Article updated on November 5th, 2024
It’s the most important meal of the day. If your mood is directly affected by food, then a great breakfast properly sets you up for the next 24 hours. To make sure that you start your day BRIGHTLY, here are a few of our favourite places to ‘break fast’.
Giles Brown and Sophie Gatward-Wicks, pick Marbella’s best breakfast restaurants.
Rosas Café
Known as the most instagrammable café in Marbella, the food is as high quality as the decor is pretty. Based in Puerto Banús, on the corner of the Playas del Duque residential complex, the captivating sign with the signature rose logo is hard to miss from the street. Though the outside seating is quite a vibe, inside you’ll find stunning wall murals made with an incredible 30,000 individual silk roses and a variety of chic elements that create a comfortable and cosy ambience. This truly beautiful bistro café not only features gorgeous decor and delicious food and drink combos, they also have an all-day breakfast menu, which is rare for Marbella (and the rest of Spain for that matter), there is also a special canine menu just for your dog!
Plenty of delectable sweet treats to choose from such as the Torrijas, (a twist on french toast with fried milk, caramelised brioche with custard, banana and strawberries), or American Pancakes featuring cava, soda and orange, or their myriad of haute and artisan pastries. Their healthier proposals include açaí bowl, vegetarian wrap, keto lasagna, salads and so much more. Though one of the real pulls of this place is the full spectrum of drinks on offer, with over 25 specialty coffees, from Tunki Coffee (crowned the best coffee in the world by the American Speciality Coffee Association) to Ginger & Cinnamon Cappuccino, to Tumeric Latte. Really honing in on the instagrammable aspect, they also provide a cute novelty where you can order your favourite picture on top of your Cappuccino – just send them the image as you order and hey presto it appears on the top of your frothy beverage!
Read our more detailed review here: Marbella’s Most Instagrammable Café
Avenida Playas del Duque,
Gaviotas IV Local 3, 29660 Marbella
Tel: (+34) 633 55 35 82
Dezentral
Just across from the Andalucía Plaza Hotel, Dezentral is a must-do if you are a committed coffee enthusiast. The Ristretto doble – the strongest they have – comes with a warning from the management, so be careful! Other caffeinated delights include the ‘Wake Up’ coffee (a triple shot espresso with creamy milk), ‘Coffee Meets Ginger’ (made with oat milk and fresh pressed ginger), ‘Dirty Chai latte’ (made with soy milk and Chai syrup) and even the ‘Dezentral Cappuccino Crème Brulee (with crunchy caramalised brown sugar on top).
Dezentral is also renowned for its homemade cakes and fresh German bread, and the BRIGHT editorial team also vouch for its Shakshuka – a healthy breakfast popular in Israel and other parts of the Middle East – that is a delicious combination of simmering tomatoes, chickpeas, spices, and poached eggs. Make sure to book ahead if you want to make it for Saturday brunch, it gets busy!
Calle las Malvas Ed. Online 19, Marbella
Tel/WhatsApp: 661 509 729
Art Bakery & Gourmet
This french-style café and cake boutique is located in a tranquil urbanisation close to Cascada de Camojan. Taking the Avenida Trapiche exit off the motorway, and then turning right at the Marbella bus station which takes you up through residential streets, it’s found serenely situated away from the hustle and bustle of the busy Marbella centre below, with nice and easy convenient free parking. The café has gained recognition as one of the top 10 most beautiful cafés in Spain and one of the best breakfast spots on the Costa del Sol.
Specialising in breakfast, brunch and fine pastry, they are well known for baked goods, including their generously sized artisan sourdough pizzas, and their handcrafted decorated cakes. Whenever we visit, we are often craving their brunch-style menu, such as the Eggs Royale, Countryside Sourdough Truffle Bread with Avocado and Fried Eggs, and the Baked Croissant with Ham/Turkey & Cheese + Green Salad. Portioned to absolute perfection and exquisitely presented, it’s not just their food that’s impressive. The décor is pristine and tastefully art-oriented, with a refreshing blend of modern-meets-vintage luxury. A small yet upper-class establishment with very reasonable prices. We find it to be one of the best breakfast spots for morning and midday meetings due to its high quality food and quiet ambience, as well as the location being very accommodating to those living closer to Marbella town centre*.
Read our more detailed review here: The Breakfast Diaries: Art Bakery & Gourmet
C. León, 29602 Marbella, Málaga
Tel: (+34) 711 01 56 51
Keto Royale Kafé
Believe it or not, Marbella is home to mainland Spain’s first healthy ketogenic café. If the word ‘keto’ makes you immediately think of hipsters in clogs, joylessly hunched over earthenware pots in surroundings duller than the food, then Keto Royale Kafé will change that view. Run by husband and wife team Sam and Adam, Keto Royale is a superbly stylish venue that is one of Marbella’s top places for Social Media tags. There is substance over the style as well as the team producing dazzling dishes that take keto to another level. My previous encounter with this style of cuisine was in Glastonbury – a meal so bland that I was sorely tempted to take a bit out of the placemats for a little flavour. Keto Royale blows such depressing food out of the water, with breakfast options that include freshly baked keto bread toasted and served with spinach, perfectly poached organic eggs and a homemade creamy hollandaise sauce, as well as their renowned fluffy American pancakes served with homemade berry compote and fresh fruit! Keto Royale Kafé is justifiably busy. Pop over and don’t forget the selfie!
Calle Pintor Jose Caballero, Marbella
instagram.com/ketoroyalekafe/?hl=en
Tel: 951 810 696
Yanx
Yanx is an absolute staple of the Marbella scene, located in Centro Plaza in Puerto Banús, it opened its doors here on the Costa del Sol in 1997 and has been a favourite with the locals ever since! Imagine a US diner, but much healthier and featuring plenty of alfresco seating. Nobody does breakfast in quite the same way as the Americans do, though if you fancy a traditional English roast dinner, they do that too! This is easily explained… Originally opened by a Texan businessman, Yanx changed hands and is now owned by likable Brit David, who has added a British and Mediterranean influence, resulting in ‘Ameriteranean’ cuisine (no, I didn’t know there was such a thing either).
Taking classic no-frills American cuisine and giving it a sunny Mediterranean twist, highlights include the seriously delicious blueberry and raspberry American pancakes with Canadian maple syrup, plus a traditional British toasted sandwich with sausage, bacon and farm fresh eggs. The coffee is hearty and served generously– it’s worth coming here just for a proper cappuccino or carajillo, as well as their freshly squeezed orange juice. An all-time breakfast menu favourite is the ‘Truckers Tucker’, which features crispy bacon, American pancakes and a side of eggs just the way you like them. The vibes here are immaculate, with friendly attentive staff and a relaxed atmosphere that keeps your mornings nice and slow, enjoyed as they should be. There are certainly worse ways of starting your day!
Café Yanx, C.C. Centro Plaza, Nueva Andalucía
Tel: 952 818 861
Even though this makes “7 Top Places” we had to include the following:
Tomate
Fabulously fresh, fun, and friendly Tomate’s two restaurants – one in Puerto Banús, the other in San Pedro de Alcántara – are run by a husband-and-wife team, Laura and Jose. Putting the environment and ecology first (energy used in Tomate is certified as 100% green, exclusively collected from renewable and sustainable sources that don’t contaminate), Tomate has a variety of tasty breakfast options, from acai bowls through to full English and even full vegetarian breakfasts. Though it may be sacrilege for an Englishman to say, when I road tested the menu (yes, I know, the things that I must do in the name of research!), I found myself preferring the veggie option. A special mention must also go to the coffees, as well as the range of juices. I’ve found myself staggering into San Pedro for a reviving ‘Superzinger’ on more than one occasion!
Puerto Banús: Av. Rotary Internacional, 23 Tel: 951 279 334
San Pedro Alcántara – Calle Córdoba 15 Tel: 951 196 494
Venta Los Pacos
Celebrating 70 years of serving everyone from duchesses to dustbin men, Los Pacos is a Marbella institution. It’s busy, noisy and totally authentic and still serves the traditional Menu del Día of three courses and a drink for under €10. It’s in the morning that Los Pacos comes into its own though, with workers grabbing a strong coffee (and occasionally a shot of something stronger ‘to get the cogs turning’) while the television in the corner dissects last night’s football. There’s lots of banter between the staff and customers while the kitchen turns out an array of food that can be anything from churros to a Catalana sandwich. Grabbing a terrace table in the bright morning sunshine at Los Pacos with a coffee, churros and freshly squeezed orange juice is one of the quintessential Marbella experiences.
Av. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso de Hohenlohe, Km 179, Marbella
Tel: 952 772 122
