RFK Rankings · San Sebastian
Best Restaurants for Brunch in San Sebastian (2026)
Weekend brunch and specialty coffee · San Sebastian · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 12, 2024 · Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Simona roasts its own beans in Gros, a short walk from Zurriola beach, and a few streets on Pistacho cooks carrot-and-oat pancakes for the surfer crowd. San Sebastian is a pintxos town that learned to brunch through its specialty-coffee shops, mostly clustered in Gros across the river. These six, ranked, are where to spend a slow Donostia morning between waves and the Old Town.
1.Simona Specialty Coffee Club
Gros’s riverside coffee club for Turkish eggs and a house-roasted cup; walk in early on a weekend morning.
Simona sits on Paseo Ramón María Lili in Gros, by the Urumea river, and roasts its own house blend in the city while rotating a guest European coffee each month. The brunch plates run Turkish eggs, avocado toast with pesto and smoked-salmon toast, roughly 8 to 12 euros.
It opens daily from 9am and draws a strong local following, a near-4.8 rating across more than a thousand reviews. This is the coffee-first end of the Donostia morning; come early at weekends for a riverside table before the surf crowd arrives.
2.Pistacho Coffee Brunch
Sugar-free carrot-and-oat pancakes near Zurriola beach; the diet-friendly Gros brunch that books out on Saturdays.
Pistacho runs on Zabaleta Kalea in Gros, a bright room built around healthier brunch cooking. The signature is a sugar-free carrot-and-oat pancake, with French toast, fruit bowls and eggs Benedict alongside, most plates between 5 and 12 euros and gluten-free options throughout.
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm, it is a short walk from Zurriola beach and a fixture of the Gros morning. The kitchen leans clean and bright rather than indulgent; arrive early at the weekend for a table after a swim.
3.Old Town Coffee
City-market roasters for salmon-and-avocado toast and a proper pour-over; one of Donostia’s first true coffee bars.
Old Town Coffee sits inside the Mercado San Martín on Reyes Católicos in Centro, despite the name, and roasts its own beans just outside the city. The brunch is simple and good, avocado toast with salmon, jamón-and-tomato bread, and yogurt-and-granola bowls, roughly 6 to 10 euros.
Hours run Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 8pm and Sunday morning, closed Monday. It was among the first specialty-coffee bars in a town that lived on cortados, and it remains the market-hall pick for a serious cup with a light plate.
4.La Madame
Eggs Benedict and a Gilda burger steps from La Concha; the dressed-up weekend brunch in the city centre.
La Madame runs on Calle San Bartolomé in Centro, steps from La Concha bay, a restaurant and cocktail lounge that opens a weekend brunch. The kitchen mixes registers, eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, pancakes and a Gilda-topped burger, with plates roughly 10 to 15 euros.
Brunch is a weekend-only service, Saturday and Sunday midday, in a room more polished than the Gros coffee bars. This is the central, sit-down pick for a brunch with a cocktail before a walk along the bay.
5.Kafe Botanika
A plant-filled garden terrace by the river for eggs your way; the relaxed, green morning in Centro.
Kafe Botanika sits beside the Urumea river in Centro, a cafe with a plant-filled garden terrace and a leaning toward organic, vegetarian cooking. The morning runs eggs cooked to preference, toasted sandwiches, yogurt with organic granola and smoothies, most plates between 6 and 11 euros.
Open Wednesday to Monday from 9am, closed Tuesday, it is the calm, green corner of the Donostia brunch scene. The terrace is the draw on a clear morning; come for a slow coffee away from the beach crowds.
6.Enxalao
Bagel Benedict and açaí bowls fifty metres from Zurriola; the all-day Gros brunch with a pet-friendly terrace.
Enxalao runs on Ramón y Cajal Kalea in Gros, fifty metres from Zurriola beach, a brunch-and-bowls room with a salad-and-poke bar of more than fifty daily ingredients. The brunch order is a bagel Benedict or avocado toast with a poached egg, plus açaí bowls, roughly 7 to 12 euros.
Hours run 9:30am to 10:30pm, longer than the coffee bars nearby, with a pet-friendly terrace. It is the all-day, build-your-own end of the Gros scene, an easy stop straight off the beach.
Not for everyone
Famous, but not actually brunch
Arzak. The three-Michelin-star institution runs lunch and dinner tasting menus only, with no breakfast or brunch service. It is one of the world’s great tables, but it opens at lunchtime, not for eggs.
Mugaritz. Andoni Luis Aduriz’s avant-garde room in Errenteria serves a single tasting menu at lunch and dinner, and famously closes for months each year to develop it. There is no morning service of any kind.
Akelarre. Pedro Subijana’s clifftop three-star above Igeldo is a lunch-and-dinner tasting destination with a view of the Cantabrian sea, not a brunch room. Save it for a long lunch, not a Saturday morning.
How to brunch well in San Sebastian
The Donostia brunch scene lives mostly in Gros, the neighbourhood across the Urumea from the Old Town, where the specialty-coffee shops cluster within a few blocks of Zurriola beach. Simona, Pistacho and Enxalao all sit there, an easy walk from the surf. Centro holds the rest, La Madame near La Concha and Kafe Botanika by the river, with Old Town Coffee in the San Martín market.
This is still a pintxos town at heart, so brunch runs later and lighter than in northern Europe, and few rooms take bookings. Walk in, but go early at the weekend, since the Gros cafes fill with the post-swim crowd by late morning. If you want the dressed-up version, La Madame serves its brunch on Saturday and Sunday only, so plan around those two mornings.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in San Sebastian?
Simona Specialty Coffee Club in Gros is the marquee pick, a riverside room that roasts its own beans and cooks Turkish eggs and salmon toast. For a healthier plate near Zurriola beach, Pistacho; for a dressed-up weekend brunch near La Concha, La Madame in the city centre.
Does San Sebastian have a brunch culture?
Yes, though it is newer and lighter than the Anglo version. The city is a pintxos town that built a brunch scene through its specialty-coffee shops, most of them in the Gros neighbourhood across the river. Expect later mornings, good coffee and walk-in tables rather than big bottomless spreads.
Where is the best coffee in San Sebastian?
Old Town Coffee in the Mercado San Martín and Simona in Gros both roast their own beans and were among the first true specialty-coffee bars in a city long devoted to the cortado. Both pour a serious pour-over alongside their brunch plates.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in San Sebastian?
Mostly no. The Gros coffee bars, Simona, Pistacho and Enxalao among them, run walk-in, so arrive early at the weekend when the post-beach crowd fills the terraces. La Madame in Centro serves brunch only on Saturday and Sunday and is the one worth checking ahead for.
Do the Michelin restaurants in San Sebastian do brunch?
No. Arzak, Mugaritz and Akelarre are lunch-and-dinner tasting destinations with no morning service, so they are not brunch options. For a weekend morning, head to the Gros coffee shops or to La Madame and Kafe Botanika in the city centre instead.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full San Sebastian dining guide, read the Arzak profile and the Elkano profile, compare the city’s tables for one in the San Sebastian solo-dining ranking, plan a morning elsewhere with the Manchester brunch ranking, read the journal at the RFK journal, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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