Driftwood Room Launches Sunday Rosé Brunch and Free Yoga

Walk through the Nautilus on a Sunday morning and you might forget you're inside a South Beach hotel. The lobby and downstairs lounge are hush, with few guests shuffling in and out. But venture a little farther and find celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli's Driftwood Room, where the atmosphere transforms into a swank brunch soiree. 

The hotel eatery recently launched a rosé brunch, where guests are greeted with a plethora of Mediterranean-style stations, along with an à la carte menu, music, and free-flowing booze. 

If you need something to justify your Sunday midmorning overindulgence, Nautilus has you covered too. Coinciding with the launch of its brunch shindig, the hotel has teamed up with Green Monkey Yoga to offer locals and hotel guests complimentary classes on weekend mornings. Classes are located in the backyard behind the pool (just a few steps from the brunch buffet), where attendees can take advantage of a one-hour session before spending the rest of the day surrounded by unlimited food and drinks.
New Times was invited to Driftwood Room and went straight to the lavish buffet spread (because walks to and from each food station count as a workout, right?).

When arriving for brunch, choose between indoor or outdoor seating. The former is relatively quiet, though expect diners to frequently roam around to snag various plates because the buffet is located inside. For a daytime-party vibe, sit outdoors near the Nautilus' garden and pool. 

Driftwood suggests a few trips to the buffet before choosing an entrée. The spread offers everything from breads to prime rib.

Begin with cheese, charcuterie, and salads. There's warm Brie with walnut syrup, as well as a Parmesan wheel, plus soppressata, salami, mortadella, and prosciutto. Pair meats and cheeses with freshly baked baguettes, sourdoughs, and zucchini-infused bread. Be sure to get a few spoonfuls of homemade hummus too. 
Many of the salads are Mediterranean-influenced, such as a grain variety with wild mushrooms and goat cheese; roasted vegetable and fregula; and tabbouleh with Israeli couscuos. There's a traditional caesar salad too, but romaine lettuce is swapped for Brussels sprouts, giving the plate added crunch. 

Then journey through the "carvery" station, where meats such as bacon-wrapped pork loin, marinated skirt steak with chimichurri, and prime rib are offered. There's a massive bowl of paella too.
The à la carte menu features mostly breakfast-centric plates. Expect traditional Benedicts with salmon or pulled pork; monkey bread French toast made with True Loaf bread and infused with chunks of chocolate; and an omelet with cheddar, spinach, onion, and ham.  
End your meal the way it began with another trip to the buffet, this time to its dessert spread. Sweets, baked in-house that morning, range from chocolate-dipped strawberries and fruit tarts to triple-chocolate cake and key lime pie. 

Brunch, priced at $55 per person, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday. For an extra $25, wash it all down with bottomless rosé. The hotel gives each party of two a $10 Uber credit too, which lasts until 11 p.m. that day. 

Follow Clarissa Buch on Instagram and Twitter.