RFK Rankings · Cartagena
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Cartagena (2026)
Brunch dining · Cartagena · 8 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published May 20, 2026 · Updated June 9, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Cartagena does not really do the bottomless-mimosa diner brunch; it does courtyards, rooftops and serious coffee. The best mornings here happen in a French-farmhouse patisserie in the walled city, a third-wave espresso bar roasting its own beans, or a boutique-hotel rooftop with two wading pools. The trick is knowing which famous name has quietly stopped serving breakfast. We ranked eight currently-open rooms across the Centro, Getsemani, San Diego and Bocagrande. For the wider city, see our Cartagena dining guide.
1.Mila Pasteleria
The walled city's original brunch institution from Mila Vargas; go for the hot Milo brownie.
Mila Pasteleria is the room that brought brunch to Cartagena's walled city, founded by Mila Vargas, who carried Buenos Aires and Paris cafe culture to the Centro Historico. The interior is chic and the spread is broad, sweet and savoury, with paninis, arepas and eggs alongside the pastry case, and a list of mimosas to go with them. The thing everyone orders is the hot Milo brownie with ice cream, the signature dessert that has outlasted every trend. It runs roughly 30,000 to 60,000 pesos a head, about eight to fifteen dollars, and serves all day from around 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For a first Cartagena brunch inside the walls, this is the default. Come mid-morning, order eggs and the brownie, and sit for a while.
Reserve at instagram.com/milapasteleria.
2.Epoca Cafe Bar
The best cup in the walled city, beans roasted in-house; go for a pour-over and made-to-order eggs.
Epoca Cafe Bar on Calle del Arzobispado, Carrera 5 #34-52, makes arguably the best coffee in Cartagena, roasting its own beans from Jerico in Antioquia and from Risaralda, and now exporting to the United States. The food is light brunch built around the coffee: made-to-order eggs, avocado toast, and a pastry or two, the kind of breakfast you order to justify a second pour-over. It took a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice award in 2025, which for a small espresso bar is real recognition. Pricing is gentle, roughly 20,000 to 45,000 pesos, about five to eleven dollars. For coffee-led mornings, this is the pick. Order a pour-over of the Antioquia beans, add the eggs, and take a bag of coffee home.
Reserve at instagram.com/epocacafe.
3.La Brioche
The walled city's most reliable full breakfast menu; go for the salmon Benedict on brioche.
La Brioche runs an all-day coffee-and-brunch program out of the walled city, with further outposts in Bocagrande and at Mall Plaza, and it has the most dependable full breakfast menu in the Centro. The kitchen is built around artisanal croissants and breads, specialty coffee and fruit bowls, with a Salmon Benedict on brioche and croissant-and-cheese waffles as the standouts. It is popular enough that thirty-minute waits are common at peak, so time your visit. Coffee-and-juice combos start near 20,000 pesos with full plates higher, broadly eight to fourteen dollars a head. For a proper sit-down breakfast inside the walls, this is the reliable choice. Go early to beat the line, order the salmon Benedict, and add a waffle for the table.
Reserve at labrioche.com.co.
4.El Baron
Daytime bistro brunch on a pretty plaza, cocktail bar by night; go Thursday to Sunday for smoked-salmon bagels.
El Baron sits on Plaza San Pedro Claver at Cra. 4 No. 31-7, one of the prettiest squares in the walled city, with open-air tables under umbrellas. It is a bistro by day and an acclaimed cocktail bar by night, and the daytime menu runs to smoked-salmon bagels, avocado toast, and a local touch of chicharron with cheesy mini-arepas. Breakfast service is Thursday through Sunday; on Monday to Wednesday it opens at 4 p.m., so plan your brunch for the back half of the week. Pricing is mid-to-upper, around ten to eighteen dollars a head. For a plaza-side brunch with one of the city's best drinks programs waiting in the wings, this is the pick. Take an outdoor table Thursday to Sunday and order the bagels.
Reserve at elbaron.co.
5.Townhouse Rooftop
A boutique-hotel rooftop with wading pools and bottomless weekend brunch; go for the views and the mimosas.
The Townhouse Boutique Hotel rooftop at Cra. 7 #36-88 in San Diego is the closest Cartagena comes to a proper boozy brunch, with two wading pools, palms, a small jazz club, and some of the best views over the old town. The weekend brunch is bottomless, unlimited Bloody Marys, mimosas and beers alongside breakfast tapas and rooftop egg plates. The rooftop diner runs daily from 8 a.m. to midnight, so even off the weekend package you can take breakfast up top. It is upper-mid pricing, with the bottomless package at a premium, broadly twenty to thirty-five dollars. For a rooftop morning with a drink in hand, this is the one. Book the weekend brunch, claim a table by the water, and pace yourself.
Reserve at townhousecartagena.com.
6.Caffe Lunatico
Getsemani's long-running casual brunch, well-priced; go for the broken eggs with yuca.
Caffe Lunatico on Calle Espiritu Santo is the brunch staple of Getsemani, the lively, muralled neighbourhood just outside the walls, and it has stayed relaxed and affordable while the area around it boomed. The brunch combos pair coffee or tea with a fresh juice and a plate, and the kitchen does Colombian-leaning breakfasts well: huevos pericos, broken eggs with yuca, and French toast. Most brunch options come in under 30,000 pesos, around seven dollars, the best value on this list. The room is easygoing and full of locals as much as visitors. For a casual Getsemani morning without the walled-city markup, this is the pick. Take the brunch combo, order the broken eggs with yuca, and linger over the second coffee.
Reserve at instagram.com/caffelunatico.
7.Di Silvio Trattoria
A rare early Italian breakfast in Getsemani, from 8 a.m.; go for fresh pastries and a proper espresso.
Di Silvio Trattoria is best known for pizza and pasta, but its Getsemani branch does something unusual for the neighbourhood: a real morning breakfast service, opening at 8 a.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. at weekends while most kitchens nearby wait until noon. That early start makes it one of the few sit-down breakfasts in Getsemani, with Italian-leaning plates, eggs, fresh pastries and a proper espresso. The other branches in Bocagrande and Ronda Real open at midday, so it is the Getsemani room you want for brunch. Pricing is mid, around eight to fifteen dollars a head. For an early, unhurried Italian breakfast before the heat, this is the pick. Come at opening, order pastries and an espresso, and plan your day from the table.
Reserve at disilviotrattoria.com.
8.Alma
An elegant courtyard breakfast at a Leading Hotels property; go for the tropical-fruit service and a quiet table.
Alma is the dining centrepiece of Hotel Casa San Agustin, a Leading Hotels of the World property in the walled city, and its breakfast is the luxury option on this list. The setting is an elegant colonial courtyard, calm and shaded, and the kitchen works contemporary coastal-Colombian cooking with indigenous Caribbean ingredients and a generous tropical-fruit service. Breakfast runs daily from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., earlier than most, which suits anyone heading out for the day. Pricing is upper, roughly twenty to forty dollars a head. For a polished, quiet morning away from the line outside the patisseries, this is the pick. Book a courtyard table, take the fruit service, and let the morning go slowly before the city wakes up.
Reserve at hotelcasasanagustin.com/alma.
Avoid for brunch
Closed, still on old lists
Cafe del Mar, on the colonial walls. The long-running sunset bar was shut down by city authorities in September 2024 after a decade-long dispute over public space, but it still appears on countless old roundups. It was a sundowner spot rather than brunch, but it is the most prominent recent closure to ignore.
Open, but no longer brunch
Cafe del Mural in Getsemani is still open but has pivoted to an afternoon coffee-tasting format, opening at 3 p.m., so the breakfast lists that still file it under brunch are out of date; visit it for an afternoon coffee instead. And the old San Diego spot listed as Maria has changed hands and now operates as Ana, so do not book the former name.
How to plan brunch in Cartagena
Cartagena brunch is about timing and neighbourhood. Inside the walled city, Mila and La Brioche get busy, and La Brioche in particular runs thirty-minute peak waits, so go early. El Baron only serves breakfast Thursday through Sunday, opening at 4 p.m. the rest of the week, so plan around that. The Townhouse rooftop bottomless brunch is a weekend booking worth making ahead, and Alma at Casa San Agustin serves an early hotel breakfast from 7 a.m. for anyone heading out to the islands. In Getsemani, Caffe Lunatico and Di Silvio's early service are the picks. A note for 2026: Cafe del Mar is closed and Cafe del Mural no longer does breakfast, so ignore older lists that still feature them. For the wider city, see our Cartagena dining guide and the RFK rankings index.
Frequently asked
Which Cartagena restaurant has the best brunch?
Mila Pasteleria in the walled city is the original and still the default, a French-farmhouse patisserie known for its hot Milo brownie and a broad sweet-and-savoury spread. For coffee-led mornings, Epoca Cafe Bar makes the best cup in the Centro with beans it roasts itself. La Brioche has the most reliable full sit-down breakfast menu, and the Townhouse rooftop is the pick for a bottomless weekend brunch with a view.
Where can I find a rooftop brunch in Cartagena?
The Townhouse Boutique Hotel rooftop in San Diego is the standout, with two wading pools, palms and a bottomless weekend brunch of unlimited mimosas, Bloody Marys and beers alongside breakfast tapas. The rooftop diner runs daily from 8 a.m. to midnight, so you can take breakfast up top even off the package. Book the weekend brunch ahead, claim a table by the water, and pace the drinks in the heat.
Is Cafe del Mural still good for brunch?
No, and this trips up a lot of older lists. Cafe del Mural in Getsemani is still open, but it has shifted to an afternoon coffee-tasting format and now opens at 3 p.m., so it no longer serves a morning brunch. Visit it for a late-afternoon coffee experience instead. For actual brunch in Getsemani, Caffe Lunatico and the early Italian breakfast at Di Silvio Trattoria are the better picks.
Where is the best coffee for brunch in Cartagena?
Epoca Cafe Bar on Calle del Arzobispado in the walled city is the city's specialty-coffee leader, roasting its own beans from Jerico in Antioquia and Risaralda and pairing them with made-to-order eggs and avocado toast. It won a Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice award in 2025. La Brioche also runs strong specialty coffee alongside its full breakfast menu, so either works if the cup matters as much as the plate.
How much does brunch cost in Cartagena?
It ranges from casual to luxury. Getsemani's Caffe Lunatico keeps most brunch combos under 30,000 pesos, around seven dollars, and Epoca's coffee-and-eggs lands near five to eleven dollars. Mila and La Brioche run roughly eight to fifteen dollars a head. The Townhouse rooftop bottomless brunch and the hotel breakfast at Alma in Casa San Agustin are the splurges, broadly twenty to forty dollars a head depending on the drinks.
Related rankings
More from RFK
More Cartagena from RFK: the Cartagena dining guide, the best restaurants with a view in Cartagena, and the best first-date restaurants in Cartagena. Compare cities in the RFK rankings index, or read how we score in our ranking methodology.
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