Devon E.
Yelp
When I knew I was making a trip to the DC area I knew I wanted to have an amazing Sunday brunch somewhere. We looked at more traditional options and then my friend came across Mia's. A bottomless Italian food inspired brunch for only $32 a person? Sold. We made a reservation online! When they say bottomless, they mean it you can select as many items from their brunch menu as you like. Only catch is everyone at the table has to do the bottomless brunch option and alcohol is not included in that price. However, they did have some good Libration options that weren't expensive and had an even cheaper refill option for around $4 each. I got the Venus punch cocktail (processo, gin, ginger syrup, sage lemon) as I am a sucker for a liquor and wine combo. It was light and refreshing. I didn't want anything that would take too much stomach space away from the food.
The bunch menu had a good amount of options from more breakfast inspired specialities, appetizers, house made pastas, salads, and pizzas. The food came out fast, hot, and delicious. The portions were perfect for sharing. It honestly was all very good but my top two items you must get were the Signature Meatball Benedict (Mia's giant all beef meatball, poached egg, hollandaise, crispy polenta cake) and the Bucatini Casio E Pepe Pasta (Creamed pecorino romano, black pepper, sea salt). I loved the Italian spin of using a meatball and polenta cake instead of ham and English muffin. As expected their meatball was divine and the polenta cake nice and crispy. The poached egg was perfectly runny and the hollandaise flavorful. While the Bucatini pasta is a simple looking dish its flavor was executed to perfection. The creamy pecorino sauce was so good. There is also nothing like fresh pasta. We all meant to order another bowl of it later but we got full on other things!
We also ordered in round one the Caesar salad (Chopped hearts of romaine, grates parmigiano, focaccia croutons, creamy garlic dressing) pretty standard Caesar but did like the touch of using focaccia as the croutons. The Burrata (Heirloom tomatoes, smoked salt, roasted figs, saba, basil, toasted black pepper) was great and the heirloom tomatoes and figs complimented the cheese very well. The table also enjoyed the Jumbo Shrimp Fra Diavolo (Spaghetti, calabrese peppers, basil, garlic, san marzano tomatoes, lobster broth) which was not spicy but very flavorful in that broth. They were not lying about the shrimp, they were plump and generous for a bottomless option. Their tomato sauce was very good as well.
After a little breather (necessary to sustain as Italian food is pretty rich and heavy) we got round two. Again, the food came out very fast but you could tell everything was freshly made. We got two pizzas to share. The Brunch Pizza (whole egg, mozzarella, caramelized onions, pancetta, roasted red peppers, mixed herbs) was a fun way to bring some breakfast into pizza, but the Chicken & Artichoke Pizza (grilled chicken breast, artichoke hearts, pecorino cream, mozzarella, garlic butter, herbs) was the clear pizza star. That garlic butter was insanely good. I used the crust to soak all that goodness left on the platter up. This was my favorite item for the second round for sure. Finally, we tried one more pasta with the Rigatoni Alla Bolognese (Slow braised beef bolognese, san marzano tomatoes, ricotta cheese) which was also delicious. The pastas were all mwah! You could tell it's slow braised as there was so much flavor in that bolognese. It was hearty and I loved the ricotta on top to add some creaminess to the dish.
We wanted to order more savory but sadly we were pretty full. So we closed up shop with the Apple Ricotta Donuts (cinnamon sugar dusted donuts, creme anglaise) for something sweet. The donuts were nice and soft inside with a little crunch on the outside, but creme anglaise for dipping was the highlight for me. It was silky smooth and yummy but not too sweet either. No question we got our moneys worth and I was just impressed how top quality everything was. Sometimes this so not the case with a bottomless option. So the next time you are thinking you want a "brunch buffet" type experience, I encourage you to elevate that and come get some absolutely delicious, made to order Italian delights at Mia's!