Gaetano's Stoneham

Gaetano's in Stoneham changed hands earlier this year when the old owners decided to retire. The new owners will retain the old menu. They introduced brunch service on the weekends in early August, and I was invited to try it out. When I suggested to my waitress, who has worked there for 28 years, that they should change it from Breakfast to Brunch on the website, she said that in Stoneham people believe that brunch means it is a buffet. Go figure, so Breakfast it is.

They are located on Main Street and there is only on-street parking, but it's free.

They have a nice patio, too bad it dropped into the low 60's today.

The interior was pleasant and bright with a big bar. I was surprised at how busy they were. They do brunch from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM on the weekend.

This is the lower dining room where they hold a lot of functions.

It's brunch, so a Spicy Bloody Mary was in order.

I'm not too excited about Mimosas, but if you are, they certainly have one for every taste. In addition to the regular brunch menu, they also serve some items from the lunch menu and pizza. I have heard really good things about their pizza.

Crab Cake Benedict (14.95). "Two poached eggs with Old Bay hollandaise sauce & home fries". Add avocado (+2.50). The eggs had a nice runny yolk, and the crab cakes were the real deal with real crab. The home fries were OK, could have done with some seasoning. The muffin was light, and the sauce was tasty.

An order of Coconut-Crusted French Toast (12.50) also landed on my table. "Topped with strawberries, bananas And rum caramel sauce". This was delicious and very light.

I was invited as a media guest, but all opinions are my own.

Address: 271 Main St, Stoneham, MA 02180 Phone: (781) 279-0100