Brunches We Love

Sunday Brunch at Fiola

By Lizzie Wilcox

July/August 2019

For those seeking an elegant atmosphere and a lofty, light space for brunch, look no further than Fiola. On Sundays, they offer a champagne brunch, which includes an appetizer, entrée, dessert, bottomless champagne or cocktails, and pastry basket for $75. All paired nicely with a live jazz band.

The hard part here is picking just one of each course. For the appetizer, we picked the Burrata. Accompanied by heirloom tomatoes and pesto of basil Genovese, it was one of the most beautiful dishes we’ve ever seen. The smoked salmon toast, our other choice, was essentially a high-end avocado toast topped with tomato and salmon. All avocado toast should come so dressed. Among the other popular choices: The bison tartare with crispy maitake mushrooms, and the mango-banana smoothie bowl, topped with pineapple, toasted coconut, granola and fruit.

The entrees lean toward either the breakfast or lunch side of the aisle, from French toast to lobster rolls. If you tilt toward the lunch end, the pasta carbonara is one of the best we’ve had in Miami. Traditionally the dish calls for spaghetti, but at Fiola they switch it up with small shells bathed in parmigiano and sheep’s pecorino cheeses, with copious black pepper.

We also ordered the jumbo lump crab benedict, which caught our eye enroute to another table. It surpassed all human expectations as to what eggs benedict could be. Two giant biscuits stacked with patty-sized servings of crab fonduta, poached eggs and rosemary hollandaise. We could only eat one; maybe we should’ve taken it easier on the pastry basket.

Even though we didn’t clear our plates, they still let us have dessert. At an Italian restaurant, it’s blasphemy to not order the Tiramisu. The light coffee zabaglione (custard) and rich chocolate sorbet complement each other perfectly. For something a little sweeter, try the Bomboloni. It’s a basket of doughnut holes – served with a butterscotch sauce made with Facundo Bacardi Eximo rum. Heavenly.

Jumbo Lump Crab Benedict