We’ve already fallen for The Lumiares’ easy charm, but it’s the hotel’s
brunch offering that has us hopping back on a plane to the
Portuguese capital. Weekend mornings are best spent on the rooftop
(open to non-guests), eye level with the city’s rustic red tiles
and vistas of rolling hills. Five floors up, you’ll be tucking into
a menu packed with locally sourced produce: scrambled eggs over
sourdough, prosciutto sandwiches, cheesecake, acai bowls and fruit
platters. Slake your thirst with a thick papaya smoothie. Brunch is
served from 11am to 3pm and costs £19 for a generous spread,
including one morning cocktail to get you going. Mimosa, por
favor!

Forget bun-fighting for a table at cult brunch spot Heim Café;
those in the know head to the eatery’s sister joint for a quieter
start to the day. Tucked under the awnings of a property painted a
pillow-talk lipstick hue, Seagull Method Café serves up colourful
breakfast dishes until 6pm. Grab one of the mismatched seats
between the distressed plaster walls and feast on prettily plated
avo toast, fruit-piled pancakes and canary-yellow corn fritters.
Freshly baked cakes tempt from beneath glass cloches on the
counter, flowers adorn every table and staff are so friendly,
you’ll think they want to be pals. Boring brunchers order an
americano – we’re on refreshing espresso tonics as we flick through
the café’s selection of indie magazines.

Looking for a brunch spot where your people-watching powers will
be put to good use? Head to the Chiado branch of minimalist eatery
Dear Breakfast, which is tucked behind the Arco da Rua Augusta, in
the neoclassical heart of Lisbon. Bag a table upstairs on one of
the juliet balconies for a prime position from which to watch the
world dawdle by below. With its goal being to serve properly cooked
eggs to all, the café’s menu is expansive, and egg-tastic.
Benedict, royale, florentine, omelette – they’re all here. Our
order? The healthy rancheros, which arrive atop a tortilla, yolks
gooey, with black beans, avocado and jalapeño.

It’s almost impossible to pop into Augusto Lisboa for just a
coffee without ending up seated on a streetside table, squaring off
with your breakfast banquet. Sequestered in one of Lisbon’s oldest
quarters, Alfama, the pretty-in-pastel spot complements the city’s
photo-ready aesthetics with its decidedly Instagram-friendly
approach. The decadent menu is made for the camera, with dishes
arriving piled precariously on colourful plates. Sip an iced latte
sprinkled with orange zest while you agonise over deciding what to
order. The savoury options are our go-to. Try the tender bacalhau
(dried and salted cod) paired with smashed avocado, radish and
spinach on toast, or, for something refreshing, the Portuguesinha
salad bowl, packed with goat’s cheese, pear and apple. Otherwise,
the perennial favourite is the toast topped with premium native
ham, scrambled eggs and cream cheese, encircled by a swirl of
homemade tomato and garlic sauce. You could order one and be done
with it, but better to call in a couple of options and pretend
they’re small plates.

Arrive early to bag a table on the terrace at this
beloved-by-locals spot. It’s known for its top-quality croissants –
flaky, buttery shells of goodness baked fresh on the premises
throughout the day. Those in the know congregate early, leaving
with a brown paper bag of the morning batch clutched in their
hands. Latecomers won’t find space under the red umbrellas, but a
seat inside still guarantees a feast. This is the place to build a
brunch: start with a simply done yoghurt and fruit bowl, add a few
pastries (the filled ones are underrated), then end with the
sugar-dusted homemade pancakes.

Frequented by Lisbonners grabbing an early-morning cup of joe,
the Parisian-style Café Janis is housed in a canary-yellow corner
building in the Cais do Sodré district. Plates are pretty as a
picture (and taste as good as they look), with plenty to please
savoury- and sweet-toothed breakfasters: think banana bread with
espresso mascarpone, parma ham- and pesto-stuffed croissants, and –
our recommendation – the Mediterranean breakfast, a platter piled
high with marinated artichokes, mint-laced smashed avocado, fresh
salad, toasted focaccia and a soft egg on creamy yoghurt dusted
with za’atar. Come back at 7pm for pisco sours and, if you’re so
inclined, a granola bowl. When they say a day-long menu, they mean
it.

Inhale the aroma of Portugal’s world-famous creamy pastry at
this award-winning pastelaria. The azulejo-tiled spot in Alfama is
the place to pick up a picnic breakfast’s-worth of pastéis de nata
– flaky, warm and not too sweet. Arrive for the 8am opening to
swerve the big queues – it’s a favourite in the city. The recently
opened dining room upstairs offers a chance to make scoffing a few
tarts more of an occasion than it feels when you perch on the
street outside. Pair with a café espresso and you’ll be all set to
conquer the hike up to Castelo de São Jorge, around the corner.