New Miami Beach Coffee Shop Brings Sunshine to Española Way

With pastel yellow walls and a fun menu, Sunshine Coffee has opened in Miami Beach, bringing a touch of sunshine to Española Way.

Created by husband-and-wife team Alan Philips and Gelareh Mizrahi, Sunshine Coffee’s colorful walls represent the sun and the joyful happiness of its namesake, their daughter, Sunshine, while the blue represents the ocean. At its core, Philips tells New Times that Sunshine Coffee is the essence of Miami.

“When I have an iced coffee and the sun hits my face, I just take a moment and appreciate this incredible life we all have here in this city,” says Philips. “We wanted to do our best to create a place where people feel that joy. The sun and ocean come together at the beach, which we would call our ‘common grounds.’ We use that play on words with the coffee, this is our common ground as a community, a place where everyone lifts each other up one cup at a time.’” 

Miami first encountered the sunny café at its pop-ups at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden during Art Basel 2024 and at Reserve Padel’s Seaplane Base. Now, its flagship shop and new permanent home light up the entrance of the Esmé Hotel on Española Way.

A Really Fun Drink Menu (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Oat Milk)!

Iced coffee takes center stage on the menu, featuring the signature “Miami Iced” perfected by Philips for nearly a decade. He tells New Times that coffee is his department. When looking for the perfect iced coffee, he opted for a rich and taste-forward brew while also supporting local, choosing a locally roasted coffee in Miami Gardens. 

While Phillips drinks two “Miami Iced” a day, he also recommends the many variations, including the fun and delicious milk and foam flavor options: “Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk,” “Chocolate Chip Cookie Oat Milk,” “Banana Milk,” and “Pink Vanilla Cold Foam.”

Another popular drink is the iced matcha, which Phillips says is Mizrahi’s department. The café utilizes ceremonial-grade matcha to craft refreshing drinks, including the “Strawberry Flower Matcha Latte” and the “Watermelon Matcha Lemonade.” The menu also features a selection of iced teas and smoothies, including the popular “Super Fantastic,” made with blue spirulina, which creates a marbled blue contrast to the cream-colored smoothie base.  

From Breakfast Sandwiches to Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Food choices lean towards breakfast-style with a selection of toasts, sandwiches, breakfast tacos, and bowls. Must-tries include the “Sunshine Breakfast Sando,” made with eggs, thick-cut bacon, and cheddar on a fresh-baked English muffin, and the “Spicy Tuna Toast,” made with fresh ahi tuna over sliced avocado on a toasted English muffin.

On the sweet side, the “pancake cake” (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like) and the brown butter cinnamon rolls made with focaccia dough are highlights, but there is a variety of freshly baked pastries to choose from. With their family woven throughout, the menu also features “Teddy’s Sun Drops,” named after the couple’s son, and “River’s Frozen Lemonade,” named after their eldest, who loves the frozen lemonades and bagels. 

“The reaction since opening has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Philips. “I think our coffee, our matcha, and our food are really good, but I will say that I think what people react to the most is our team and the energy when you walk into the space. A couple of people have walked in and said, ‘This is the happiest place on earth.’ Miami has given our family a lot of really amazing blessings, and this is our opportunity to give back the happiness.”

As a Miami-born brand, Sunshine Coffee is focused on growing in the city, and the team plans to expand with four to five new locations in the next year.

Sunshine Coffee. 1438 Washington Ave., at the Esmé Hotel; sunshinecoffee.com.