Coffee and Breakfast in Naples

The temperature at 7:30am in Naples in July is about 26°C. At 2pm it is 34°C with 80 percent humidity. That arithmetic explains the entire local rhythm: everything worth doing outdoors happens before eleven, and breakfast is therefore a serious meal here rather than an afterthought.

Coffee

Naples has a real independent coffee scene now, concentrated downtown around Third Street South and Fifth Avenue South, plus a cluster in the Mercato and Bayshore areas. Look for anywhere roasting or naming its roaster; the tourist-facing places on Fifth do fine espresso but the better cups are usually a block off the main avenue.

The Third Street South courtyards at 8am, before the shops open, are the most pleasant place in the city to drink a coffee. Bougainvillage, brick, no traffic and no crowd.

Breakfast

• Downtown diners and brunch rooms on and around Fifth Avenue South — busy from 8am in season, and worth a wait
• The Third Street farmers market on Saturday mornings in season for pastries, produce and stone crab in the winter months
• Beachfront hotel breakfasts, which are open to non-guests more often than people assume and give you the Gulf at its calmest
• Bagel and Cuban-influenced counters along Tamiami Trail, which is where the actual town eats

Practical notes

• In season, popular brunch places have 30–45 minute waits from 9am. Go at 7:30am or after 11am.
• Many independents close by 2pm. Naples is not a late-lunch town.
• Summer hours shrink. Check before driving across town in August.