The Best Breakfast and Brunch Spots in Ouro Preto, Brazil

With its elegant and cozy interior, Opera Café creates a welcoming setting to enjoy the traditional Minas Gerais brunch and lunch menu. The café offers typical upscale café-cuisine such as gourmet sandwiches, classic Brazilian snacks, and to round it all off, smooth, creamy coffees produced from regional coffee beans. Those with a sweet tooth will be drawn to the indulgent desserts and most visitors appreciate the free WiFi.

Its name is a bit of a giveaway as to what awaits at Chocolates Ouro Preto. The venue manufacturers its own chocolates and produces several types of bars and truffles, including traditional, apricot, and nut. Besides being an artisanal chocolate factory, it also has a cozy café which serves delicious coffees and lunch options such as omelets and pies with, of course, a selection of delicious desserts for after.

Set inside a well-preserved mansion, the Bené da Flauta Restaurante e Café mixes elegant and discrete décor, fitting with the building’s historical past. The café is flooded with natural light, creating a bright and airy setting for enjoying a traditional Minas Gerais brunch. The menu has plenty of regional specialties such as the frango com quiabo and angu for a more satisfying late-brunch option.

This charming café in Ouro Preto mixes the classic style of the city with modern furnishings to create a cozy, modern venue for brunch, lunch, or dinner. The fresh cakes, sandwiches, and salads make an excellent choice for a satisfying meal and can be paired with a creamy coffee or a glass of wine for a boozy brunch. The cakes are hard to ignore—it’s well worth saving room for a dessert.

Marília Empadaria is a charming coffeeshop in the center of Ouro Preto with picturesque views of the city. The food to try here are the homemade pies which are fresh and come with a variety of fillings, including the popular chicken and bacon pie. Another favorite item on the menu is the acai, which is served with granola and fresh fruit. In addition to various coffees, the café also serves fruit juices and artisanal beer made locally.

Cafeteria a Bordo offers a unique coffeeshop experience that will be a highlight of your trip. Set inside a train carriage, the café serves a selection of coffees, beers, wines, and typical coffeeshop food (think cakes, snacks, and sandwiches) to guests inside. It also takes slow-paced trips between Ouro Preto and Mariana, allowing visitors to enjoy the surrounding natural landscapes. It even serves a wonderful iced coffee, something hard to come by in Ouro Preto.

Set inside a charming colonial building, the Cafetelier Café makes one of the freshest coffees in Ouro Preto—it produces its own coffee beans on a nearby farm and makes its coffee from there. The local coffee beans also form the base of the rich, delicious coffee cake served there; there are also other brunch items such as fresh bread and Brazilian snacks to enjoy.