If they are worse things than going to Benin restaurants and having a bad experience, it cannot be very many. We know all about bad service at food establishments and have decided to be the sacrificial lamb so you can always have the best experience or at least know what you’re getting into.
We visited some of the popular food establishments in the city. And in this post, we have grouped them into the good, the bad and the ugly, so say thank you.
The Good
Establishments in this category are the best you can find as far as Benin is concerned. They are for original ballers who do not take rubbish from anyone. Mind you, we are not saying these are perfect, but you will be hard-pressed to find something truly damning about them.
Imperial Bizzo
Here, you get delicious meals and great customer service. I’m talking friendly waiters (with proper home training) that will treat you like royalty. While their food took a bit of time to arrive, it was worth the wait in the end. Please note that they have this dark aesthetic thing they do where they turn off all the lights. If you are looking to take pictures of your food and aesthetics for the Gram, you will have to turn on your flash at Imperial Bizzo. But if you are the type that like doing things your mother will not be proud of in those dark cinema theatres, you will fit right in.
Sip and Dip
If you want delicious meals and cocktails to literally die for, Sip and Dip is your best bet in Benin. And guess what, it is actually affordable (like miracle nor dey tire our Lord Jesus). Now, their space is a bit small and cramped because people are always there, but it is very beautiful and pleasant to look at.
EJ Cuisine
Ah, EJ Cuisine has an alluring space that will make you want to stay forever. That and the fact that their food and drinks are actually very good made the visit here a very memorable experience. Their food did take a while but maybe good food takes that long to prepare.
AWX Cafe
AWX Cafe is unique in that it is a breakfast cafe (so tea or coffee?). They had one of the friendliest waitstaff and the breakfast was delicious. You can’t have a bad day after eating there, trust me. Especially since their menu is so affordable. It was an absolutely delightful experience at AWX Cafe.
The Bad
These Benin restaurants are by no means horrible. They just do not live up to the hype. Feel free to visit them but don’t expect to be blown away by impeccable service. Who knows, they might just surprise you.
Choplife Republic
ChopLife Republic was great. I love that there is a VIP lounge, which you get access to once you pay for the platter because nothing gets me excited like a good dose of classism. However, on our visit, their small chops (ChopLife is basically small chops and fried chicken) were too sugary. Note that ChopLife is a bit too expensive for what they offer.
Flow Lounge
Flow Lounge has a fantastic-looking space that just makes your food more enjoyable. But their menu is rather expensive and we had to change our orders about four times because they didn’t have many of the items on their menu. So basically they present a menu list with a lot of dishes just to make it seem like you have a lot of choices. That’s got to be fraud, gotn’t it?
Buka Spot
If there’s one thing I like about Buka Spot, it’s how down-to-earth it is. It is basically a Buka for the bougie but it’s not all in the aesthetics. Buka Spot offers one of the best amala I’ve ever tasted. And their food is also affordable. But alas, their design choice might be the thing that brings their ratings down because their furniture (wooden chairs and tables) is just darn uncomfortable.
Creep Downtown
Another great-looking space to eat food, Creep Downtown is decent. On our visit, their barman wasn’t around and that nearly spoiled our whole experience. Why? Their cocktail nearly killed us and their food wasn’t that great either. But we got a feeling that the Creep was just having a bad day.
Barcode Station
Barcode is in the Bad section because nothing stood out about it, both for good and bad. Their food was just great and just affordable. With just a little bit of effort, Barcode could be sitting in the premium category and I think that’s saying a lot.
The Ugly
This refers to bottom-tier Benin restaurants that are not giving at all. Through some deliberate act or a simple lack of thought, they have ended here. If you are thinking of going to these, my advice would be to proceed with caution.
D28
If there’s any place that truly deserves its bad rating, it is D28. First of all, their customer service was extremely poor with unbelievably very rude staff. The food was terrible and we saw dead flies in our drinks. At some point, the staff of D28 sprayed insecticide possibly to flavour their horrible food with more dead flies. They also started sweeping and mopping while we were seated. In fact, that place is a health hazard, as far as I’m concerned
Reign Restaurant
A bag of contradictions, Reign Restaurant confused the hell out of me. Because of its name, we were expecting fine dining. But once we got there, we discovered that it was just a glorified fast food joint. Also, tell me why they have round tables and waiters but you still have to go to the counter to order food. I don’t even want to go into the arcade wahala of the whole thing. The one good thing about Reign Restaurant is that it is very spacious and if their red aesthetics doesn’t put you off, you might like some of their snacks.
The Quid
If you like insults, The Quid will serve you well. Their waitstaff is incredibly rude to paying customers. The cocktail they served us was expensive but extremely bad. Everything we saw before going to The Quid felt like false advertising. Those mouthwatering-looking drinks? Terrible!
Let’s Wrap This Up
Restaurants pop up every day in Benin and will not give us breathing space. Some will have fine exteriors but the nonsense that goes on inside will leave you shaking. This is not an appraisal of any of these restaurants, it’s just an opinion, and keep in mind that any of these establishments can change for better or worse in the future. In any case, we will keep an eye on them and report.
We certainly missed some of your favourite Benin restaurants. Comment below.
Check out the best places to get cocktails in Benin here.
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