Where is Banter in Murray Hill?

Banter Murray Hill is at 201 East 31st Street, on the corner of Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016. It is the newest of the three Banter cafes; the others are at 169 Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village and 643 Hudson Street in the West Village.

Does Banter take reservations?

The Murray Hill location takes reservations through Resy and also runs a remote waitlist that texts walk-ins when a table is free. The Greenwich Village and West Village cafes are walk-in only, with the same text waitlist. On weekends a Resy booking is the safer option.

What are Banter's hours?

Banter Murray Hill is open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 21:00 and Sunday from 8:00 to 16:00. Brunch dishes are served until 16:00 and the evening menu takes over after that. The two Village locations close at 15:00 on weekdays and 16:00 on weekends.

How much does brunch at Banter cost?

Expect about 25 to 35 USD per person with a coffee. On the 2026 menu the avocado toast is 17 USD, the Banter waffle 19 USD, the Banter bowl 19 USD and the big breakfast with halloumi 25 USD. A flat white is around 5 USD. Prices move, so check the menu on the day.

Is Banter an Australian cafe?

Yes. Banter was founded in 2017 by Nick Duckworth from Sydney and Josh Evans from Melbourne, who met while working at the Australian cafe Two Hands in Nolita. The menu follows the Australian cafe formula: flat whites, avocado toast, a bacon and egg roll, bowls and add-ons such as halloumi and smoked salmon.

Does Banter serve dinner?

Only the Murray Hill location does. It has an evening menu with pastas, sausage rolls, loaded fries, burgers and a chicken sandwich, plus cocktails and beer on draft. Happy hour runs from 16:00 to 18:00 daily with 6 USD draft beers and cocktails from 8 to 12 USD.

Does Banter have vegan or gluten-free options?

Yes. The Banter bowl is labelled gluten-free and dairy-free, the mushroom wrap can be made with a gluten-free wrap, and the tempura cauliflower is marked gluten-free. Avocado toast and bowls can be adjusted, and the kitchen lists dietary labels on the menu.

Is there outdoor seating at Banter Murray Hill?

Yes. Banter Murray Hill has sidewalk tables on East 31st Street in the warmer months, in addition to a small indoor room with banquette seating. Outdoor tables go first on sunny weekend mornings, so arrive early or ask for them when you book.

Banter Murray Hill NYC: brunch menu, prices, hours, booking

Most brunch spots in New York are packed, noisy, and tiny. Banter feels different. With outdoor seating, a relaxed atmosphere, and a menu full of brunch favorites, it's easy to see why locals love it. Think avocado toast, waffles, bowls, excellent coffee, and plenty of extras like halloumi and smoked salmon. I visited the Murray Hill location, but you'll also find Banter in Greenwich Village and the West Village.

An employee-owned Australian cafe with three Manhattan locations. This page covers the Murray Hill branch on East 31st Street: the brunch menu, prices, the Resy and waitlist system, hours and how to get there.

What Banter is

Banter is an Australian-style all-day cafe with three locations in Manhattan. The original opened on Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village in early 2017, a second followed on Hudson Street in the West Village in late 2019, and the third opened at 201 East 31st Street in Murray Hill in 2024. This page is about the Murray Hill cafe, which is the one I filmed.

The formula is the one Australian cafes exported around the world: espresso-based coffee, avocado toast, eggs in several forms, grain and vegetable bowls, and a short list of add-ons such as halloumi, bacon and smoked salmon. Murray Hill is the only Banter that stays open into the evening, with a separate dinner and cocktail menu, and the only one that takes reservations.

Since 1 January 2023 the company has been employee-owned. When the founders decided to leave New York, they sold the business through Teamshares, a model in which every employee received an initial 10 percent stake at no cost and the staff share in dividends as the cafes grow.

Who is behind it

Banter was founded by Nick Duckworth, from Sydney, and Josh Evans, from Melbourne. They moved to New York in 2015, met while working at Two Hands, the Australian cafe in Nolita, and opened their own place eighteen months later. The idea was a neighbourhood cafe that treated regulars like family and served the health-leaning food they had grown up with.

The founders stepped away in 2023 to pursue restaurant projects elsewhere. The cafes are now run by the team, with a president appointed under the Teamshares structure, and the third location in Murray Hill opened under this ownership.

Banter is an à la carte cafe. There is no set menu; you order at the table and dishes come as they are ready. Coffee is Australian in style, with the flat white as the default, plus matcha and chai lattes, smoothies and teas.

The daytime menu is served at all three cafes until mid afternoon. It runs on a few fixed pillars:

Avocado toast: crumbled feta, a grain and seed mix, alfalfa sprouts and basil oil on sourdough.
Eggs: the Golden Folded Eggs, soft scrambled with mushrooms, bacon, kale salad and avocado, and the Big Breakfast with two poached eggs, halloumi, bacon, mushrooms, avocado and roast tomato.
Bacon and egg roll: fried egg, crispy bacon, pickled onions, tomato jam and garlic aioli on ciabatta, the Australian breakfast sandwich.
Banter waffle: served with butterscotch maple syrup and candied quinoa.
Bowls: the Banter bowl of pickled vegetables, edamame, avocado and quinoa with miso ponzu dressing, plus a falafel bowl.
Add-ons: halloumi, smoked salmon, bacon, avocado and extra eggs, each charged separately.

At Murray Hill, the evening menu starts after 16:00 and moves to pastas, sausage rolls, loaded fries, burgers, a crispy chicken sandwich and shishito peppers with a miso lemon glaze. Happy hour is 16:00 to 18:00 every day, and Mondays have half-price burgers.

What I ate

I filmed at the Murray Hill cafe in June, and what stood out for me was the outdoor seating and the relaxed pace compared with the packed, noisy brunch rooms elsewhere in Manhattan. The reel focuses on the brunch staples: avocado toast, waffles, bowls and coffee, with halloumi and smoked salmon as the add-ons.

What it costs

Prices below are from the 2026 daytime menu and are the same order of magnitude across the three cafes. Tax and tip are added on top, as everywhere in New York.

Item	Price
Avocado toast	17 USD
Bacon and egg roll	15 USD
Banter waffle	19 USD
Banter bowl	19 USD
Golden Folded Eggs	23 USD
Big Breakfast with halloumi	25 USD
Halloumi add-on	6 USD
Smoked salmon add-on	7 USD
Flat white	about 5 USD
Happy hour draft beer	6 USD

A brunch of one main and a coffee lands around 25 to 30 USD before tip; two mains, add-ons and two coffees for two people runs about 65 to 75 USD. Dinner at Murray Hill is priced similarly per dish, with cocktails from 8 to 12 USD during happy hour and more after it. Prices move, so treat these as a guide.

Do you need a reservation

At Murray Hill, not strictly, but it helps. The cafe takes bookings on Resy, and walk-ins can join a remote waitlist that sends a text when a table is ready, so you do not have to stand on the pavement. Weekend brunch waits without a booking can reach 40 minutes at late morning, and Sunday closes at 16:00, which compresses the rush.

The Greenwich Village and West Village cafes are walk-in only with the same text waitlist. Weekday mornings at any of the three are usually quick.

Resy: search for Banter Murray Hill.
Instagram: @banter_nyc.
Private events and large groups: through the form on banternyc.com.

Getting there

Address: 201 East 31st Street at Third Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Murray Hill, on the border with Kips Bay.
Subway: 33rd Street on the 6 train is a five-minute walk west along 31st Street. 28th Street on the 6 is a similar distance. From Grand Central, walk about 15 minutes south.
From the Empire State Building: about 12 minutes on foot, east on 34th Street then south on Third Avenue.
Parking: street parking in Murray Hill is scarce; there are commercial garages on Third Avenue and East 32nd Street.
Other locations: 169 Sullivan Street, Greenwich Village, near West Houston Street; 643 Hudson Street, West Village, near Horatio Street.

Before you go

Hours differ by location. Murray Hill runs 8:00 to 21:00 Monday to Saturday and 8:00 to 16:00 on Sunday. The Village cafes close at 15:00 on weekdays and 16:00 on weekends.
Brunch ends at 16:00 at Murray Hill. If you want the avocado toast or the eggs, arrive before then; after 16:00 the evening menu takes over.
Outdoor tables are seasonal. The sidewalk seating is set up in the warmer months and cannot be guaranteed with a booking.
Dietary labels are on the menu. Gluten-free and dairy-free dishes are marked, and the bowls are the easiest place to build a vegan plate.
Cards are standard. As with most New York cafes, cards and phone payments are accepted everywhere.
Kids. The room is small and casual; strollers fit more easily at the outdoor tables than inside.
Pair it with a Hudson Yards morning. If you are staying on the West Side, my InCommon review covers a smaller neighbourhood cafe near the High Line, and Citizens is the other Australian-style brunch in Manhattan on this site.
Check the hours before you go. The hours on this page come from the venue’s public listings, which drift, so confirm on Google Maps or the venue’s own channels before a special trip.

Watch the visit

The reel above shows the outdoor tables and the brunch plates at the Murray Hill cafe. For the rest of my New York picks, open my New York map or browse the New York recommendations.