Dalya Lurie

Since opening on Feb. 12, Pura Vida Miami has become a popular brunch spot in Potomac, Md.

Pura Vida Miami is a refreshing brunch spot with tropical ambiance and delicious bites. The new cafe in the Cabin John shopping center opened on Feb. 12 and has since become a popular weekend brunch spot. While there were a few overpriced options on the menu, the overall vibes of the restaurant and tasty sandwiches more than made up for it.

The menu includes items such as smoothies, acai bowls, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Additionally, there is a bakery section with an array of trendy treats, such as matcha croissants and toasted sesame cookies. 

We started with the Welcome to Miami smoothie, which contained banana, passionfruit and mango. While the taste was refreshing, it was watery and underwhelming. It was not worth the $10.95 price tag. 

The costly treats continued to be a trend when we tried both the banana bread loaf and the blueberry bread loaf for $6.95 each. The banana bread loaf was dense, packed with chocolate chips and tasted homemade. It was on the dryer side, but the chip-to-bread ratio made up for it.

The blueberry bread loaf was even more dense than the banana bread loaf, making it perfectly moist. There was also a lemon flavor in the slice, adding to the fresh blueberry taste. The only thing we didn’t like about the loaf was that the blueberries were not evenly dispersed and all sank to the bottom.

From the array of breakfast options offered, we chose three to try. Starting with The Perfect Egg Sandwich, consisting of a plain bagel, arugula, tomato, mozzarella, smashed avocado and red pepper flakes. For $14.95, this met our expectations of a flavor-backed bite, and the soft-boiled egg was cooked to perfection, living up to the name. 

The next sandwich we tried was the New Yorker, which was a Jewish-style sourdough, topped with whipped scallion dill cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, pickled red onion, alfalfa sprouts and lemon oil drizzle. For $18.95 our expectations were high. Generally, neither of us lean toward smoked salmon, but we are both glad we picked it in this case, as the sourdough was crunchy and the whipped cream cheese complemented it perfectly.

Finally, we ordered the Tomato Bagel, and although it was quite simple, it was our favorite. The perfectly toasted bagel and the fluffy cream cheese tasted amazing when topped with a juicy tomato slice and seasoned with flaky sea salt. Even though it was slightly overpriced at $9.95, we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

In addition to the delicious breakfast and lunch options, the environment at Pura Vida is reason enough to eat there. The indoor and outdoor seating options provided spaces to cozy up on a chilly day or enjoy the sunshine on a spring afternoon.

Despite some food being slightly overpriced, the good quality food and satisfying taste make up for it. Overall, we would definitely recommend Pura Vida Miami as a cute spot to get brunch, catch up with friends and enjoy a delicious meal.