essensia restaurant and lounge is housed within The Palms Hotel & Spa on Miami Beach. I recently visited The Palms and had breakfast one glorious Sunday morning at essensia.
The Palms Hotel & Spa on Miami Beach is one of those places that once you go you will become a fan and a repeat guest for years to come. The property is gorgeous, the service and staff are genuinely accommodating and caring and the food is exceptional.
The Palms Hotel & Spa is one of those hidden gems that you probably don’t know about until someone tells you about it and bam! it’s omnipresent. That is exactly what happened to me, I heard about it on the Today Show, then read about it in the Miami Herald and I found myself there two days later. No I didn’t run out to The Palms because the Today Show said to; but my plans for the weekend just kept evolving and I found myself eating breakfast one Sunday at essensia on Miami Beach. And I’m here to tell you it was the best bacon and eggs I’ve ever had, (granted it’s hard to screw up scrambled eggs and bacon but I’m sure someone, somewhere has truly succeeded at it!) I’ve said this before it’s not always about the food but the atmosphere, the service and the company. The Palms definitely has the whole package nailed down to perfection.
Now I’m a bit biased in the fact that breakfast and brunch are my favorite “things to do” however, with that said I am equally inclined to presume that if you are a restaurant that “does” breakfast then you do it right. I believe that breakfast is one of the more challenging meals for a restaurant to put out; as the basic breakfast foods such as eggs, toast, bacon and coffee are temperature-fragile food items to “get out” to the guest in a timely manner. essensia restaurant under the direction of the talented and brilliant Chef Frank Jeannetti has its I’s dotted and T’s crossed every step of the way. Serving breakfast on a Sunday on Miami Beach definitely has it’s pitfalls where I’m sure one would rather be playing than working and yet every staff member, from the hostess to the server to the busboy to the Food and Beverage Manager all actually enjoyed being at work. I ordered a cappuccino to start, I figured if I’m eating breakfast at The Palms, I’m going to enjoy it every step of the way. All I have to say is Starbucks can take lessons from essensia on how to make and present a cappuccino. It was so magnificent I ordered a second one! I just wanted bacon and eggs sometimes you’re just in the mood for the basics and need to give into it. I didn’t think it was possible for bacon and eggs to be beautiful. Isn’t that a funny statement? But it was, talk about food presentation and as good looking as my eggs were they tasted even better and yes, they were steaming hot. The bacon was cooked to perfection, the breakfast potatoes were roasted fingerling potatoes, simply delicious, the toast, hot and buttered. My breakfast companion’s meal was equally impressive and a bit more exotic than my bacon and eggs; Lump Crab Benedict, absolutely gorgeous! Delicious! Amazing! Also served with roasted fingerling potatoes. Oh and lest I forget, we ordered a breakfast appetizer (food people do this, normal people don’t) we had cheese blitzes. These were no ordinary cheese blitzes, they were made to order, literally the “blitzes” were made for us. Served with a trio of jams the blitzes melted in your mouth you didn’t even have to chew.
After this splendid breakfast we walked around the hotel and the grounds. It truly is an oasis in the middle of a hustling bustling city. The pool and gardens area transports you to a place of true serenity with swaying hammocks and lush foliage sure to erase all your cares and woes. The Palms Spa is an Aveda Spa housing 5000 sq feet of sheer tranquility. We didn’t indulge in any treatments but I definitely see a girl’s weekend in the future.
My couple of breakfast hours at The Palms Hotel was definitely a teaser. This resort is a lovely destination place to escape to be it for a weekend or a week. I know I haven’t experienced enough of the surprises that The Palms Hotel & Spa offers nor have I eaten enough of the culinary masterpieces essensia offers so I’ll be back. Visit The Palms Hotel & Spa website here and to view the breakfast photos click here.
The Palms Hotel & Spa
3025 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(305) 534-0505
