A full English is easy to find in south Tenerife. A good one is not. The difference is almost always the produce, Heinz beans, back bacon and British butcher’s sausages, cooked by someone who knows a fry-up should not arrive swimming in oil, and the places that get it right each have a reason to seek them out: the tea-room whose Scottish breakfast beats its English, the gastro spot that makes its own sausages, the sports bar doing the cheapest cooked-to-order fry-up in town. This is which to pick and what to order.
Most are daytime British cafes, a lot of them Scottish-run, and few do an early start, so this is a mid-morning plan rather than a 7am one. It sits alongside the rest of the south’s food scene, from the best Sunday roasts to the best curry houses and the wider Los Cristianos restaurant scene.
Contents
- How to spot a proper one
- Playa de las Américas
- Los Cristianos
- Costa Adeje, San Eugenio and Fañabe
- If you would rather brunch than a fry-up
- Practical tips
- Frequently asked questions
How to spot a proper one
The tell is the produce. A café that imports Heinz beans, back bacon and British sausages will usually say so, on the menu or a chalkboard, because it is the thing British customers travel across the resort for. If nobody mentions where the bacon comes from, it is often the local streaky sort, which is fine but not the same.
A lot of the best breakfast spots down here are Scottish-owned, so you will see a Scottish breakfast on the board next to the English one. That means a tattie scone and square Lorne sausage, sometimes with black pudding or haggis, and at more than one place below the Scottish version is the one to order even if you are English. Expect to pay around five to nine euros for a full breakfast, often with a smaller and a larger size, and the Scottish bars can be very cheap. A set breakfast with tea or coffee included is usually the best value, and it is worth a glance at the bill, since a few places add the local IGIC tax at the end rather than in the menu price.
Playa de las Américas
The busiest resort, and the one with the most British cafes, though plenty are aimed more at a night out than a proper breakfast.
Cozy Café: the homemade hidden gem
You would walk straight past it, and you would be missing the best-loved breakfast in Las Américas. Cozy Café is a homely, gloriously old-fashioned tea-room run for years by David and Rita, with everything made on the premises. The full English is built to order from proper British produce and costs about six euros, but the insider order is the Scottish breakfast: reviewers, English ones included, say the proper Lorne sausage and tattie scones make it the one to have. Leave room, because the homemade cakes and what regulars call the best scones in Tenerife are the other reason people come, washed down with a homemade sangria that has a genuine kick.
It is a genuine all-day, all-week operation: daytime menu, Wednesday BBQ evenings with steak cooked to order, and Sunday roasts you should book. The decor is stuck cheerfully in the 1990s and the crowd is British and Irish, which is either the charm or not your thing. It is still going strong in 2026, despite an old review claiming otherwise. You will find it in the Pueblo Canario, Local 239, behind the Americas casino, open from around 9am to 5pm and later on BBQ and roast days. Website cozycafetenerife.com or on Facebook.
Empire: the sit-down option
If you would rather a proper table and table service than a café counter, Empire at the Safari Centre is the grown-up choice. It is a modern British restaurant and steak house run by owner Joe, and it does breakfast, Sunday lunch and Friday fish and chips as its three pillars, with the loyal residents-and-holidaymakers following that marks out a place doing the basics properly. The pick for a relaxed, waited-on breakfast rather than a quick fry-up on a plastic chair. At the Safari Centre, Playa de las Américas, so check current breakfast times on its Facebook page before heading over.
Jags Scottish Bar: the late Scottish fry-up
More entertainment bar than tea-room, but the draw is a genuine Scottish fry-up served later than most, so it is the one for a lie-in-and-brunch morning with a bit of atmosphere rather than a hushed café. Popular with residents as well as holidaymakers, which is usually a good sign.
Los Cristianos
More relaxed than Las Américas, with the breakfast spots clustered around the Ámsterdam and El Mirador strips, the Apolo Centre, and the streets behind Las Vistas beach.
RnB’s: the cheapest cooked-to-order fry-up
The pick for a straight, no-nonsense English breakfast that will not dent your holiday budget. RnB’s is an English-run bar where the food is cooked fresh to order rather than sitting pre-plated under a lamp, and the prices are among the lowest you will find for that quality. It doubles as a sports bar, with ten big screens and live music or karaoke most nights, so it is the one to combine a late breakfast with the football. Two honest points: the kitchen does not open until 10:30am, so it is a brunch rather than a dawn spot, and the service can wobble around the staff handover, so it is at its best earlier. On the first floor near Kinsella’s, on Facebook as RnB’s Los Cristianos.
The Vault: for a fancier brunch, not a basic fry-up
If your table is split between a fry-up and something more Instagram-friendly, this is the one. The Vault is a stylish, industrial-themed bar whose breakfast menu runs beyond the full English to American pancakes, eggs benedict and a breakfast in a bun, with a proper veggie and vegan choice and a kids menu. It is honestly better known for its cocktails, craft beer and nightly music than for the fry-up, and breakfast reviews range from very good to merely okay, but the room and the big terrace are a cut above the usual euro-a-pint places. El Mirador, Local 1, Avenida Ámsterdam 17, near the Pasarela Centre. thevaultbartenerife.com.
The Ámsterdam strip and the Apolo Centre
For walk-out convenience near Las Vistas, the Beer Garden and the Surrey Arms on the Ámsterdam and El Mirador strips both get repeat praise for big, well-priced breakfasts and quick service, so that stretch is the safe bet when you just want to step outside and find a fry-up. Nearby in the Apolo Centre, the Merry Monk is a family-run old English pub going more than 30 years, the sort of steady, unflashy local that does a reliable breakfast without any fuss.
Costa Adeje, San Eugenio and Fañabe
The more polished end of the south, spread across San Eugenio, Torviscas, Fañabe and the Playa del Duque, and home to the single best breakfast on this list.
The Ginger Pig: the gastro pick, and the best of the lot
A notch above everything else at this end, and worth planning around. The Ginger Pig makes its own sausages and bakes its own sourdough, and the breakfast menu runs from a full English, Scottish and Irish through to eggs benedict, eggs florentine and buttermilk pancakes with streaky bacon, so it suits both the fry-up crowd and anyone who wants breakfast done properly. It holds a five-star Tripadvisor rating, sits on the hill at San Eugenio with a view down to Fañabe beach, and gets booked out, so reserve. Owner Alex runs a tight kitchen and it shows in the detail, right down to the bread. Avenida de España 2, San Eugenio, reservations on +34 922 35 20 25 or The Ginger Pig on Facebook.
Scotch Corner: the cheap, proper Scottish
The value pick, and the one for a big traditional Scottish fry-up with slice sausage and tattie scones for very little money. This San Eugenio institution was so popular it knocked through into the pub next door, and it does roasts, pies and bangers and mash alongside the breakfasts. Honest wrinkle: it changed hands in 2021, and while most reviews stay warm, a few long-term regulars feel standards have slipped under the new ownership, one quipping that the only Scottish thing left is the name. Go with an open mind and it is still a friendly, generous, cheap breakfast. In San Eugenio, next to the Tiroler Tapas Bar.
The Star Bar: breakfast now, cabaret later
A Scottish-owned bar that regulars rate “second to none” for its English breakfast, with the bonus that it turns into a cabaret spot in the evenings, so it is the one to know if you want a good-value fry-up in the morning and entertainment in the same place at night. Across from the Bougainville Playa hotel, next to the Pheasant Plucker.
Micky O’Malley’s: the local Irish option
A cosy, family-run Irish pub over on Sunset Bay doing an English breakfast and a Sunday lunch, worth knowing if you are staying at the Fañabe or Sunset Bay end and want somewhere local and low-key rather than a resort-centre café.
If you would rather brunch than a fry-up
Not everyone wants fried food at the start of a hot day. For pancakes, eggs done properly, or a fruit bowl and a good flat white, two places stand out. Pistacho Coffee Brunch in Adeje is the one people walk 30 minutes for, with creative brunch plates, açai bowls and carrot pancakes that come up again and again in reviews. The Smart Bakery, in the Las Flores area of Costa Adeje, is a proper bakery-café doing pancakes, bagels, croissants and some of the best coffee in the south, with a terrace and easy wheelchair access. Both are a world away from a British fry-up, in a good way.
Practical tips
- Go in the morning. Most open around 9am, some later, so this is not a 7am plan. Cozy Café from around 9am is about the earliest, and RnB’s kitchen only fires up at 10:30am.
- Order the Scottish. At Cozy Café and Scotch Corner the Scottish breakfast, with Lorne sausage and tattie scones, is the one regulars pick over the English.
- Book ahead for the Ginger Pig and for any Sunday roast. Tables go, especially in winter.
- Confirm opening before a special trip. Resort cafes close on certain evenings and some go quiet off-season, so check their Facebook the night before.
- If British sausages and back bacon matter, ask before you order, since not every kitchen uses them.
- Carry a bit of cash. The smaller cafes take card, but not all love a card payment for a six-euro breakfast.
- These are family-friendly by day, unlike the Verónicas strip after dark, so they suit a breakfast with kids.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best full English in south Tenerife?
For quality overall, the Ginger Pig in San Eugenio, which makes its own sausages and sourdough. For a cheap, homemade classic, Cozy Café in Las Américas, where the Scottish breakfast is the pick. In Los Cristianos, RnB’s does the best straight-up fry-up.
Should I order the English or the Scottish breakfast?
At the Scottish-run places, the Scottish. Reviewers at Cozy Café and Scotch Corner, English diners among them, repeatedly say the proper Lorne sausage and tattie scones make it the better plate.
How much should a full English cost?
Roughly five to nine euros for a full one, with Cozy Café and the Scottish bars at the cheaper end and gastro spots like the Ginger Pig higher. A set version with tea or coffee is usually the best value. Check the price on the day.
Do they use British sausages and bacon?
The better cafes import British produce and say so. Cheaper places use local bacon and sausages, which are fine but different. If it matters, ask before ordering.
Can I get an early breakfast?
Not easily. Most open around 9am, and some kitchens not until 10:30am. For anything earlier, you are looking at your hotel buffet.
Are they open every day and all day?
Most serve breakfast through to mid or late afternoon rather than all day, and some close certain evenings or quieten off-season. The Ginger Pig and Cozy Café are among the more dependable. Always confirm before a special trip.
Is there a vegetarian or vegan option?
Most do a veggie full breakfast, and the Ginger Pig and the Vault have proper veggie and vegan choices. A fully vegan fry-up is patchier elsewhere, so ask ahead.
Prices, opening hours and menus change, and cafes open and close regularly in resort areas. Always check directly with the venue, or their Facebook page, before setting out, especially for a specific breakfast or a Sunday roast.