This past Thursday, Pura Vida Miami opened for the first time in Virginia in the Mosaic District at Fairfax. This health-focused restaurant has great all-day breakfast food, bowls and smoothies; however, the high prices they come at make this restaurant a place to go-to in moderation.
The restaurant design itself was very appealing. The building is all-white with large windows, roof and patio seating and decorated with various greenery. The interior was also well decorated with bright lights, lots of faux ferns and cozy seating options.
To order food, you have to go up to the counter in the back of the restaurant. There, they have menus to look through, along with lots of prepared takeaway food options.
The staff there were very friendly, especially so for the restaurant’s first opening. They were very accommodating to last minute changes to the order and checked in on us frequently to make sure everything was to our liking. For opening day they also gave out complementary tote bags from their in-restaurant store.
The food itself was good—but not outstanding for the high price it was purchased at.
Perfect Egg Sandwich ($14.95) – 4.5/5
That being said, the Perfect Egg Sandwich, one of Pura Vida Miami’s most popular dishes, was pretty exceptional. The sandwich is on an artisanal toasted plain bagel and filled with pasture-raised soft boiled eggs, arugula, tomato, mozzarella, smashed avocado, olive oil and red pepper flakes. The bagel was fantastic and looked almost exactly like it did in pictures online. The red pepper flakes added a needed little bit of spice to the meal; the tomato was surprisingly ripe and tasted fantastic; and the eggs were boiled to perfection. Out of everything on the menu, this was one of the only items worth the cost.
Avocado Salmon ($25.95) – 3.5/5
The Avocado Salmon was from the restaurant’s “bowls” menu, designed to be eaten for lunch or dinner, and was the most expensive thing we purchased. Unfortunately, it was just OK. The many ingredients—roasted salmon, cilantro jasmine rice, arugula, roasted corn and more—that the bowl contained complemented each other well, but in no way was it exceptional. For the high price it came at, the avocado salmon bowl was not worth the cost.
Chocolate PB ($11.95) – 2.5/5
Out of everything we ordered, the Chocolate PB was the least impressive. The smoothie contained peanut butter, banana, almond milk, raw honey, organic grass-fed chocolate whey protein and tasted pretty much like any other chocolate, banana, and peanut butter smoothie. While it was good, it did not impress in the slightness, and the price was extremely unreasonable for the product.
Coco Azul (12.95) – 4/5
This smoothie was one of our favorites aspects of the meal. The Coco Azul had a fresh, unique taste and was very appealing. The smoothie contained coconut water, banana, pineapple, mango, blue spirulina, collagen protein, hemp seeds and shaved coconut, combining to produce a fantastic taste. While I would not recommend ordering this alongside a meal because of its high cost, the smoothie would make a great breakfast or midday snack.
In its totality, Pura Vida Miami is a good restaurant with several exceptional, healthy dishes, good service and an inviting atmosphere; however the costly food makes it a place to think twice about before going.
