Breakfast at Florian’s…

Forget Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Breakfast at Florian’s is where it’s at.

Nestled in the heart of Venice in St Marks Square, Caffè Florian is as much about the experience and ambience of the place as it is about the food (which is also delicious!).

According to Venitians, this is the oldest Cafè in Europe. Having been to various regions in Italy and having the locals claim they have the oldest / smallest/ best/ most visited attractions, I do take this with a pinch of salt, however, it was established in 1720 so is pretty old by all accounts!

The experience:

The decor inside is ridiculously extravagant and beautiful. It looks like you’ve stepped off the street into a palace - and the waiters and waitresses make you feel like you have as well. Everyone is incredibly friendly and accommodating, and we (my mum and I) were treated so kindly throughout our time here. We felt like they genuinely wanted us to enjoy it, and we weren’t rushed out after our meal either which coming from London was an unexpected treat!

Getting into Florian’s…

I will say that the queues outside on the Saturday we were here were ridiculous. As we were only here for a long weekend, we didn’t think we would get a chance to go - particularly as it’s famous for having welcomed people like Casanova and Byron. However, we were lucky. We were booked onto a trip to Murano and Burano on Sunday morning, and maps messed up our breakfast plans. As we were in St Mark’s Square we had a look to see what was around and were delighted to see that Florian’s was open. We walked in without any issue at all and had the best breakfast I think I’ve ever had in my life.

The best breakfast I’ve ever eaten!

As you settle into one of the beautiful golden-gilded rooms, you can smell the freshly brewed coffee and the scent of pastries around you. There were only a few other people around us, and despite not seeing anyone else have the ridiculous breakfast we did, you could tell it was a place where people gathered and savoured the moment rather than just standing at a bar and downing a coffee like you see in a lot of Italian Cafès.

We went for breakfast for two, which was EXTRAVAGANT. It was like a breakfast version of afternoon tea, which I adored. It even came out on platters that were fit for royalty. The tea, the juice, the sandwiches, the pastries... Everything was the best of the best, and we were so excited to dig in and enjoy the moment together. It is still one of the best meals we’ve ever had abroad, including the fancy ones we went to in Florence!

Overall:

I don’t think this is the type of place that you immediately think to go to for the food, rather it’s an experience you’d want to have as a tourist - but it’s why you’ll come back.

The queues outside make it look like a fantastic place to go, and the staff make it into the special experience it is. The food is exactly what you’d expect from a 5-star restaurant, and honestly, it makes it even more incredible (especially as the food was around 50 euros each, and in the UK, a meal like this would be £75-90 at least)!

All in all, I’d recommend getting here as early as possible and beating the queues if you can. And go for the extravagant breakfast. Your tummy will be full and hopefully, you’ll love it as much as I did!