Love: Brunch @ M. Wells Diner in Long Island City

I have one of my very good friends to thank for this one. She read about M. Wells as a must visit restaurant and insisted that we had to go for brunch this weekend. What she didn't tell me was that M. Wells is a diner. I absolutely dread diners. But, this one is different and in my opinion, it just looks like a diner on the inside and out.

We met at 11:00am on Sunday and there was already a 45-60 minute wait. We actually ended up waiting close to 90 minutes - well worth the wait. The space is small but we were lucky to find a spot on one end of the place to hang out while we waited. While waiting, I noticed that the hours of operation are strangely unique, especially for a diner, closed Mondays and open Tuesday through Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm (then thought, wow, those are really nice working hours!).

Everything was amazing and absolutely delightful.

We started the meal off with Coquille St. Jacques. It was heavy, but so good that I wanted more. Inside of a scallop shell was a mixture of scallops, razor clams, shrimp layered with cheese. We each had one and it was perfect.

Coquille St. Jacques 

Then the dishes kept coming and we kept eating. The Fish Soup with fish rouille and cheese toasts. The soup had a unique smoky flavor and had a nice and smooth texture with the right amount of thickness.

The Fish Soup 

I'm still thinking about the Maine Shrimp. On the menu it appeared as though it was just a shrimp cocktail, but while ordering I decided to just ask about this dish and was pleasantly surprised to hear from our waiter that this was a unique dish on its own and definitely worth trying.. and it was. We were slightly turned off by the fact that we would have to peel the shrimp, but it was well worth the work. The Maine shrimp were all busting out with roe and just amazing. We have never seen anything like this!

Maine Shrimp

The Maple Syrup Playe - buckwheat crepes, may not have great appeal, but it was delicious as well. Each buckwheat crepe was soaked in sweet maple syrup. The edges are crispy. The combination was perfect. The menu changes frequently, but the crepes are a classic on the menu.

 The Maple Syrup Playe

The Seafood Cobbler had a cheesy layer of Gruyere on top of two biscuits, brussels sprouts, fish and bechamel gravy. 

The Seafood Cobbler

Every dish was unique and the names on the menu do not do justice for each and every one of these dishes. The Egg Souffle had a bit of an Asian influence with the bonito flakes (fish flakes) on top. Mixed with the souffle was a mushroom broth.

Egg Souffle

Tortilla Espanola was incredibly interesting - an egg for the outer shell and inside a potato and onion mix. It was so yummy... my friend declared it better than ones she has had in Spain.

Tortilla Espanola

And of course, I had to have my fries... They weren't as crispy as I would have liked, so I wrapped these to go. Later on in the day, Marcos heated them up in the oven and turned them into truffle fries!!

 

Hand-Cut Fries

We wrapped up our meal with their signature Maple Pie. The custard was amazing and had the perfect sweetness. I could not ask for anything better. Plus I'm not normally a fan of pies.

Maple Pie

M. Wells Menu

Our meal is definitely memorable. We actually ordered three or so times the amount the average diner was ordering! We just had to get the most out of our wait. For sure I will return, but probably when the weather is nicer out and not in single digits!