With more Miami restaurants than ever before serving up brunch, there won’t be a single weekend when you’ll go hungry (or thirsty). Here are 11 brunches you can't miss.
Mignonette
Why: Blue Collar brunch devotees will love Danny Serfer’s fancy, seafood-centric brunch. In addition to the expected oysters and caviar, there are crepes (or blintzes as Serfer calls them), quiche, and your choice of shrimp, crab, or lobster Benedict.
Best dish: Egg salad and sturgeon caviar on perfectly buttered slices of brioche. Didn't we warn you it was fancy?
Wash it down with: A blood-orange mimosa. Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. 210 NE 18 St., Miami, 305-374-4635
Traymore Restaurant and Bar
Why: A little live jazz on the boardwalk accompanied by foie gras and duck egg sliders, anyone? This is the premise for Traymore’s jazzy and boozy brunch. Chef Jonathan Lane pays homage to Florida with a seafood-focused menu—without foregoing brunch classics. Expect lobster and avocado grilled cheese, crab cake Benedict with hearts of palm remoulade, and the quintessential Cuban sandwich with a twist.
Best dish: The slow-roasted pork belly bao is slow roasted indeed. The impeccably tender meat is balanced by carrot, pickled jalapeño, and cilantro.
Wash it down with: Traymore’s signature gin punch—a delightful concoction of gin, citrus fruits, pineapple, and bitters. It’s so good, you can’t just have one, so go for the bottomless option. Saturdays from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; 2445 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-695-3600
Siena Tavern
Why: You can tell Fabio Viviani takes brunch very seriously by his menu packed with indulgences like stone crab Benedict with rosemary blood orange hollandaise, lobster hash with truffle hollandaise, and the caramelized waffle with Nutella butter. For something on the healthier side, we love the homemade granola with creamy Greek yogurt, fresh berries, and native forest Puremiel honey.
Best dish: The famous coccoli paired with lox (instead of prosciutto). Pro tip: Cut the coccoli in half and create a pocket for the smoked salmon, capers, and scallion cream cheese.
Wash it down with: Bottomless Bloody Marys served up with a tray of accoutrements, giving the classic libation your own personal touch. Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 404 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, 305-534-5577
Loba
Why: The weekend is our excuse to eat comfort food and watch old movies—why not do both at Loba? Chow down on huevos rancheros or banana-bread French toast topped with Nutella, peanut butter, and candied bacon while watching whatever is playing on the projector (think: The Graduate or Pulp Fiction).
Best dish: It's a tie between the lentil croquette on a bed of beet tzatziki and avocado and the "ring of fire," Loba’s take on chicken and waffles featuring a sweet potato waffle, Spanish fried chicken, jamón serrano, and chipotle butter.
Wash it down with: A michelada, in which Cigar City’s Jai Alai brew gets an extra kick with house-made sriracha. Sundays from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. 7420 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 786-536-6692
Stripsteak
Why: Michael Mina does Sunday brunch, an affair that includes your choice of appetizer, entrée—we're talking a black truffle omelet, Maine lobster Benedict, and brioche French toast with salted caramel and toasted oat whipped cream—and desserts displayed on the bar for your endless perusing.
Best dish: Duck and ricotta cavatelli. Black trumpet mushrooms and butternut squash give the al dente pasta an earthy flavor. Instead of shredded cheese, Parmesan foam tops the dish.
Wash it down with: Champagne cocktails. 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 877-326-7412
L'echon
Why: A very French brunch from the guys behind Pubbelly. There's French toast and crispy frog legs, bacon-wrapped dates with pork jus, popcorn pancakes with bacon ice cream, and—since no French soirée is complete without crepes—brown-butter cylinders bursting with Grand Marnier crème, orange preserves, and caramelized almonds.
Best dish: The croque Cubana, a croque madame and Cuban sandwich hybrid with Cox Farms ham, cochinillo, Gruyere, house pickles, and a sunny-side-up farm egg between brioche.
Wash it down with: The French 75 keeps it simple with gin, lemon, and champagne. 6261 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 786-483-1611
Hannya
Why: The owners of Akashi present a Vietnamese-styled brunch with offerings like flash-fried spring rolls, seared tuna wrapped in soy, and pho with all trimmings. For dessert, an Oreo with coffee and ice cream will keep you going for the rest of the day.
Best dish: The Korean seafood pancake. You’ll get shrimp and crab with every bite of this fluffy cake and just the right amount of char.
Wash it down with: Sake. Add beer to make it a party brunch. Sundays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 1063 Brickell Plaza, Miami, 305-808-5833
SHIKANY
Why: This molecular brunch takes your taste buds on a ride down the culinary rabbit hole. Take your pick from dishes like wild boar cheek hash with black winter truffle and a 63-degree egg, and the most complex frittata you'll ever eat.
Best dish: The Chambord-braised venison shank served with crispy lardon, taleggio mascarpone mash, a sunny-side-up egg, and charred sofrito.
Wash it down with: A Bloody Mary with a smoked cayenne and salt-rimmed glass. The first one’s on the house. Sundays from 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 251 NW 25th St., Miami, 305-573-0690
Pubbelly
Why: Late last year, the Pubbelly Boys threw us a bone and added Sunday brunch to their agenda. With game-changing items like pumpkin pie pancakes with walnut butter, soft-shell crab Benedict with shiso hollandaise, and homemade granola with yuzu, it was well worth the wait.
Best dish: Jose Mendin took his famed Mcbelly and turned it into the hangover-curing Media Noche sandwich loaded with Cox Farms ham, Gruyere, dijonnaise, and homemade pickles.
Wash it down with: The Rose is the New Orange, a concoction of sake, capeletti, and rose. Sundays from noon-4 p.m. 1418 20th St., Miami Beach, 305- 532-7555
La Mar
Why: Hot and cold stations with limitless bounties of Gaston Acurio’s ceviche, tiraditos, Peruvian sushi, anticuchos, lobster chupe, and other delights. Still hungry? You also get a choice of one a la carte entrée like the king plancha anticuchera, which is capped off with a towering house of sweets for the table.
Best dish: La Mar’s signature chaufa aeropuerto—a mélange of Chinese fried rice with pork, shrimp omelet, nikei sauce, and pickled salad—mixed in a stone wok in front of you. Every table gets one to share, though you’ll want it all for yourself.
Wash it down with: Bottomless pisco sours—three kinds of them (guava, chicha morada, or classic). Sundays from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. 500 Brickell Key Dr., Miami, 305-913-8358
Love is Blind
Why: To celebrate the launch of Carlon Galan and JC Chamizo's third restaurant, the brunch at Love is Blind features new dishes along with traditional favorites like chicken and waffles and the Triple Decker Hangover Wrecker, three eggs over easy with ham, bacon, and cheese on sourdough bread.
Best dish: Grilled short rib Benedict—a meaty twist to the classic dish.
Wash it down with: A custom cocktail from the Bloody Mary bar. Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 225 Altara Ave., Coral Gables, 305-748-6118
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CARLA TORRES (MIGNONETTE, LOBA, HANNYA, SHIKANY, PUBBELLY); GIOVANNY GUTIERREZ (SIENA TAVERN); JOSE DE LAS CASAS (STRIPSTEAK); PUBBELLY MEDIA GROUP (L'ECHON)