The Five Best Mall Brunches in Miami

Stepping inside a mall this weekend might sound daunting, but these five brunch spots will make it worth your while. Nothing beats a cheesy hangover sandwich with a mimosa, right?

From the Aventura Mall and Downtown Dadeland, to Lincoln Road and the Design District, here are five restaurants worth losing a few hours of shopping for.
Tap 42. For Aventura Mall shoppers, Tap 42 opens a half-hour before noon, ready to serve bottomless cocktails and beer with Chicago-style steak and eggs and chocolate banana French toast. The restaurant's weekly brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday includes unlimited drinks for $20, funky music, and big-screen TVs tuned to football games and other sporting events. The most popular brunch item is the hangover sandwich — avocado, a sunny-side-up egg, hash browns, and truffle aioli on a toasted challah bun ($15.50). Other savory items include the green eggs and ham Benedict, where pulled pork, a sunny-side-up egg, and salsa verde are placed atop bacon-cheddar toast and loaded with creamy hollandaise ($15.50), and Chicago-style steak and eggs, with grilled filet mignon, garlic spinach, crisp hash browns, and eggs ($17.50). Go sweet with the chocolate banana French toast, made with challah bread and drizzled with warm maple syrup and powdered sugar ($14.50), or white chocolate strawberry pancakes with whipped cream ($14). Brunch is served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 19565 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura; 786-440-7270; tap42.com/aventura.
La Centrale. Visit Brickell City Centre's La Centrale this weekend for an Italian-style bistro brunch. Snack on homemade pastries while sipping a cappuccino and contemplating an order of the osso buco Benedict or the avocado toast with sautéed zucchini. Taking place inside the food hall's first-floor caffè from open till close, brunch offers a medium-size menu of appetizers, entrées, and sweets. Begin with the cestino dolce, a daily selection of four baked goods, which might include croissants, petite Nutella-filled muffins, and apple turnovers ($12). Then consider a thick slice of avocado toast ($15). It's made by layering lightly toasted whole-grain bread with sautéed zucchini noodles, stracciatella, roasted cherry tomatoes, a half scoop of avocado, and two poached eggs. For something heartier, opt for the osso buco Benedict, made with braised veal shank, poached eggs, and spinach on slices of focaccia with hollandaise ($16). As for cocktails, sip an Aperol spritz with prosecco and orange, or a Montenegro mule, containing ginger beer and lime juice. Brunch is served 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 601 S. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-720-2401; lacentralemiami.com.
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. If you're getting some of your shopping done on Lincoln Road, take a detour to Yardbird Southern Table & Bar for brunch. For eight hours Saturday and Sunday, the restaurant, which debuted in 2011, serves comfort food, from biscuits and fried chicken to mac 'n' cheese and fried tomatoes. It's one of the longest-running brunches in South Beach as far as service hours and years open. Some of the most popular options are baskets of buttermilk biscuits served with honey butter and house-made jam ($7); bowls brimming with maple-glazed doughnuts garnished with crisp bacon ($9); and fried half chickens alongside five-cheese mac made with trotolle pasta and covered in a crisp herb crust ($27). Crispy chicken biscuit sandwiches — in which bird is brined for 27 hours and coated in cayenne-spiced flour — come in pairs with pepper jelly ($14). Brunch is served 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 1600 Lenox Ave., Miami Beach; 305-538-5220; runchickenrun.com.
St. Roch. Splurging on a $3,000 Fendi bag at the Design District might be out of your budget, but window-shopping and brunch at St. Roch is doable. Inside the 10,000-square-foot food hall are 12 distinct food and drink concepts. You can sample house-made Italian ravioli, wolf down a bowl of spicy ceviche, slurp a few oysters on the half-shell, and indulge in fresh-baked vegan pastries. Opens at 8 a.m. daily. Palm Court, 140 NE 39th St., Miami; 786-542-8977; miami.strochmarket.com.
Pubbelly Sushi. While in Downtown Dadeland, stop in for brunch at Pubbelly Sushi. Enjoy all of Jose Mendin's signature items, including salads, sushi rolls, and sashimi, as well as speciality plates such as tuna pizza drizzled with garlic aioli and truffle oil; shrimp ceviche taquitos stuffed with avocado mousse and red pico de gallo; bigeye tuna or Wagyu beef tartare; and the butter krab roll. For dessert, go for the mason jar filled with dulce de leche mousse, streusel, strawberries, and matcha brûlée foam. Opens at noon daily. 8970 SW 72nd Pl., Kendall; 786-369-5472; pubbellyglobal.com.