For most Nigerians, the day used to have a fairly predictable food schedule: breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon and dinner in the evening. Breakfast was rarely complicated. It could be akara and pap, custard, bread and eggs, or even leftover rice from the night before. Brunch was not really part of the everyday Nigerian vocabulary.

Brunch was something you were more likely to encounter at a big hotel, perhaps on a Sunday or during a special occasion. Somehow, it left the hotel buffet and found its way into our regular weekend plans. And because we are Nigerians, we did not just adopt brunch; we found a way to make it bigger, fancier and, sometimes, unnecessarily extra.

When breakfast became an experience

Brunch culture, particularly in Lagos, has grown into a social experience built around food, entertainment and aesthetics. Restaurants are not only selling what is on the plate. They are selling the atmosphere around it.

Pancakes come stacked and decorated. Eggs arrive with sourdough, avocado or smoked salmon. Drinks are carefully presented. Some venues offer bottomless cocktails, live entertainment or themed brunch experiences.

A 2025 review of Lagos brunch spots by Pulse Nigeria featured dishes such as eggs Benedict, chicken and waffles, smoked salmon toast, and pancakes, with some priced between ₦9,000 and ₦15,000 at the time.

The meal has become an event.

Social media has helped push this transformation. DataReportal’s Digital 2026 Nigeria report recorded 47.8 million social media user identities in Nigeria in October 2025, showing how large the country’s digital audience has become.

Brunch is perfect for this environment. The food is colourful, the restaurants are designed to look good on camera, and everyone is usually dressed for the occasion.

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So the question becomes: are people going to brunch to eat, or to create content about eating?

There is nothing wrong with taking pictures or enjoying a beautiful restaurant. But the competition between venues to create the most Instagrammable experience has made some brunches feel more like daytime festivals than meals.

In Lagos, events such as The Funky Brunch have embraced this model, combining food with music, fashion and entertainment.

When the experience comes with a price

The bigger the experience, the bigger the bill can become.

Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reported food inflation at 17.52 per cent in June 2026, while headline inflation stood at 15.91 per cent.

So when a casual meal involves food, drinks, transport, parking and additional charges, brunch can quickly become a significant weekend expense. For some people, that is entertainment money. For others, the same amount could cover several meals.

The issue, therefore, is not that Nigerians enjoy brunch. It is the growing pressure to participate in an increasingly expensive version of it.

Still, it would be unfair to dismiss brunch culture as people simply trying to look good online.

The experience creates work for restaurants, chefs, DJs, photographers, event planners, fashion brands and content creators. It also reflects a wider change in how young Nigerians socialise.

Food is no longer just about hunger. It is about connection, celebration, networking and experience. If there is brunch, why not make an entire event out of it?

So, Is Brunch Too Extra?

Maybe.

But the extravagance is also what makes Nigerian brunch culture interesting.

The real question is whether all the extras actually make the experience better. When the décor becomes more memorable than the food, the camera gets more attention than the conversation, and the bill hurts more than the meal satisfies, perhaps brunch has crossed the line.

Brunch does not have to be boring. It can be elaborate, beautiful and completely unnecessary. But sometimes, it should also just be breakfast.

Meiza Nigeria