Best Restaurants for Brunch in Florence (2026)
Brunch · Florence · 6 tables ranked · Updated May 2026
Florence came to brunch late and through the back door — by way of its specialty-coffee bars and a wave of foreign-run kitchens settling into the Oltrarno and the centro storico. The six below are ranked for the weekend table, from the coffee-champion room south of the Ponte Vecchio to a riverside Australian bistrot near Santa Croce. At the top sits the Oltrarno room that pairs the city's best espresso with a real all-day kitchen, followed by a Lungarno bakery-bistrot, a women-led Canadian brunch, an all-day American room, an Oltrarno bakery and a lighter plant-forward cafe. The ranking weights kitchen quality, the setting, weekend value and how the floor turns a busy service. Some rooms take bookings and some are walk-up only, so plan the weekend table around the queue.
The ranking
1. Ditta Artigianale — Specialty-coffee brunch · Oltrarno
Via dello Sprone 3R, Oltrarno · Plates around €9–16, full brunch €20–25 · Specialty-coffee brunch from three-time Italian barista champion Francesco Sanapo
The Oltrarno room that pairs Florence's best coffee with a real all-day kitchen; the benchmark brunch. Book on weekends.
Francesco Sanapo, a three-time Italian barista champion, opened the first Ditta Artigianale in 2013 and turned a coffee roaster into the city's defining brunch address. The Via dello Sprone room in the Oltrarno is the all-day, kitchen-led branch — chef Arturo Dori runs a croque-monsieur, avocado toast and tofu bowls alongside flat whites and filter coffee poured to championship standard. It earns number one because the cooking finally matches the cup, a pairing the rest of the city's brunch scene measures itself against. The room is calm and design-led, a step south of the Ponte Vecchio crowds, open from breakfast to late. Reservations are strongly advised on a weekend; off-peak walk-ups land a table. Come for the coffee and the kitchen that grew up around it.
2. Melaleuca Florence Bakery + Bistrot — Australian brunch · Santa Croce
Lungarno delle Grazie 18, near Santa Croce · Plates around €12–18 · Australian-owned riverside bakery-bistrot; the Big Brekki and buttermilk pancakes
The riverside Australian bistrot with the most ambitious brunch menu in the centro. Arrive early; it is walk-up only.
Melaleuca sits on the Lungarno delle Grazie with the Arno at its windows, an Australian-owned bakery-bistrot that runs the most ambitious brunch menu inside the city walls. The kitchen plates a Big Brekki, strawberry-pistachio buttermilk pancakes, Turkish eggs and an Nduja chilli eggs that travel well from the Antipodean playbook, with a bakery counter for the pastries. It earns its place as the second pick on the strength of the cooking and the riverside room, a calmer setting than the centro's tourist cafes. The catch is the policy: it is walk-up only with no reservations, and the weekend brings a wait, so arrive at opening to land a window table. Come for the river view, the baked goods and a brunch menu with genuine range.
3. Le Vespe Cafè — Canadian brunch · Santa Croce
Via Ghibellina 76R, Santa Croce · Plates around €10–16 · Women-led Canadian brunch; huevos rancheros and eggs Benedict
The women-led Canadian brunch for North-American comfort plates; the cult weekend pick. Go early and note it shuts Tuesdays.
Le Vespe Cafè opened in 2013, founded by a Florentine and a Torontonian, and has grown into the city's cult North-American brunch. The kitchen runs a Canadian register with a healthy lean — huevos rancheros over beans and salsa, a proper eggs Benedict, "The King" and "The Queen" plates and a strong line of vegan and gluten-free baking. It earns its place as the comfort-food pick, a small women-led room on Via Ghibellina in Santa Croce that fills fast and trades on warmth rather than scale. It is closed Tuesdays and the room is tight, so arrive early and expect a wait at peak; reservations are limited and it is mostly a walk-up. Come for the rancheros, the baking and the easy, unfussy welcome.
4. Rooster Cafè — American brunch · Centro storico
Via Sant'Egidio 37R and Via Porta Rossa 63R, centro storico · Plates around €10–16 · All-day American brunch on organic Italian produce; espresso on a Faema E61
The all-day American brunch served every day across two handy locations; the reliable late-morning walk-in. Book at peak.
Rooster Cafè runs an all-day American brunch on organic, Italian-sourced produce, and it earns its place as the most reliable everyday option on this list. Two centro storico rooms — one on Via Sant'Egidio near Santa Croce, one on Via Porta Rossa off Piazza della Repubblica — open daily from morning to evening, so the brunch is there when the cult rooms are closed or queued. The kitchen plates eggs, pancakes and brunch boards alongside espresso pulled on a Faema E61 machine, and the cocktail list extends the morning into a long lunch. Featured by Florence Is You in 2023, it takes reservations and welcomes walk-ups, which makes it the easy pick for a late-morning table without a plan. Come for the consistency, the two convenient addresses and the all-day hours.
5. Mama's Bakery — American bakery brunch · Oltrarno
Via della Chiesa 34R, Oltrarno · Plates around €8–14 · Genuine American bakery; bagels, pancakes and weekend egg plates
The Oltrarno American bakery for real bagels and cinnamon buns; the casual weekend value pick. Walk in early.
Mama's Bakery is the Oltrarno's long-standing American bakery, a quiet corner on Via della Chiesa that earns its place as the genuine-baked-goods pick. The counter turns out fresh-baked bagels, pancakes, cinnamon buns and brownies daily, and the Saturday and Sunday brunch adds egg plates to the spread for a casual, low-cost weekend table. It is the most affordable room on this list and the most unpretentious, the sort of place a homesick visitor finds and keeps, a few minutes' walk from the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. The room is small and walk-up only, so arrive before the late-morning rush to skip a wait. Come for the bagels, the buns and the easy neighbourhood feel away from the centro's crowds.
6. Shake Café — Healthy brunch · Santa Maria Novella
Via degli Avelli 2/R, near Santa Maria Novella · Items around €7–13 · Plant-forward brunch; açai bowls, avocado toast and cold-pressed juices
The plant-forward cafe for açai bowls and a lighter brunch; the vegan-friendly, solo-friendly pick. Walk in to the centro branch.
Shake Café near Santa Maria Novella is the plant-forward end of the Florence brunch spread, and it earns its place as the lighter, vegan-friendly pick. The kitchen runs açai bowls, smoothies, avocado toast, wraps and cold-pressed juices on plant milks, a brisk health-leaning menu that suits a solo visit or a quick weekday morning as much as a weekend graze. It is the most casual room here, walk-up and counter-led, with the Via degli Avelli branch near the train station the consistent one to choose. A note on the brand: several Shake branches run under different ownership, so the centro storico locations are the safe bet for the cooking. Come for the bowls, the juices and a brunch that stays light when the rest of the list leans rich.
Avoid for brunch
Enoteca Pinchiorri — Santa Croce. Florence's only three-Michelin-star room, held since 2004, is a dinner-only tasting destination, open Tuesday to Saturday evenings and closed Sunday and Monday. There is no lunch and no brunch despite how often it surfaces in "best Florence dining" searches. Save it for a €250-plus tasting-menu evening, and keep the weekend brunch at a room built for the morning, such as Ditta Artigianale in the Oltrarno.
Caffè Gilli — Piazza della Repubblica. The historic café founded in 1733 is beautiful for a pastry and an espresso, but it is not a sit-down weekend-brunch room — there is no eggs-Benedict or pancake service, and the square's tourist-premium prices add up fast. Stop for a coffee and a sfogliatella, then take the actual brunch to Le Vespe Cafè or Rooster nearby.
S.Forno — Oltrarno. The century-old bakery run by the Il Santo Bevitore team is often filed under "brunch," but it is a takeaway-and-counter bread-and-pastry forno, not a sit-down brunch service. Buy the bread and the schiacciata to go, and book a table at Mama's Bakery a few streets over if a proper weekend brunch is the plan.
Reservation strategy for a Florence brunch
The kitchen-led rooms reward a booking. Ditta Artigianale on Via dello Sprone takes reservations and fills on a weekend, so book ahead for the all-day branch rather than the Via dei Neri coffee counter; Rooster Cafè takes bookings at both its centro storico rooms, which is the move when you want a guaranteed late-morning table.
The walk-up rooms reward an early arrival. Melaleuca on the Lungarno delle Grazie is walk-up only with no reservations, so arrive at opening to land a river-window table before the queue builds; Le Vespe Cafè on Via Ghibellina is small, mostly walk-up and closed Tuesdays, so plan the day around both facts.
The casual rooms are the flexible options. Mama's Bakery in the Oltrarno and Shake Café near Santa Maria Novella are counter-led walk-ins — get to Mama's before the late-morning rush for the bagels, and Shake suits a quick solo or weekday brunch any time. For a relaxed weekend with no booking, those two are the easiest move.
Frequently asked
What is the best brunch restaurant in Florence?
Ditta Artigianale on Via dello Sprone in the Oltrarno. The all-day kitchen pairs a croque-monsieur, avocado toast and tofu bowls with coffee poured by three-time Italian barista champion Francesco Sanapo, who opened the brand in 2013. It takes reservations and fills on weekends, so book ahead for the kitchen-led Sprone branch rather than the Via dei Neri coffee counter.
Where can I get brunch in Florence without a long queue?
Rooster Cafè takes reservations at both its centro storico rooms on Via Sant'Egidio and Via Porta Rossa, and serves an all-day brunch every day, so it is the easiest reliable table. Shake Café near Santa Maria Novella and Mama's Bakery in the Oltrarno are casual walk-ins where arriving before the late-morning rush avoids most of the wait.
Which Florence brunch room has the best setting?
Melaleuca on the Lungarno delle Grazie, with the Arno at its windows near Santa Croce, is the riverside pick and the prettiest room on this list. Ditta Artigianale's Oltrarno space is the calmest design-led setting away from the crowds. Melaleuca is walk-up only, so arrive early for a river-window table; Ditta takes bookings.
Where is the best-value brunch in Florence?
Mama's Bakery in the Oltrarno is the value pick, with bagels, pancakes and weekend egg plates from around €8–14 in a quiet corner near the Pitti Palace. Shake Café near Santa Maria Novella is the other budget-friendly option, with açai bowls, wraps and juices from around €7–13 for a lighter, plant-forward morning.
How much does brunch cost in Florence?
Plan on roughly €7–14 a plate at the bakeries and lighter cafes like Mama's and Shake, and around €10–18 a plate at the kitchen-led rooms such as Melaleuca, Le Vespe and Rooster. A full brunch with coffee at Ditta Artigianale runs closer to €20–25, the upper end for the cooking and the championship coffee programme behind it.
Is brunch a big thing in Florence?
It is a relatively recent and largely imported habit, driven by the city's specialty-coffee bars and a wave of foreign-run kitchens in the Oltrarno and centro storico. The strongest rooms are Australian, Canadian and American in influence — Melaleuca, Le Vespe and Rooster — alongside coffee-led Ditta Artigianale, so weekend brunch in Florence skews international rather than Tuscan.
Related rankings
Featured in
- Florence dining guide
- Best family-friendly restaurants in Florence
- Best fine dining worldwide
- The full RFK rankings index
Affiliate disclosure: RFK earns a commission on bookings made through partner platforms (Tock, Resy, OpenTable, SevenRooms) marked with a "Reserve" link. Sponsored listings are clearly marked with a Sponsored badge and are not eligible for editorial ranking. The six rooms on this list were ranked editorially and no booking partner influenced the order.