I.V. Pizza Pub’s NYC Breakfast Pizza comes topped with scrambled eggs, green bell peppers, onions, Canadian bacon and mushrooms. Abigail Monti / Daily Nexus

Following an announcement on their Instagram last month, I.V. Pizza Pub began serving brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. As Isla Vista has few breakfast options and even fewer brunch options, I.V. Pizza Pub is a welcomed addition to the market. 

Under the same management as I.V. Bagel Cafe — which sees a long line of hungry college students queue up for hangover-curing bagels each weekend — I.V. Pizza Pub offers many of the same bagel varieties available at I.V. Bagel Cafe and even uses the same rewards program. The similar menu and slightly offset hours hopefully suggest that the incredibly long line of I.V. Bagel Cafe may be alleviated in the future. I.V. Pizza Pub’s menu includes a selection of classic bagel sandwiches, bagel melts and flavored cream cheese bagels. However, prospective customers should note that the bagel choices are slightly more limited than the expansive selection of I.V. Bagel Cafe: IV Pizza Pub only offers plain, sesame, galaxy or cinnamon glaze bagels. 

Yet, I.V. Pizza Pub’s brunch menu makes up for this loss through other creative additions. I.V. Pizza Pub boasts four unique pizza combinations served on toasted bagels. In addition to traditional cheese and pepperoni, customers can also enjoy two popular combinations from the night-time pizza menu: the Big Sur and Manresa. The Big Sur, which comes loaded with roasted garlic, red sauce, pepperoni, sausage, portobello mushrooms, herbs and green onions, has even won awards from both the West Coast U.S. Pizza Cup and World Pizza Games. I chose to order a Manresa pizza bagel, which came generously topped with sliced Roma tomatoes, spoonfuls of ricotta cheese and freshly shredded basil. For thick-crust pizza fans like me, I thoroughly enjoyed this bagel-pizza hybrid. 

In addition, I.V. Pizza Pub’s menu now includes the unique offering of the NYC Breakfast Pizza. Personally, I have walked past 7-Eleven’s crusty advertisements for breakfast pizza enough times to feel as adverse to the concept as I do to those eternally rolling hot dogs. But I.V. Pizza Pub presents a delicious product way out of 7-Eleven’s league: aesthetic slices of thin-crust pizza dough topped with a thin layer of scrambled eggs, chunks of Canadian bacon, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella cheese and green bell pepper. Sold for $7 per slice, I.V. Pizza Pub’s breakfast pizza retails for a few bucks higher than most of their other slices. However, the novelty of the idea might just make up for the raised price.

I.V. Pizza Pub also caters to those who enjoy continuing alcoholic festivities through the morning. Their brunch menu includes both traditional orange juice mimosas and blueberry limosas. The latter contains a tantalizing combination of homemade blueberry syrup, lemonade and prosecco. This fall, transform your Sunday morning football routine with a sparkling glass in one hand and a bagel sandwich in the other. After all, I.V. Pizza Pub’s new massive flatscreen televisions practically feel like front row seats.

Between their expansive menu and ideal location, I.V. Pizza Pub is the perfect brunch destination for all those mid-afternoon risers who are too lazy to make breakfast and just energetic enough to walk down the street. Though I.V. Pizza Pub’s brunch is still a little-known secret, I predict it will soon become another Isla Vista breakfast classic.