The 12 Best Brunches in Lisbon

If you know me, you’ll know that brunch is my favourite dish of the day (perhaps you understood it when I published the list with my favourite brunches in Sibiu, my hometown in Romania). Call it pretentious, call it smug, but a meal that is literally designed around letting you sleep in, and letting you have champagne with your orange juice had my heart since 2011, which is the year I moved to Berlin and learned about the concept of brunch. So with all due respect to the simple yet yum Portuguese breakfasts I have these days, brunch to me has remained sacred and is something I do at least biweekly if not once a week. Hard as I tried to make a list of lesser known brunch places from all over Lisbon, by now all these places are swarmed by locals and tourists alike. Having said that, I´ve only ever reserved a table at Kefi (number 4 on the list) and managed to get into all the others on an impromptu basis. I tried recommending different dishes from each of these places, but truth be told I would most likely eat anything off their menus as they are all just finger licking good. So let´s look at the list and travel all throughout Lisbon.

1. Neighbourhood Lisbon

The Neighbourhood Café deserves top of the list because it is my absolute favourite brunch place in Lisbon ever since they opened in 2019, and my frequent go to whether I am at the office (I work closely), or at home (I don’t live closely but their breakfast burritos will make me cross mountains if I have to). Owned by Australians, the Neighbourhood will fuel you with zen from the moment you order to the moment you leave. My favourite spot is the window seat, seeing that the windows are actually floor to ceiling arched and open up so that you can sit both inside and outside. They do not take reservations, they have plenty of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options, and their poached eggs always have a twist – making them either with carnitas or kimchi (my personal favourite) or Turkish (second favourite). They serve fantastic speciality coffee but also local hard kombucha, craft beer and biological wines. Oh and naturally, they´re dog friendly.

Address: Largo Conde-Barão 25, 1200-163 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 08:30 – 23:00
What to order: Carnitas Benedict, Kimchi, Avocado and Fried Eggs, and my personal favourite – Turkish Eggs! (though I am very curious to also try their Raja´s Royal Eggs too!)

2.  Marquise da Mobler

My most recent discovery, but one that I have already returned to, is the Marquise da Mobler – the brunch cousin of the Marquise bakery next door. The café is divided into three parts – the first chamber, minimalistically (?) decorated with pretty vases and big windows facing the street, the second chamber, where it always smells like freshly baked goods, and the inner patio, covered in greenery, with one big table and several regular ones, where the sunshine makes the whole space even more magical. Naturally, the patio has been my go-to so far. I haven’t had to make any reservations so far, and at most I had to wait up to 10 minutes to get a seat outside. Fun things in their menu are their Iranian eggs and their vegan codfish open sandwich, but what really surprised me was their roast beef sandwich with mango chutney. I say this as someone who is not a huge roast beed fan – this one was fan-tas-tic. Their Vietnamese sandwich is also great, just don´t confuse it for the Vietnamese bahn-mi, because´ its actually quite different, even if as delicious. To drink, since we´re talking about brunch, I´d recommend trying their wine selection.

Address: Rua da Piedade 33, 1200-296 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open on weekdays from 09:00 – 18:00 and on weekends from 09:00 – 16:00
What to order: Iranian Eggs over and over again and the Roast Beef Sandwich!

3. Liberty Café (Lisbon location)

Liberty Café is more than just a café, it’s a safe space to retreat to when the outside world is a bit too much. You’ll go for the Turkish eggs and stay for the lovely service. And when I say lovely, I really mean lovely. This is where I celebrated my engagement together with my friend Fátima, it’s where I bought countless books about the most varied topics, it’s where I shared both gifts and gossip with friends and where I learned to love pistachio raspberry lattes. As to food, I usually go for their Turkish eggs, but their avocado test with edamame is also super delicious (I just love any brunch place that finds new toppings to avo toasts). Oh, also – they have a second location open in Parede, by the beach, and it’s supposed to be amazing, so you might want to also check that one out.

Address: Rua da Esperança 21, 1200-815 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 09:00 – 17:00
What to order: Turkish Eggs or their Syrniki! Paired with the raspberry pistachio latte!

4. Kefi Greek Bistro

Moving on to one of the most beautiful areas in Lisbon, we reach Estrela. A spot that serves both a kick-ass brunch as well as a delicious dinner, Kefi gives all the modern Greek vibes in a relaxed environment that is also dog friendly but pretty packed – so don’t forget to book a table. Brunch here will be different, the dishes won’t be the traditional brunch dishes so get out of your comfort zone and order some salmon souvlaki, avocado tzatziki with pita or roasted feta potatoes, and a refreshing glass (or bottle) of Greek white wine. Afterwards take advantage of Estrela and take a walk through the nearby park, visit the beautiful church and see if the local theatre has any good plays ongoing.

Address: Calçada da Estrela 187, 1200-665 Lisbon
Opening Hours: at the time I updated this article Kefi temporarily closed due to a fire that hit the building – it is due to reopen soon
What to order: a combination of cold and war, starters and maybe a main dish – everything is lovely here!

5. Hygge Kaffe (both Baixa and Picoas locations)

Hygge Kaffe incidentally took me longer to discover and I am forever grateful to their marketing team for reaching out one day and inviting me over. I first visited their Baixa location on a late Sunday afternoon with my husband, and we greedily ordered the brunch for two, as such trying out various dishes – from the smorrebrod I had my eyes on (which is smorrebrod inspired, but doesn’t have the rye bread and your typical toppings) to their delicious cinammon buns which we had to take away as we were bursting by the end. But now what was really my favourite were the egg sandwiches we tried on our second visit (this time in their Picoas location though they are available at both locations). They were divine. I had only ever eaten this brioche bun egg stuffed sandwiches at Oua si Unt in my hometown (find them in the Sibiu brunch guide), but I can declare myself converted now. So Hygge – go try them out and reach your daily protein intake goals with their egg sandwiches.

Address: Rua Tomás Ribeiro 95B, 1050-227 Lisbon (Picoas location) and Rua dos Fanqueiros 53, 1100-321 Lisbon (Baixa location)
Opening Hours: open daily from 08:00 – 19:00 (Picoas) and 07:30 – 17:00 (Baixa)
What to order: the egg sandwiches, without a doubt! oh and try their new matcha bar while you’re there!

6. Fable Bookshop + Brunch Café

Fable absolutely had to make it on my list simply because there are weeks when I am there each and every day, having either a breakfast toast with soft boiled egg and fermented cashew spread, or a heartwarming roasted tomato and pepper soup, and of course a book. Honestly speaking, I come to Fable for the fantastically curated books, for the fantastic service that have become like friends and for the food and drinks. I don’t want them to build a brand around brunch, because they’re already so great at being a coffee book shop that I am afraid that they’d be such a popular brunch spot I’d have to book my visits there and a bit of the magic would disappear from what is my absolute favourite coffee shop in Lisbon. Oh, and did I mention they’re one minute away from Marquise da Mobler (number 2 on the list), just in case you need a backup?

Address: Rua dos Prazeres 10A, 1200-817 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 10:00 – 18:00, and on Saturdays from 10:00 – 20:00
What to order: The roasted tomato and pepper soup, especially if it´s cold outside!

7. Tomorrow at 9

Finally, we reach the area of Marques de Pombal, a neighbourhood I mainly visit when I go to my dentist or my laser hair removal girl. They might call it the center of Lisbon, but personally I nowadays rarely hang around there. But when I do, I´ll go for brunch at Tomorrow at 9 (and if I invite anyone with me that hasn’t been to tomorrow at 9, they’ll always get confused with the name, which I secretly always giggle about). With both an outside and inside area (I personally prefer the outside one), a great food menu and non alcoholic drinks that look ultra Instagrammable. Of course they are also dog friendly, and even though they’re very popular, there’s always a table for you, where you can also cowork from.

Address: Rua Viriato 9B, 1050-227 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 08:00 – 17:00
What to order: the Halloumi breakfast and the miso shakshuka with shrimps! (or the matcha pancakes if you have a sweet tooth)

8. do Beco (Santos location)

The place for the most creatively flavoured pastries in town has to be do Beco. Sure, they serve traditional brunch too, and their tornado eggs are actually freaking amazing, but it´s the pastries you’ll go there over and over again for. They’re always fresh, but they also always have new stuff on the menu. From seasonal products to collabs with other chefs, every time I go to Beco I have something new to try out. I listed here the Santos location even though I also really like their Arroios one, just because it´s more practical for me. It´s 2 minutes away from my gym which makes them my favourite post exercise meal. Proteins who?

Address: Rua de São João da Mata 18, 1200-849
Opening Hours: open daily from 08:00 – 18:00
What to order: as many as their pastries as can fit in your mouth and belly!

9. Beco Bagels

Just when you thought do Beco couldn´t get better, here they come and open up their third location, this time under the branding Beco Bagels. And man do they do bagels well! The other bagel store I really love in Lisbon is Rhodo Bagels but somehow do Beco might just top that. The buns, the fillings, the option to choose half and half – upper half in one flavour and lower half in another flavour, and even the luminous space of the place make it my favourite bagel spot nowadays. I love going there after a yoga session (which I usually do at Amplify Avenida), and stuff my fave with their bagels. I think my absolute favourite so far is the avocado one. Oh and can I saw that their pistachio drink is as decadent as it gets, and an absolute dream to have? Essentially, I can sum this up by telling you that I am a do Beco fangirl forever.

Address: Av. Álvares Cabral 62D, 1250-018 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open weekdays from 08:30 – 18:00 and weekends from 09:00 – 18:00
What to order: try all of their bagels, you won´t regret it!

10. Hello Kristof (São Bento location)

Hello Kristof is a bit of an old timer, I think I remember their Santos location from back in 2017. But it´s in 2024 that I actually fell in love with them as I started visiting their São Bento location and working from there (there’s a dedicated space for people with their laptops to work from there and I took the liberty to ask the staff whether I was allowed to explicitly recommend you use them as a space where you can take your laptop and work, and they said yes so here you go). As to brunch though, I go there for their pancakes. I don´t know if the fact that I go after the gym makes me say this, but they feel like the best pancakes I´ve ever had haha. The cream cheese amount, the freshness of the salmon, everything is just in perfect sync and balance.

Address: Rua de São Bento 15, 1200-815 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 08:45 – 16:30
What to order: their Liege waffles – either of the flavours will be amazing, I promise!

11. The Layers

The Layers is a small brunch café outside of Lisbon´s touristy area, and incidentally one minute away from my office, on the Avenida António Augusto Aguiar. They are cozy and perfect for cold season, but their iced latte make summer days in Lisbon almost bearable too. Oh and their shakshuka? I’ve had many shakshukas but nothing like theirs. I don´t know if they first fry their eggs and then coat them in all other veggies, letting everything simmer a bit longer, but everything is cooked to perfection and the flavours are just amazing. I just need to stop wearing white t-shirts when I go as I stain them every single time. I will also sometime pick up a sandwich there when I am in a hurry and need to take it back to work, but the shakshuka truly has my heart.

Address: Avenida António Áugusto de Aguiar 23B, 1050-012 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 09:00 – 17:00
What to order: their shakshuka and their speciality coffee!

12. Lena Speciality Coffee

Finally, another underdog (or local secret if you will), across the street from The Layers, Lena Speciality Coffee. Probably the location far from the touristy landmarks of the city contributes to the fact that you can always find a table at Lena. I recommend ordering their avocado toast, that comes with a very nice mousse like avocado cream, a soft boiled egg and cherry tomatoes. It´s simple, it’s honest, but it´s really good, and honestly one of my favourite avo toasts in town these days. The simplicity of the dish pairs perfectly well with one of their Argentinian alfajores which you absolutely must try too, even if it´s something you will take to go. Also, have I mentioned that they have the kindest staff and that Penne Rigatoni (our one year old border collie) loves this place?

Address: Avenida António Áugusto de Aguiar 86, 1069-021 Lisbon
Opening Hours: open daily from 09:00 – 17:00
What to order: their avo toast and their alfajores!