Drag Brunch: The Best Shows in the US, City by City (2026)
A city-by-city guide to drag brunch in America — the best shows in 20+ cities, which day each runs, what to expect, and how far ahead to book.
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Subscribe NowDrag brunch is the rare thing that works for everyone — a first date, a birthday group, your parents visiting from out of town, or a Sunday that got away from you. Bottomless mimosas, a queen working a room three feet from your table, and a hard stop by mid-afternoon so the rest of the day is still yours.
The catch is that finding one is harder than it should be. Most listings are a single restaurant's own page, and half of them are out of date. So we built this from our live event data: 218 distinct drag brunches across 22 metro areas, with the actual day each one runs.
How drag brunch works, if you've never been
- It's a seated show, not a nightclub. You book a table, you order food, and the performance happens between courses across roughly 90 minutes to two hours.
- Most run Saturday, Sunday, or both. A handful — Suzy Wong's in Nashville, the Hyatt in Palm Springs — add Fridays.
- Expect $40 to $75 a head before drinks. Bottomless mimosa packages usually add $20 to $35.
- Tip the performers in cash. This is the part people miss. Queens work for tips; bring singles and hold them up rather than putting them on the table.
- Reserve ahead. The good ones sell out a week or two out, and holiday weekends go a month ahead.
Pro Tip
Bring cash in small bills. Card tips either aren't an option or get split house-wide — cash goes straight to the performer who earned it.
Pro Tip
If you're booking for a birthday or a bachelorette, say so when you reserve. Nearly every venue on this list will work the group into the show, but only if they know in advance.
Las Vegas — the highest concentration in our data
No other city in our listings comes close on density. Vegas runs drag brunch on the Strip, off the Strip, and in the Fruit Loop, most of it Saturday and Sunday.
Drag Brunch Las Vegas at Hard Rock Cafe is the big, tourist-friendly one right on the Strip — Saturdays and Sundays, high-energy, easy to get into with a group.
Gipsy is the Fruit Loop institution and the one locals point you to — Saturdays and Sundays, and the crowd is noticeably more local than Strip shows.
Hamburger Mary's Las Vegas runs three days — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — which makes it the easiest booking in the city if your trip doesn't line up with a weekend.
Señor Frog's also does Friday through Sunday, leaning loud and party-forward.
Also worth knowing: Faaabulous! The Ultimate Drag Brunch (Sat/Sun), Viva Drag Brunch Vegas (Saturdays), and S Bar at Mandalay Bay, which runs a monthly edition on the last Sunday.
Chicago — the widest range of formats
Chicago has nine venues running drag brunch and the broadest mix of formats in our data: a legendary revue, a Sunday leather-bar brunch, and a monthly in a neighborhood tavern.
Kit Kat Lounge is the classic Northalsted choice — Saturday and Sunday brunch with celebrity-impersonation performances and towering cocktails.
Chicago Eagle hosts the Baton Show Lounge Sunday Drag Brunch — the Baton Show Lounge has been a Chicago drag institution since 1969, and seeing that roster in the Eagle is a genuinely Chicago combination.
Hamburger Mary's — reopened in Edgewater in 2025 after its Andersonville run ended — covers Saturday and Sunday, as does Lips Chicago.
Simone's Bar in Pilsen runs "A Brunch of Drag" on the third Sunday monthly — the most neighborhood-feeling option on this list.
Lark and Splash both run Sundays, and Roscoe's Tavern takes Saturdays.
See everything currently on the calendar at Chicago events, or read our best gay bars in Chicago guide.
Find Drag Brunch Near You
Live drag brunch listings across 100+ cities on Out x Out
New York City — the most venues
NYC has twelve venues running drag brunch, and unusually, most are restaurants rather than gay bars — which means the format here skews brunch-first.
Lips NYC is the flagship of the national Lips group, running Saturdays and Sundays.
Lucky Cheng's is the other institution — Saturdays and Sundays, and it has been doing this since long before drag brunch was a category.
Fresco's Grand Cantina in Astoria runs Sundays and is the borough favorite. Kween does Saturday and Sunday. Gitano NYC, Toro Loco, USA Brooklyn Delicatessen and Stella 34 Trattoria round out a genuinely city-wide spread.
Minneapolis–St. Paul — more themed editions than anywhere
The Twin Cities carry more distinct drag brunch events in our data than any other metro, and unlike most cities a large share are themed one-offs rather than a fixed weekly.
LUSH Lounge & Theater is the engine of it, running "A Brunch of Drag" on Saturdays and Sundays plus a constant rotation of themed editions — Born This Way, 90s, Baddie.
Roxy's Cabaret runs a Sunday brunch, and Union Rooftop does themed editions — 2010s, 90s Pride — that draw a big mixed crowd downtown.
Washington, D.C. — where the monthlies matter
D.C. spreads drag brunch across seven venues, and it's the one city in our data where monthly editions are as numerous as weeklies.
Nellie's Sports Bar runs Saturday and Sunday and is among the most-booked in the city — reserve well ahead.
City Tap House Dupont covers both Saturday and Sunday, and Perry's in Adams Morgan runs the long-standing Sunday brunch that predates most of the city's scene.
For monthlies: Officina runs first and third Sundays, Bar Chinois the third Sunday, and Freddie's Beach Bar across the river takes the last Saturday.
Los Angeles — WeHo, all weekend
Five venues, all clustered in West Hollywood, which makes LA the easiest city to do two in one weekend.
The Abbey runs Saturdays and Sundays and is the best-known drag brunch in the city.
Hamburger Mary's WeHo takes Saturdays, Micky's and Beaches WeHo take Sundays.
Palm Springs — poolside, and often three days a week
Palm Springs does drag brunch the way it does everything: outdoors, and more often than seems reasonable.
Hyatt Palm Springs runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday — the most frequent drag brunch schedule in the country.
The Saguaro does Saturday and Sunday poolside, one eleven bar runs Saturdays and Sundays downtown, and the Ace Hotel & Swim Club takes the last Sunday of the month.
Atlanta — themed and constantly changing
Atlanta runs the highest ratio of themed one-offs to weeklies of any city here. Lore does Bridgerton brunches, Clue brunches, and a rotating slate of others. Lips Atlanta anchors the weekly side with Saturday and Sunday Dragalicious Brunch.
The rest of the country
Denver — Hamburger Mary's Denver runs Saturdays and Sundays; Charlie's Denver does periodic editions.
San Diego — Urban MO's and Gossip Grill both run Sundays in Hillcrest; Lips San Diego covers Saturday and Sunday.
New Orleans — The Country Club runs Saturday and Sunday in Bywater; House of Buns and Marigny Brasserie do Sundays; Saint John takes the first Sunday monthly.
Nashville — Suzy Wong's Drag'n Brunch runs Fridays, one of the few Friday brunches anywhere; Chapstick covers Saturday and Sunday.
Portland — Darcelle XV, founded in 1967 and home to Walter Cole, recognized by Guinness as the world's oldest performing drag queen until his death in 2023, runs periodic brunch editions.
Toronto — O'Grady's on Church runs brunch in the Village.
San Francisco — Lookout in the Castro runs periodic drag brunch editions; it's the city's main one.
Provincetown — The Crown & Anchor adds drag brunch to its already dense programme during the season.
Cincinnati, Austin, Seattle, Honolulu, St. Petersburg and Fire Island each have a drag brunch on our calendar too, though only one or two apiece — check our events calendar for what's actually on this weekend in any city.
Pro Tip
If you only get one: **Gipsy** in Vegas, the **Baton roster at Chicago Eagle**, or **Suzy Wong's** in Nashville. Those three are shows first and brunches second, and it shows.
Frequently asked questions about drag brunch
What day is drag brunch usually held?
Sunday is the most common by a wide margin, followed by Saturday. Many venues run both. Friday drag brunch is rare but exists — Suzy Wong's in Nashville, Hamburger Mary's and Señor Frog's in Las Vegas, and the Hyatt in Palm Springs all run Fridays.
How much does drag brunch cost?
Budget $40 to $75 per person for food and the show, before drinks. Bottomless mimosa or bloody mary packages typically add $20 to $35. Bring an extra $20 to $40 in cash for tipping performers, which is expected and not included in anything you've paid.
Do you tip drag queens at brunch?
Yes, and in cash. Tipping is a core part of the format, not an optional extra — performers rely on it. Bring singles and fives, and hold the bill out as the queen passes rather than leaving it on the table.
Is drag brunch family friendly?
It depends entirely on the venue. Most drag brunches are 18+ or 21+ and the humor is adult. A few venues run explicitly all-ages editions, and some — like LUSH in Minneapolis — label 18+ shows directly in the event name. Check the individual listing before booking for anyone under 21.
Do you need reservations for drag brunch?
Almost always. The popular shows sell out a week or two ahead, and holiday and Pride weekends go a month or more out. Walk-ins occasionally work at larger venues like the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, but don't plan on it.
What should I wear to drag brunch?
Whatever you'd wear to a nice brunch. There's no dress code at most venues, but people do dress up — it's part of the fun. Poolside brunches in Palm Springs and Las Vegas are the exception, where swimwear and a cover-up is normal.
Which US city has the best drag brunch scene?
Las Vegas has the highest concentration, Chicago has the widest range of formats, and New York has the most venues. For a dedicated trip, Las Vegas is the easiest — you can see three different shows in a weekend without leaving a two-mile radius.
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Robbie S.
I'm Robbie, the founder of Out x Out. I'm from Minneapolis, though I'm spending 2026 building this community from the road — somewhere between South America and Asia. The idea for Out x Out came from a trip to Berlin, where the gay nightlife calendar was years ahead of ours: you could see not just where to go out, but which night to go — so naturally I wanted that kind of insider info for every city in the US (and beyond... eventually). I'm more of a behind-the-scenes type, but the whole point of this is connection: I'd take one real one over a hundred surface-level ones, and I'm trying to build that for the community, city by city.
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