South Beach's Bodega Launches Mexican Street-Food Brunch

In the wee hours of Saturday, South Beach's Bodega will turn off the lights around 5 a.m, just as the late-night taco-and-tequila spot has done since it debuted in 2015. But this weekend will be different. The restaurant will reopen five hours later for its first brunch service.

This Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, swing by for churro French toast and cocktails made with grapefruit, tequila, and prosecco.

"As someone who was born and raised in Miami, I'm always tuned in to what our neighbors are asking for," says Jared Galbut, managing principal at Menin Hospitality, which owns Bodega. "When we started getting more requests for brunch, we knew it was the right time."

The six-item brunch menu ($4 to $12), though small, packs a punch. Expect migas nachos, smothered in bacon, scrambled eggs, queso, tomato, cilantro, and guacamole, and the Primo's burrito, stuffed with short rib, scrambled eggs, Oaxaca cheese, hash browns, and truffle-infused maple syrup.
Other items include the taco bueno, made with chorizo, scrambled eggs, cotija, and avocado crema; arroz con huevos rancheros, a Mexican-style rice bowl containing two sunny-side-up eggs, guacamole, fried jalapeños, and salsa ranchera (a tomato and chili sauce); and the breakfast torta, with bacon, scrambled eggs, guacamole, potato sticks, Oaxaca cheese, and chili crema.

For something sweet, go for the churro French toast. A stack of sugar-dusted fried dough is finished with strawberries, spicy truffle-infused maple syrup, and more sugar.

As for drinks, forgo tequila on the rocks for something tangy or fizzy. There's the Oye Maria ($7), Bodega's bloody mary, made with Illegal mezcal, chipotle purée, tomato juice, lime, and pineapple and garnished with a slab of bacon and a spicy salt rim. Or try the Hermanamosa ($7), a lighter cocktail containing tequila, grapefruit juice, and prosecco and garnished with an orange wheel.

Bodega. 1220 16th St., Miami Beach; 305-704-2145; bodegasouthbeach.com. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.