Choirs for the uptown chic

Red Rooster Harlem

310 Lenox Ave, between 125th & 126th street
212 792 9001

Gospel Sunday Brunch at Red Rooster Harlem is not just a meal; it’s an event. More than an hour before the place opens, sharply dressed customers, from an impressive mix of ages and ethnicities, stand on line down the block. The Harlem charm is evident once you’re inside the loft-like space, filled with pieces by local artists.

First things first: Work your way to the crowded bar, order a spicy Bloody Mary ($14) and turn your attention to whichever gospel singer is performing — Roz Beauty and Belinda Munro alternate Sundays. “People love it. It’s not much — piano and voice — but it’s enough to feed their souls as they’re feeding their bodies,” Beauty says. And she’s right. You’ll be clapping, dancing, perhaps even singing before you’re seated in the dining room. Shafer Gootkind, 8, was waiting to be seated when Beauty handed him the mike to help her sing “This Little Light of Mine.”

The eats: Try the Yard Bird ($18), fried chicken served on a bed of braised greens and mashed potatoes with white mace gravy and house-made hot sauce. Somewhat more traditional fare includes the Lenox Smorgasbord ($17) — an artfully arranged platter with a bagel and accompaniments such as gravlax and smoked trout — and the cinnamon-raisin French toast ($14). Wash them down with a Savoy ($12), a sweet mix of muddled grapes, agave, vodka and lemon. Swedish tourists Nahal Golsirat, 27, and Massim El Amrani, 30, were happy to sample the fare of their fellow Swede, Red Rooster’s award-winning celebrity chef, Marcus Samuelsson. “Sitting here in a quite cozy area, listening to gospel while eating good food with all the people around you, it’s very comfortable,” Golsirat says.

Praise this: The cornbread ($5) is sliced thick like pieces of a perfectly golden pound cake and comes with honey butter and spicy tomato jam.

Details: Gospel Sunday Brunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Red Rooster doesn’t take reservations and typically fills up within 30 minutes of opening.

God enough to eat

Sylvia’s Restaurant

328 Lenox Ave, 212 996 2669

“We love serving the people with great gospel music,” says Ruth Simpson, who performs weekly with her husband, Clinton, at Sylvia’s Gospel Sunday. “It’s our passion.” While patrons chow down on fried chicken so good they’ll want seconds, the Simpsons, who have been serving a weekly dose of gospel for 17 years, rouse the house with their classic praise music. It’s all true to South Carolina transplant Sylvia Woods’ mission — she founded Sylvia’s in 1962, bringing her Southern charm to Harlem. With Ruth Simpson on the mike and Clinton on the keys, both of the restaurant’s dining rooms are easily filled with good ol’ Southern flavor. Ruth sings to individual tables, shouting out customers’ hometowns between verses.

“Music brings a nice, warm atmosphere for the people that makes them feel better,” says Simpson.

The eats: Praise revelers can enjoy crowd favorites such as waffles with fried chicken ($14.95) and fried catfish and eggs ($16.95). While the music flows from 12:30 to 4 p.m., the meal options change at 2 p.m., when diners would be wise to try the sinfully “sweet and sassy” barbecued ribs ($19.95) — along with Sylvia’s famous complimentary cornbread. Enjoy the revelry with signature cocktails (left) such as the Devil in a Blue Dress ($10) or the South Carolina Rum Punch ($9).

Praise this: If Sylvia’s puts you in the mood, check out one of Harlem’s renowned gospel choirs at New Mount Zion Baptist Church (171 W. 140th St.) or Abyssinian Baptist Church (132 Odell Clark Place).

Details: Gospel Sunday runs from 12:30 to 4 p.m. The wait for a table can easily take an hour. If the weather is nice, wait outside, where a host announces via intercom when your table is ready. On chillier days, step around the crowd and head to the bar, where you can preview the music and sip on a mimosa ($10).

Tunes in Times Square

B.B King Blues Club & Grill

237 W 42nd Street, 212 997 4144

If you manage to wade through the tourist-heavy throngs on 42nd Street, head down the stairs of this mahogany-paneled music spot and plop down at one of the navy tables painted with B.B. King records. (You may even be seated at a table with a stranger — expect lots of tourists.)

At 2:30 p.m., the magic begins — that’s when the Harlem Gospel Choir, composed of singers from churches in Harlem and around the tri-state area, emerges onstage to get the crowd going.

“It was so uplifting, and really a fabulous thing to do on the first day of the year,” says 52-year-old Beata Morabito, who stumbled upon the show last weekend as she walked by the venue with her two daughters.

The eats: The all-you-can-eat buffet includes standard fare such as scrambled eggs, smoked bacon and French toast, as well as Southern soul-inspired options such as South Carolina grits, aged cheddar-baked mac and cheese, and jambalaya.

Praise this: There’s the requisite praising of God, of course, but the music isn’t all about religion. Toe-tapping tunes include renditions of “Celebration” and “Shout,” both of which get audience members out of their seats and singing, hollering and throwing their hands into the air.

Details: Try for a table in the first few rows, where you’ll have a better chance to dance and interact with the singers. Showtimes are at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; tickets (including buffet brunch) are $40 in advance and $42.50 the day of the show.

For post-prayer pancakes

Times Square Church

237 W 51st Street 212 541 6300

Melodies in midtown: Despite the size of this congregation, there is a surprising sense of community at the former Mark Hellinger Theatre. Friends meet at the doors and greet familiar ushers clad in mustard-yellow coats. Adorned with Rococo paintings, the building’s ceilings add to the beauty of the singing that kicks off the minute the clock strikes 10 a.m. on Sundays. The first few notes sung by the 140-strong choir bring the crowd to its feet as congregants raise their hands, sway and sing along. “You feel it. It’s amazing,” says 48-year-old Long Island City resident Moises Yera. One song flows into the next as churchgoers unite, singing along to lyrics shown on a jumbo screen. Services begin at 10 a.m. and 3 and 6 p.m. on Sundays, and 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. Youth and young-adult services are at 7 p.m. Fridays.

Nearby eats: After the service, head a few avenues west to 44 & X (622 10th Ave., at 44th Street; 212-977-1170, 44andx.com), a bright, airy space where brunchgoers chow down on herb-filled scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese grits and breakfast sausage ($13) and Maryland crab cakes with poached eggs, tomato and hollandaise sauce ($18).

Brooklyn Tabernacle

17 Smith St., Downtown Brooklyn, 718 290 2000

BELTING IT OUT IN BROOKLYN: You never know what you’ll get at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. At two out of three services each Sunday (9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.), you may be treated to the Grammy-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, in all of its 300-member group glory. At the other service, you’ll be treated to the smaller Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers. On New Year’s Day, after visitors gazed upon the grand arched ceiling and painted accents in the vast sanctuary, once the Loews Metropolitan Theater, six singers burst onto the stage to perform perfect pop harmonies in a rendition of “Nothing Is Impossible.” Other musical groups at that service included a mother-daughter duo.

Nearby eats: Once you’ve had your fill of hallelujahs, head over a few blocks to Bien Cuit (120 Smith St., 718-852-0200, biencuit.com) for a decadent brunch. Treat yourself to an almond pear Danish ($3.75) or a boysenberry mango tart with toasted coconut ($5.50). For something more substantial, try the goat cheese, artichoke and scallion croissant ($4.25). And don’t leave without tasting the heavenly white hot chocolate, infused with orange blossoms ($3).

christina.amoroso@nypost.com