Breakfast may be the meal Sayulita does best. The town wakes early for the surf, the cafés open at six or seven, and by nine the good tables are taken. Most places serve breakfast until early afternoon and then close for the day.
This guide starts with the earliest coffee in town, then the Mexican breakfast, the brunch cafés, who roasts their own beans, and the juice bars and bakeries. Almost everywhere takes one day a week off, so check before you walk over.
Dawn patrol: coffee before the surf
The best waves on the main beach usually come early, before the wind picks up, and a few cafés open in time. Choco Banana on the plaza unlocks at 6am every day, and Cafetería Northswell on Revolución opens at 6am too, Monday to Saturday. By seven you have Café El Espresso on the plaza, Northside Café on Calle Miramar and El Original near the bridge.
Sunrise moves through the year, from about 6:25am in early July to about 7:25am in early December, so a winter dawn surf can still start with a sit-down coffee. The read below shows how the main beach looks this morning.
- 7:25am
- sunrise in early December
- 6:25am
- sunrise in early July
Choco Banana
The plaza's long-running café, open from 6am, named for its chocolate-dipped frozen bananas; big breakfasts and good people-watching.
Cafetería Northswell Sabor Natural
Plant-based café upstairs on Revolución, open from 6am Monday to Saturday, with bowls, crêpes and tostadas.
Café El Espresso
Yellow café on the plaza, open from 7am into the evening, with green chilaquiles and patio tables facing the square.
Northside Cafe
North-side breakfast favourite from 7am: fluffy pancakes, house salsas and fresh juice. Cards carry a surcharge.
El Original Cafe Sayulita
Bright pink café by the bridge with blue-corn tacos and quesadillas, open from 7am.
Chilaquiles and the Mexican breakfast
Chilaquiles are the dish to know: fried tortilla pieces simmered in red or green salsa, topped with cream, cheese and onion, usually with eggs, chicken or beef alongside. Ask for them verdes or rojos; green is tangier, red often hotter. Huevos rancheros, huevos a la mexicana and molletes, open rolls with beans and melted cheese, are the other standards.
Where you eat them decides the price. At El Rey, a local diner at the far end of Revolución, chilaquiles with egg are 120 pesos and a café de olla, coffee brewed with cinnamon and piloncillo sugar, is 30. In the cafés of the centre the same plate runs higher, and brunch dishes generally sit between about 120 and 250 pesos.
A local diner
- Chilaquiles 90 pesos plain, 120 with egg (El Rey)
- Café de olla 30 pesos
- Fresh orange juice 50 pesos
- Spanish menu, cash, early opening
A brunch café
- Most plates about 120 to 250 pesos
- Americano about 50, latte about 70 pesos
- Bagels, bowls, toasts and pancakes
- Often a wait at peak times in high season
El Rey Restaurante
Local diner open from 7am with chilaquiles, eggs any way, birria and café de olla at local prices.
Alquimista
Family-owned porch café for chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, organic coffee and aguas frescas like pineapple-basil; closed Mondays.
Loncheria Martha
Small family lonchería on Calle Gaviota for Mexican breakfasts and lunches, Monday to Saturday until 3pm.
Birriería Ponce
If you want the breakfast locals eat: birria tacos with consommé, 8 to 11am, closed Fridays.
Brunch cafés worth the wait
Miscelánea, tucked down a short alley off Revolución by the plaza, is the one people name first: corn pancakes, French toast, chilaquiles verdes, gluten-free pancakes and careful coffee on a shaded patio, every day from 8am to 3pm. Expect a short wait at peak times, and note it takes cards only above a minimum.
Yah-Yah, a couple of blocks uphill on Niños Héroes, does build-your-own bagels, waffles and bowls with a long coffee list, closed Tuesdays. Pákeke on Playa Azul is tiny and known for thin, airy pancakes, Anchor Café on Marlín for sourdough toasts and smoothie bowls, and Tierra Viva on Marlín for eggs Benedict, including a shrimp version.
Miscelánea Sayulita
Patio café off the plaza for corn pancakes, chilaquiles and pour-over; daily 8am to 3pm, cards only above a minimum.
YAH-YAH Sayulita Café
Bagels, waffles and bowls with Mexican coffee by Chemex or V60; 7:30am to 3pm, closed Tuesdays.
Pákeke Sayulita
Tiny breakfast spot for thin pancakes, molletes and strong coffee; mornings only, closed Tuesdays.
Anchor Cafe
Cosy café on Marlín with sourdough toasts, bagel sandwiches, chia cups and smoothie bowls.
Tierra Viva Restaurant y Bar
All-day restaurant on Marlín whose breakfast is known for eggs Benedict, shrimp included.
Who roasts, who pours
Mexico grows a lot of good coffee, some of it in the hills of Nayarit and next-door Jalisco, and a handful of Sayulita cafés take it seriously. M&F Coffee Roasters on Manuel Rodríguez is a small roaster-café where the owner roasts the beans; people go for the flavoured lattes and buy bags to take home. Café El Fortín on Miramar pours beans from a roaster in the mountain town of San Sebastián del Oeste.
Buenas Olas on Revolución lists pour-overs from Oaxaca, Veracruz and Chiapas alongside a short breakfast menu. Café Coyote on Niños Héroes, run by a woman who grew up in Sayulita, serves coffee from Tepic. For a long morning with a laptop, Mugre Animal (once Another One) stays open into the evening and has outlets at the tables; Wi-Fi in town is good but not perfect.
- 50
- pesos for an americano at a specialty café
- 70
- pesos for a latte
- 30
- pesos for a café de olla at a local diner
M&F Coffee Roasters
Owner-roasted coffee, flavoured lattes and beans to take home; Monday to Saturday, 7:30am to 2pm.
Café El Fortín
Coffee bar on Miramar pouring beans roasted in San Sebastián del Oeste, with bags to buy.
Buenas Olas Café
Pour-overs from Oaxaca, Veracruz and Chiapas, sourdough waffles and a short breakfast menu.
Cafe Coyote
Neighbourhood café with all-day breakfast, a daily dish from local ingredients and coffee from Tepic.
Another One Coffee Roaster
Cold brew and bagels from 8am to 9pm, with fast Wi-Fi and plugs at the tables.
Juice, bowls and fresh bread
If breakfast for you is a smoothie bowl, Sayulita has plenty. Organi-K, under a palapa by the bridge, does açaí and poke bowls for about 140 to 170 pesos and runs plastic-free. Orangy on José Mariscal makes thick smoothies and fresh juices.
For bread, two French bakeries do it properly. Schmoutzi on Revolución has croissants, baguettes and cinnamon buns from 7:30am; go early for the first batch. Casa Gourmet on José Mariscal sells same-day croissants and pain au chocolat, plus quiche and sandwiches. And at Choco Banana, the frozen banana dipped in chocolate that gives the place its name costs about 25 pesos.
ORGANI-K Sayulita
Plastic-free bowl bar under a palapa by the bridge; açaí and poke bowls, toasts and juices.
Orangy Smoothies
Small juice bar on José Mariscal for smoothies, açaí bowls and fresh juice.
Schmoutzi
Small French bakery for croissants, baguettes, cinnamon buns and olive sourdough.
Casa Gourmet French Bakery & Café
French bakery and café on José Mariscal with same-day bread and croissants.
Questions people ask
What time do cafés open in Sayulita?
Most open around 8am, a few earlier: Choco Banana at 6am, Northswell at 6am Monday to Saturday, and Café El Espresso and Northside Café at 7am. Many close by mid-afternoon.
How much does breakfast cost in Sayulita?
At a local diner, chilaquiles with egg are about 120 pesos. In the cafés of the centre, most breakfast and brunch plates cost about 120 to 250 pesos in 2026.
Where can I get good coffee in Sayulita?
M&F Coffee Roasters roasts its own, Café El Fortín pours beans from San Sebastián del Oeste, and Buenas Olas, Yah-Yah and Miscelánea do pour-overs and careful espresso.
Do I need to queue for brunch in Sayulita?
At the best-known cafés in high season, often yes around nine to eleven. Go before eight or after noon, or pick a quieter café on the north side.
Which cafés are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays?
Alquimista closes Mondays; Yah-Yah and Pákeke close Tuesdays. Hours change with the season, so check before you go.
Written by sayulita.co from our own research, checked against 14 sources. Nothing here is paid for. Photos: Wotancito (CC BY-SA 4.0); ; ; Luisalvaz (CC BY-SA 3.0). See something out of date? Tell us.
