Start the Day Off Right

To Sevillanos the breakfast of champions involves strong coffee and hot toast drizzled with olive oil and topped with slivers of jamón (ham).
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Bar Alfalfa

​Bar Alfalfa, Calle Candilejo 1, a cozy neighborhood hangout
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Bar El Commercio, Calle Lineros 9, famous for its churros (fried dough) and chocolate

Bar El Pilar, Av. José Laguillo 4, the place Rich and I go for churros and chocolate

Cafeteria Catunambu, Calle Sierpes 10, classic coffee and great people-watching

Café Hércules, Calle Peris Mencheta 15, a bohemian café among the first to serve avocado toast

​El Algabeño, Calle Arrayan 2, tucked behind the Feria Mercado (old-style food market) so you can shop afterwards

La Gata en Bicicleta, Calle Pérez Galdós 2, hipster charmer with books, art, and fabulous hot chocolate. The name means the female cat on the bicycle; it's also known as Un Gato en Bicicleta, a male cat on a bicycle. Why? It's a mystery.

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La Gata en Bicicleta / Un Gato en Bicicleta

Le XIX, Calle Tomás de Ibarra 9, great for romantic morning-afters; breakfast is the only meal they serve, after that it's drinks only.

Otto Café, Plaza Monte Sion 8, a chic little spot just off Calle Feria
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Seville's favorite morning meal: toast with jamón (cured ham) and a cup of café con leche (coffee with milk).
Click on the map to locate these breakfast spots.


The Art of Breakfast in Seville

I have to admit, it felt strange — surreal, even — the first time I ate breakfast in the same bar I’d been drinking in the night before. But this isn’t uncommon in Seville, where the line between coffee house and tavern is a blurry one. Then there was the morning I found myself sipping café con leche next to a man downing a glass of anís seco (aniseed liqueur with a paint-thinner aftertaste). I began to wonder if some folks never went home at all, but simply settled onto their barstool from sundown to sunup and beyond.

​Not so, said the Spanish friend I consulted. She explained that here in Seville, when a man must rise very early (that is, before 10:00 am) to get a job done, he may feel the need for an eye-opener to reanimarse (reanimate himself) for the task.

For many Sevillanos, the morning reanimation process is a ritual whose elements are so unvarying that their local barista begins assembling their preferred breakfast the moment a regular steps through the door. Nobody ever glances at a breakfast menu — indeed, in the more old-fashioned eateries, there isn’t one. Why would you need such a thing? Everybody knows what breakfast consists of — except of course for visitors, who often find themselves struggling to get up to speed. If there’s a chance you’ll be ordering breakfast in Seville any time soon, here's how to belly up to the bar and order like a local.

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LEARN ABOUT SEVILLE'S FAMOUS SECOND BREAKFAST TRADITION