Bottomless Brunch at Boqueria

The natural choice for a Saturday afternoon activity is an all-you-can eat, all-you-can-drink brunch. I mean, what else could you possibly do? This rationale is exactly how my boyfriend, 3 friends, and I found ourselves at Boqueria this past weekend. Boqueria is a Spanish tapas restaurant located in Dupont circle whose weekend brunch deal holds a special place in my heart. For $40, you get unlimited brunch tapas plates and drinks. Pure bliss, right? This perfection gets kicked up a notch if you can score a table outside when the weather is nice, which is always our go-to move. Another reason I like to sit outside is so I can get my favorite waiter in all of DC. I finally asked him his name on this visit, so I’d like to give a special shout-out to my man Bojan (I’m a poet and I didn’t know it!). Once you tell Bojan that you want to do the bottomless brunch (still very unclear as to why anyone wouldn’t do this), he completely takes over. The only decision you have to make is which brunch drink (which quickly turns into numerous drinks) you would like, which means a choice between red sangria, white sangria, rose sangria, a mimosa, a bloody mary, or beer. You can always switch drinks so you don’t need to feel too much pressure about what you pick. I once went to a bottomless brunch where they would not let me switch from bloody marys which really ticked me off because I could only drink two before I got miserably full. I always pick the red sangria at Boqueria because, not only is it delicious, but Sangria always seems like the appropriate al fresco cocktail.

The only job left for you at this point is to eat and drink anything and everything that comes in front of you. Bojan always puts in orders for every item on the menu for us and then lets us tell him what we would like more of. A run-down of the many dishes includes: blistered shishito peppers, lamb meatballs, tortilla espanola, eggs benedict, a vegetable flatbread, green salad, scrambled eggs with chorizo, roasted vegetables, pan con tomate, mussels, panko crusted chicken tenders, patatas bravas, pancakes, and ,finally, pineapple drizzled with molasses. Phew. I feel hungry and ridiculously full at the same time after writing that. I enjoy every item except for the mussels which are a bit tough and fishy for me. My friends liked them but all the other restaurants serving excellent mussels in D.C. have spoiled me (I like to think of myself as somewhat of a mussels connoisseur at this point). One of my favorite items would have to be the pan con tomate which is so simple yet completely satisfying;it is crusty french bread rubbed with tomato and garlic and drizzled with olive oil that always transports me to my vacation in Barcelona where it was served at virtually every meal. It is also served with thinly sliced ham and manchengo, which may be my favorite kind of cheese (so difficult for me to choose). Other stars include the tortilla espanola (Spanish omelet of eggs, potatoes, and onions) and the crispy chicken tenders, which I mostly , if not entirely, love for the garlicky creamy aioli they are served with, which I would seriously eat with everything if it didn’t mean I would weigh 400 pounds. I also love the meatballs with a fabulous lamb flavor, roasted vegetables served with a spicy romesco sauce that compliments but doesn’t outshine the vegetables, and eggs benedict (I generally hate hollandaise sauce so this is big for me). The dessert items are pretty incredible; the molasses on the fresh, juicy pineapple takes it to a whole new level and there is nothing not to love about churros served with warm chocolate dipping sauce.

Brunch at Boqueria is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon with friends: eating, drinking and, enjoying each other’s company outdoors. The staff does not rush you out of your table and doesn’t judge you for the amount of food you ate, drinks you had, or state you leave in. Boqueria also provides for some excellent people watching as many of the nearby restaurants also do bottomless brunch and someone is guaranteed to be over-served and putting on a spectacle. So while the weather is still nice, I encourage you to go soak up the sun and sangria!