This post has been updated from an earlier version.
Who doesn’t love mimosas with a water view? Here’s where to get outside for brunch this weekend.
The Wharf and Buzzard Point
Colada Shop Wharf
10 Pearl St., SW
The all-day Cuban cafe is a bright, casual stop at the Wharf. In addition to longtime favorites like Cuban sandwiches, guava-filled pastelitos, and mojitos, the Wharf location offers heartier plates like “shakshuka-style” poached eggs in sofrito, avocado tostadas, breakfast sandwiches, and specialty coffee drinks.
Flora Flora
The Pendry, 655 Water St., SW
If a waterfront view with air conditioning is more your speed, you can gaze out at the Washington Channel from this swank Wharf hotel’s Latin-influenced dining room. Samuel Santos’s new brunch menu, offered both Saturday and Sunday, features a huitlacoche quesadilla, alfajores pancakes with black walnuts, and easy-drinking spritzes and Palomas. There’s a bottomless option, too: for $60 a person, you get guacamole for the table, an entree, and as many pours of red, white, and pisco sangrias as you can handle.
Hank’s Oyster Bar at the Wharf
701 Wharf St., SW
Chef Jamie Leeds’s classic New England-style seafood restaurant is a prime spot for outdoor brunch. Snag a seat facing the water, order up a lobster omelet or crab bennie, and pretend you’re on the beach.
Ilili
100 District Sq., SW
The Wharf’s Lebanese dining room doesn’t have a patio, but the water-facing side of the garden-esque restaurant boasts fully retractable windows to create a indoor/outdoor veranda. Look for hot and cold mezze, and Lebanese riffs on brunch classics like shakshuka with spicy tomato sauce and feta; French toast with whipped labne and poached figs; and a smoky bourbon cocktail for four.
Mi Vida
98 District Sq., SW
Multi-level patios with waterfront views greet diners at this stylish mod-Mex destination at the Wharf. But the restaurant is more than just a pretty place to drink (although mango margaritas are definitely a draw). In addition to the regular menu of mole enchiladas and fish tacos, look for morning specials like huevos rancheros, banana French toast, and egg-stuffed burritos.
The Point
2100 Second St., SW
This massive, indoor/outdoor 500-seat seafood restaurant—the first to open at the burgeoning Buzzard Point development—sits at the intersection of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and flanks a large marina (so yes, water views are widely available). We like to set up by one of the patio fire pits or at the outdoor bar for weekend brunch with an Ivy City Smokehouse smoked-fish board; crab-dip-stuffed doughnuts; smoked salmon Benedict; or shrimp n’ grits.
Tiki TNT
1130 Maine Ave., SW
Hit Todd Thrasher’s three-story tiki bar at the Wharf for summer vibes all year round and water views—especially good from the rooftop. The brunch menu has group-friendly options like bottomless passionfruit mimosas ($25), snack-laded pupu platters, and island eats like Spam-stuffed bao or “boozy ass rum buns.”
Old Town Alexandria
Ada’s on the River and Barca Pier & Wine Bar
2-3 Pioneer Mill Way, Alexandria
These neighboring sister restaurants in Old Town are all about the water. At Ada’s, an airy dining room and patio overlook the Potomac, brunch is a classic New American affair—think biscuits, Benedicts, and omelets. Pier restaurant Barca sits right on the river, serving Spanish wines and tapas in an open-air setting. At brunch, options include breakfast patatas bravas with chorizo and labne, and egg-topped shrimp n’ grits.
Hummingbird
220 S. Union St., Alexandria
Alexandria’s waterfront restaurant from the former Restaurant Eve team serves weekend brunch in a glassy setting overlooking the Potomac River. Chef Cathal Armstrong’s menu runs the gamut from a simple breakfast platter to seafood dishes like oyster po’ boys or a breakfast BLT with house-cured gravlax. Over at the Wharf on DC’s Southwest waterfront, check out the patio at his Thai/Filipino/Korean restaurant, Kaliwa.
Vola’s Dockside Grill
101 N. Union St., Alexandria
This Alexandria waterfront restaurant—also a sibling to Ada’s on the River and Barca—specializes in casual, beachy fare like fish tacos, lobster rolls, and crabcake sandwiches and Benedicts. Bonus: it’s dog-friendly, and offers a special menu for pups.
Navy Yard
All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront
79 Potomac Ave., SE
Make it a pizza brunch on the water at chef Mike Friedman’s Navy Yard Italian-American spot, which pours Aperol spritzes as pretty as the views. In addition to deck-oven pies, there are plenty of fun brunch specials like banana bread with Nutella buttercream, avocado crostini, and an egg sandwich stacked with fontina, salami, lemony aioli, and more. It’s one of the better bottomless deals around: For $28, get an entree or pizza, plus unlimited Aperol spritzes, bellinis, and grapefruit or regular mimosas.
Osteria Morini
301 Water St., SE
Not only does this waterfront Italian restaurant in Navy Yard have a roomy wraparound patio shaded by umbrellas, it also serves a lovely menu with brunch and lunch items. Traditionalists can go for ricotta pancakes and mimosas, while lunch fans can opt for homemade pastas, salads, and panini. To drink, there are Calabrian chili-fueled bloodies, bellinis, and Aperol crushes.
The Salt Line
79 Potomac Ave., SE
Sandwiched between Nationals Park and the Anacostia River, the popular New England-inspired spot often draws a crowd (whether it’s a game day or not). Perch on the wraparound patio for creative seafood dishes like king-crab Benedict or a grilled-octopus tostada—plus a showstopper bloody Mary for two garnished with a lobster claw, shrimp, oyster, fried coddie, and more.
Georgetown
Fiola Mare
3050 K St., NW
The star of the Georgetown waterfront is definitely a special-occasion brunch spot (though it’s still not as spendy as it is at dinner). Diners can go a la carte or splurge on the $95 “sparkling brunch” that includes a warm pastry basket, and a choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert, plus unlimited prosecco and brunch cocktails. More in a Spanish mood? Sister restaurant Del Mar at the Wharf is equally swanky and delicious.
Gaithersburg
Charley Prime Foods
9811 Washingtonian Blvd., Gaithersburg
The latest restaurant from the owners of DC’s Bar Charley sits on the lake at Gaithersburg’s Rio complex. Its daytime menu is an eclectic mix of lightly tweaked comfort foods: a French dip laden with lamb and harissa, lobster benedict set on a housemade English muffin, a “faux gras” pate made with mushrooms instead of goose liver. Order a la carte, or go for bottomless mimosas or lagers plus an entree for $34.95.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
