Top spots for a fast and fabulous brunch in sunny Miami

The restaurant in the SBV Luxury Ocean Hotel is famous for having one of the best locations on Ocean Drive, and some of the best food on the hotel strip. The French Toast and the pancakes are famous, as is the street scene parading by. From here, 12th Street Beach is literally steps away, and who cares if you just ate pancakes and want to walk around in a Speedo?

The Rusty Pelican checks all the boxes for a great restaurant: delicious food, fun social scene, and an amazing location with gorgeous views of the ocean and the Miami skyline. There’s no traditional breakfast during the week, but the weekend brunch is spectacular, and the Bloody Marys are an extravaganza in a glass. The food here is a delightful combination of refined, yet relaxed, and the service is excellent.

Fans of the movie Moonlight may recognize Jimmy’s in the final scene, where Chiron nervously tried to find the right words for the love of his life, Kevin. The restaurant was the perfect location for this scene because romance blooms (and, sadly, sometimes fades) often amongst the booths and tables of this homey diner. If you hook up with a guy who lives in one of the cute houses in the Upper East Side or Belle Meade, and you’re lucky enough to get to sleep over, he will probably bring you to Jimmy’s the next morning both because the omelets are delicious, and also to show off in front of his neighbors that he got lucky. Take it as a compliment.

This is the ultimate hipster bakery in the biggest hipster enclave in Florida. Armies of gluten warriors converge on Zak the Baker to buy his loaves of artisanal bread, and his croissants and sweet treats make a great pairing with their delicious coffee. There are a few breakfast items, but sometimes it’s just fun to eat bread.

No brunch in Miami can compare with the extravaganzas at The Palace. This restaurant and bar is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city, thanks to the drag queens parading through the tables and onto the sidewalk. But even with wigs and sequins flying around, the food is very good and the service is friendly. Brunch on the weekends ($45/person) gets busy, and people linger at their tables sucking down the bottomless mimosas, so reserving a table might be a good idea. Fun fact: The Palace was home to Latrice Royale before she became RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty.

Joe’s Stone Crabs is so famous in Miami, the ladies of The Golden Girls talked about it in an episode of the show. It is an institution, with formal service and prices to match, but then on the side of the restaurant is Joe’s Take Away, where fans of stone crabs and other seafood delights can buy food to take home. Joe’s Take Away serves a simple and delicious breakfast menu, which is quite popular with locals who know about this semi-secret spot. Popular are the omelettes, breakfast wraps, and French Toast cooked with cornflakes. Yum.