplace.com to book. Sun: 1pm until whenever people feel like leaving For a full brunch listing click here.

Kathleen’s Waitan

Kathleen’s Waitan offers up several options for brunching: a signature brunch set, vegetarian set and a separate a la carte brunch menu. The signature set, which, for 198rmb a person, includes an array of small starters – fresh fruit, cured salmon with caviar, brioche and pasta carbonara – with a main of lamb kebabs or roasted kingfish with clams. It’s just the right amount so that you can finish all of it without feeling like a greaseball. The vegetarian brunch also runs for 198rmb and features dairy-free vegetable risotto as the main course. As for the a la carte menu, they’ve got all the Western breakfast staples like eggs benedict, French toast, omelets and burgers, with attempts to class them up with additions like brandied maple syrup or lime coriander jalapeno hollandaise sauce. Everything on this menu comes as a plate with two to three sides like baked beans, French fries, fruit and so on. Those will cost you 88-118rmb per order, except for the steak and eggs (228rmb). All in all, the selection, presentation and quality of the food are all pretty solid – the kind of good quality and elegant atmosphere that you’d expect from a Bund venue. The food, while well done, would probably be best for people who are looking for safe and familiar flavors. As for fellow diners, right now Kathleen’s seems to be drawing a crowd of mostly families and yuppies in their Sunday slacks, so the overall environment is relaxed and quiet but for the occasional squeal from the kiddies. Sat-Sun: 11am-4pm For a full brunch listing, click here.