photo credit: Karli Evans
MIAGuide
Where To Have Brunch Outside In Miami
At these spots, sitting outside is non-negotiable.
You know what’s better than brunch? Eating brunch outside on a day so perfect it makes you want to sob into your pancakes. That’s what this guide is for. Use it on those days when you want to consume all your calories before 1pm while marveling at the beauty of Miami.
THE SPOTS
If the production of brunch is starting to feel more like a chore than a pleasure to you, go to Rosie's. The Little River restaurant will make you fall madly in love with the meal again, even if you never even liked it that much to begin with. This is because the food here is phenomenal, and Rosie's makes the best brunch dishes in Miami. The menu revolves around Southern food, and both the sweet and savory sides of the spectrum are well-represented. You can get a gorgeous stack of fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes or fried chicken and biscuits that look like they just came back from a photo shoot. There are also cocktails, mimosas, coffee, and an excellent seasonal lemonade that's just what you want to be sipping in Rosie's sunny outdoor lot.
Thanks to a big renovation and expansion, Chug’s is cooler than ever. The Coconut Grove Cuban spot feels like a completely new restaurant than when it first opened in 2019. And, in addition to an updated interior that has the DNA of a classic diner, Chug’s also revamped their patio seating. The big courtyard is now filled with shaded tables and plants, and it’s exactly the kind of setting where you want to be eating an excellent cast iron pancake and sipping cafecito on a 70-degree night. The food is familiar, mostly Cuban dishes and some great sandwiches—including a lovely breakfast sandwich with taylor ham, a runny egg, American cheese, mayo, and crispy yuca papitas on Cuban bread.
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You can’t eat much closer to Biscayne Bay than at Amara—unless you own a boat or are a manatee. But if you are not a herbivorous marine mammal, then this is a really good choice because both the view and food are great. The menu is very seafood-heavy, even during brunch. They offer a raw bar selection, smoked fish dip, and grilled snapper. But they also have soft scrambled eggs, jerk mushroom breakfast tacos, and avocado toast. Definitely make a reservation if you want a guaranteed outdoor table.
There are a lot of very good things available at this casual neighborhood spot, but you should come to brunch for two of them in particular: the Pinch burger and the feat of engineering that is their stuffed french toast. It’s an entire loaf of brioche that has an oozing pool of guava in its center. Splitting it open and watching it spill onto your plate is both soothing and satisfying, like a babbling creek or Niagara Falls—if both of those things were filled with hot guava instead of water. Most of the seating at Pinch is inside, but they have a really cozy back patio. It’s covered too, in case there are some scary clouds in the sky.
Casa Florida is the kind of place you visit for the aesthetics. We’ve never been blown away by the food here (although we really like the drinks), but it’s just an undeniably cute spot. Shades of pink are everywhere, there’s ample outdoor seating, and even a vintage bus you can hang out inside of. Weekend brunch is from 11am to 4pm. Menu items include simple things like avocado toast, bagels and lox, and yogurt and granola. Again, it won’t be the best thing you’ve eaten all year, but it will help you absorb the great cocktails, especially that lovely tangerine negroni.
Buena Vista Deli is a casual spot perfect for those mornings when you roll out of bed with no reservations, or eggs in your fridge. You will most likely be able to walk into this little French restaurant in Buena Vista. When you do, ask for a table on their little side patio. It’s a cozy, peaceful setup where you can eat simple sandwiches, quiche, omelettes, and pastries. They have mimosas too, in case coffee just won’t cut it.
Red Rooster is an Overtown restaurant that serves a mix of Southern, Caribbean, and Latin American dishes. The Southern dishes are what mostly rule brunch, which they offer from 10am-3pm Saturday and Sunday. They have good versions of chicken and waffles, deviled eggs, cornbread with jalapeño honey butter, and more (including cocktails). Their covered patio is a solid spot to eat when it’s too nice to be inside—and they have live music during their “gospel brunch” on Sunday. To guarantee an outdoor table, you’ll want to make a reservation.
There are a lot of things to like about brunch at Kush Coconut Grove. They have a DIY Bloody Mary bar. The menu has plenty of options, including an excellent cheeseburger, a watermelon salad, and fried chicken and waffles. It’s just hard to have a bad meal here, mostly because everything is good. Plus, their spacious dog-friendly patio is kind of a great place to get slightly day drunk.
There aren’t a ton of outdoor tables at Blue Collar, but their small patio is quite comfortable once you snag a table. Plus, their weekend brunch is worth waiting for. The best brunch dishes here are big and usually involve eggs, like their brisket benedict and filet mignon steak and eggs. If you’re a planner, you can also just make a reservation to avoid Blue Collar’s usual wait time.
If you’ve got brunch friends who have trouble agreeing on things, Tap 42 is a good compromise. This place has locations around Miami (including in Midtown, Aventura, Gables, and Doral) because it’s a crowd-pleaser, with common brunch items like fried chicken and waffles, a very good burger, and eggs benedict. The only thing that might rub you the wrong way is that most people here are probably about five mimosas deep. So maybe skip it if you want some peace and quiet.
