Unlike many globetrotters, Michelle Sprott doesn’t keep a running count of the countries she has visited. It’s just a part of her DNA. Her mother is from Aruba and the family lived in Holland, so she’s been traveling practically from birth. But the brunch spots she has visited during her travels roll easily off the tongue. When you’re known as the Brunchnista, it’s safe to say that Sprott is something of a connoisseur when it comes to the meal whose name comes from a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.
“My love of brunch developed just slightly after returning from Huntsville, Alabama from school and coming back to New York City where I was born and raised and just trying to figure out life, get new friends, connect with people and fill my social calendar,” Sprott shared with Travel Noire. “Brunch became my go-to kind of meal to do that with. Brunch is like the new Sunday dinner.”
Now wherever Sprott travels — whether Spain, Thailand, Greece, Bali, South Africa, or Argentina — brunch is the first order of business. Literally.
Over the past four years, the Brunchnista has turned her passion into a small enterprise, selling various brunch-related trinkets and curating lists of Black-owned establishments worldwide. Her personal brunch style includes trying whatever is popular locally.
“I’m always open to whatever it is because I think all of those experiences, especially when you’re overseas, you really get to dig into the culture when you eat the food,” she explained. “But my rule of thumb is always to order a sweet and a savory dish. Usually, I keep the savory for myself and then the sweet I’ll share it with the table.”
She also shared some advice for aspiring brunchnistas.
“Always try to support Black-owned when you can and when possible. And make sure you have a little budget for brunch set aside because if you do it pretty frequently it can get expensive. Carry your own utensils in this day, which I do have on my website. Have your own brunch kit because a lot of places have plastic straws and paper straws that melt in two seconds. In the height of the pandemic, a lot of places were still giving plastic forks and knives, and so I decided to put a brunch kit together which has forks, spoons, two straws, chopsticks, a mask, and a bag for you to carry it all in.”
But most importantly, use the opportunity to have some quality face time with friends and family. It’s also the ideal setting to break bread with new people.
“If you meet a girl, and you think you want to connect with her further, invite her to brunch,” said Sprott. “You never know. A beautiful friendship could form from that.”
If you’re looking for a place to connect, here are the best brunch spots around the world according to Brunchnista.
1. Fat Fish, Ghana
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIaQcRYpeVy/
Fat Fish is Black-owned obviously — almost everything in Accra is — and it just has really cute decor. They have a nice brunch situation happening on Sundays and Saturdays called Taste. And I love it. I love that spot.
2. La Panera Rosa, Argentina
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNTN2oTI-uM/
It’s all pink, and I love a good pink vibe. It has a lot of American influences like pancakes and ice cream and is very decadent and very over the top.
3. The Ivy Kensington Brasserie, United Kingdom
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLguabuAk_M/
I think they [London] do brunch the best, really. They have so many brunch spots. And they really lean into the brunch culture. I guess that’s because they do high tea, so they really understand that a midday meal is all about aesthetics, being filling, and beautiful.
4. El&n Cafe, United Kingdom
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTeR_zfKMTB/
It’s really great as well. Another place to get some really great pictures and really great tea and brunch food. It’s beautiful.
5. Sunday in Soho, France
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSBkE4ptYcb/
It’s Black-owned and in Paris. I always try to make sure that we are amplifying Black voices. That’s always important to me to find that storyline in every city that I go to, even though it’s not always possible.
But finding that restaurant was amazing and being able to highlight them and let my audience know if you ever go to Paris, there is someplace that you can go where the food is actually good. You could go and catch a vibe there.
6. The Dutch Pancake House, Aruba
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbUjWspl13Q/
They have mini pancakes which are called poffertjes. In that restaurant particularly, you could get those small pancakes with peaches in cognac, with strawberries, you can get blueberries — they have like 40 toppings you could actually put on your small pancake.
They were delicious, light, and fluffy, so I didn’t feel guilty about eating them.