ITA Kitchen Brings a Fresh Take on Brunch to East Moriches

Brunch has a way of making people gather, whether it’s an excuse to get together with friends, a lazy Sunday ritual, or just an excuse for endless mimosas. ITA Kitchen in East Moriches has harnessed that vibe and produced a brunch experience that is at once comforting yet fresh, offering residents and weekenders alike something to anticipate on the South Shore.

I walked in, and the ambiance was suddenly more like you would experience on a holiday than in Moriches. The sound of a single steel drum carried over the patio, instantly transporting the scene to somewhere far more tropical than Moriches. General Manager Giancarlo Ferrabi said they wanted to design an atmosphere that is casual and pleasant, one in keeping with the spirit of brunch itself. While ITA dinners draw in huge crowds — about 400 people on a Saturday night—the brunch service is designed to be a little more casual and playful, the type of place you’d come to with friends and linger for hours.

ITA, which stands for Italian American Kitchen, has been around for years, with locations in Garden City, Patchogue, and East Moriches. The brand began originally in Bay Shore, and though that venue shut down, ITA has continued to grow. Owner and chef Sal Sorrentino, along with wife Christina, co-owner of the restaurants, always had the talent for revamping older standbys and making them just enough differently to make them memorable. Brunch, according to Ferrabi, is his “baby”— a pet venture that’s been part of ITA for years but overhauled in recent weeks with a completely new menu.

That menu has already started to create a buzz. Dubai Italian French Toast could well be the pièce de résistance, a Nutella-based dish topped with pistachios, granola, and the now-famous Dubai chocolate that has gone viral in the last year. Sal’s own sister, a baker in her own right, had been making Dubai chocolate brownies that were an immediate hit, so it followed logically to build on that concept. The French toast is rich-tasting yet light, like something you’ve seen published on an influencer’s feed before you ever do get to indulge in it yourself. It’s decadent, creative, and the kind of showstopper that makes brunch worthy of conversation.

Another instant non-negotiable on the menu are the bacon, egg, and cheese egg rolls. Crispy and golden, with scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheddar cheese inside, served with a cherry pepper aioli, it takes the classic New York breakfast order and makes it something you can stuff into your mouth in three bites. They’ve been a staple on ITA’s brunch menu since day one and, in Ferrabi’s opinion, will never be phased out. “They’re just too good to cut,” he told me, and I wholeheartedly agreed.

And if you’re feeling adventurous, the brunch pizza is yet another example of ITA’s own playful twist on tradition. Absolutely, go ahead and have a classic margherita or burrata pizza, but why not? This one crowns with bacon, eggs, cheddar, and spicy aioli, something both familiar yet completely new. It’s the kind of thing that gets you to pause mid-chew simply so you can guffaw and exclaim, “Why didn’t anybody think of this before?”

For those who feel bogged down by choices, the brunch board is the ticket. It’s a sampler plate that combines highlights such as the egg rolls, berry focaccia toast, and French toast bites so that you can graze and discover your own showstopping dish. It’s great for a party that doesn’t want to share and feel squished. And no brunch is complete with bottomless mimosas. Ferrabi didn’t even blink when asked why they include them in the package: “Bottomless is just needed for brunch.” He’s correct. Brunch without it is like something is missing, and ITA clearly understands their audience.

What struck me the most, though, was how inclusive the experience is. ITA has a talent for designing spaces that invite everyone. Ferrabi told me that their brunch clientele span from teenagers who eat there for the ambiance, to their twenties- and thirty-somethings who are looking for an active restaurant, to their forty-, fifties-, and sixties-something couples looking for a good meal with a beautiful view. That mix is rare, and it’s why ITA has maintained growth and success across Long Island.

While the East Moriches location closes for the winter after New Year’s, the brunch menu is not going away. It’s remaining, adding fresh possibilities to Patchogue and Garden City with the hope of smaller seasonal additions and modifications. For residents, it’s a weekend standby. For visitors, it’s yet another reason to trek out east.

Brunch at ITA is not attempting to be something that it’s not. It’s not fussy or overwrought, but not cookie-cutter, either. It’s innovative in exactly the right ways, with dishes that taste grounded in history but bold enough to surprise you. Combined with live tunes, a warm summer breeze, and a glass of bubbly that never, ever empties out, it’s the sort of experience that makes weekends on Long Island feel like something special.

Visit itakitchen.com for more.