Brunch, please! Popular Beaches restaurant brings eclectic menu, drag shows to Springfield
A Jacksonville Beach restaurant known for its bodacious brunch featuring bountiful breakfast boards, mega-size Bloody Marys and daily bottomless Mimosas amid vibrant murals of human rights champions, cultural icons and historic figures has unveiled its much anticipated second location.
Two years in the making, Tulua Bistro — also known for its upscale drag shows — recently opened in a 78-year-old building at 1703 N. Main St. in historic Springfield. It's near 1748 Bakehouse, Springfield Scoops and Historically Hoppy Brewing Co.
Serving brunch all day, the Springfield location is an expansion of the original Tulua Bistro at 798 3rd St. S. in Jacksonville Beach, which opened in June 2020.
Both restaurants offer substantial, build-your-own breakfast boards as well as bowls, sandwiches and cocktails served amid brightly colored eclectic decor and a fun, welcoming vibe.
"We're super excited about Springfield. This was always a neighborhood that we were passionate about," Joey Brown, founder and owner of Tulua Bistro, told the Times-Union.
Tulua Bistro, he said, tried to match the uniqueness of Springfield — diverse and inclusive, a mix of modern and historic and fun, he said.
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On the menu at Tulua Bistro
At Tulua Bistro, boards comprised of sweet and savory brunch mainstays are menu favorites.
But they've also customized a few of their popular menu items, such as the "Springfield Platter" and the "Go Jags! Platter."
Starting at $12.90, the Springfield Platter includes two scrambled eggs, two bacon strips, grits or home fries and a warm biscuit.
Brown said the "Go Jags! Platter" is a nod to the hearty brunch favored by some Jacksonville Jaguars players.
"We get some Jags players who come in and eat and it would always go overboard with the amount of food. It would be like four different combos," he said.
Once there were seven players at the Jacksonville Beach restaurant, and they all ordered the large breakfast board, Brown said.
"Usually a table of five orders one of those," he said. "So we decided that we needed to do something so that when these guys come in, and for people who just like to eat a lot so we made the Go Jags." The platter ($16.90) features three sausage patties, three pieces of bacon, a whole order of biscuits and gravy, a side of cafe potatoes or grits and two eggs any style.
Familiar favorites at both locations include the Chef's Selection Breakfast Boards, which come in three sizes: small ($30), medium ($42) and family-size ($57).
Guests can customize their boards by choosing from freshly made biscuits, pancakes, waffles, French toast, eggs any style, fresh fruit, grits, bacon, croissants, sausage, cafe potatoes and avocado slices, according to Tulua Bistro's online menu.
One of the restaurant's most popular starters, Brown said, is the Bacon Pancake Dippers ($10) — four pieces of lay flat bacon covered in pancake batter, cooked and served with a side of maple syrup dipping sauce and topped with powdered sugar.
Other signature Tulua Bistro offerings:
Not Your Basic B**ch ($16): Hash brown patties topped with avocado mash, pico de gallo, over-medium eggs, crumbled bacon, feta cheese and drizzled with a balsamic reduction
The Spicy King ($18.50): Seasoned, marinated fried chicken breast on a Belgian waffle with house-made Sriracha ranch, berry jalape?o compote, powdered sugar and maple syrup
Wild Thing Bagel ($15.50) Two omelette-style eggs, American cheese, bacon, sausage, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and herb aioli on a large toasted everything bagel with lettuce, tomato and jalape?os served on the side plus grits
The Springfield restaurant has a full bar. Brunch drink favorites include Tulua Bistro's signature Bloody Marys — believed to be the largest in Northeast Florida — along with their daily bottomless mimosas.
Dubbed "The Most Bomb Bloody Mary," the traditional brunch cocktail comes in two sizes: the 64-ounce "madness" and the "prodigious," which is 96 ounces.
Mother Teresa, Harvey Milk and Malcolm X: Vibrant murals bear a message
Tulua Bistro offers food for thought as well as a meal.
Florida-based artist Nicole "Nico" Holderbaum hand-painted murals of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mother Teresa, Maya Angelou, Harvey Milk, and Malcolm X as well as Lady Gaga throughout the restaurant.
Nico previously painted murals of Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and RuPaul at the Jacksonville Beach restaurant.
Tulua means "to rise, to overcome challenges." Breakfast marks the start of a new day. The murals reflect that as well as the endurance of the human spirit, Brown said.
The murals, he said, depict people who have overcome challenges such as discrimination and who've worked to improve the lives of others.
"They are all people I looked up to personally and I feel represent our brand," he said. "We have a lot of diverse people who come here … and we're all about inclusion."
The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily for brunch. On Friday and Saturday evenings, it presents Tulua After Dark, offering adults-only entertainment, including drag shows and other special events, such as drag bingo.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tulua Bistro: Jacksonville Beach brunch spot opens second restaurant
