i recently discovered Nkoyo...thanks to my on--point friend, adopted bro and all-round #runsman Emmanuel Ogar (@ianspi on twitter). Business lunches should be this much fun. it was a pleasant discovery from the ambience to the food and the service.
we were greeted by a nicely dressed pretty lady, shown to a table of our choosing (wasn't rush-hour)...the regular niceties. nothing overly special but definitely an issue when not available.
Nkoyo in Ceddi Plaza, houses Nkoyo: Nigerian delicacies and grills, and Masala Wahala: South India Cuisine. we did the Nkoyo part of the whole shebang.
The magic began when we were served lightly salted, almost wafer-thin, really crispy chips to get our taste buds ready while we placed our orders. try as i did, i couldn't place the taste. i was pleasantly surprised to hear it was cassava.. 9ce 1! For a health-conscious (i tell myself that) person, that's a great idea. i swore i'd look for it for regular midday snacks.
my starter of grilled pepper wings was a mouth-watering delight. the pepper/chilli was real 9ja pepper...i always get frustrated when i eat 'hot and spicy' pepper wings and i cant feel the insides of my mouth explode in sheer delight at the pepper. and it was a nice serving portion! a doz wings for N1,500. i'm still grinning inwardly at the memory. suffice to say, i had nothing else apart from the Nkoyo fruit cocktail of watermelon, pineapple and....(can't recall the third, oops!)
Ogar had spicy grilled fish (boneless giwan ruwa), which was served with jollof rice. ok, that fillet of fish was a good size sha. and tasted divine. again, the spicy was truly spicy..not peppersoup kinda spicy but nicely hot and soft on the inside. decent portions too.
i had a club sandwich to-go. that turned out nice too. nicely toasted bread, fresh tomatoes, fresh avocado, crisp bacon, lemon mayo...accompanied by a side of fries. ok. my friend had that when i got back to the office so my diet wasn't shot to hell. tasted it. i'm not partial to bacon so i never really liked club sandwiches so.....my friend liked it sha so thats a plus.
ok! before i start nibbling on my knuckles and salivating, lemme do a summary. here goes:
- Location: Nkoyo is at Aminu Kani Cresent, Wuse 2 and also at Ceddi Plaza (Nkoyo/Masala Wahala). that central enough and Ceddi has more parking options since the provision of the extrenal parking lot. 8/10
- Ambience; now, this is a high point scorer here. the floors are wooden tiles (teak, from Kaduna..made in Kaduna). lightly buffed, they provide a great foundation for the earth-tones ambience. strategically placed palm and other well-treated plants makes for a warmness that's instantly inviting and calming. i loved the lights, the wooden and other art pieces and the stairway in Masala Wahala...anyway, the pics attached say more. 9/10
- Food/Drink: ok, i've only had the cassava chips, crazy-cool pepper wings and a stolen helping of the spicy grilled fish. but what i had, i positively loved. i'd have liked that the drinks were slightly larger..like a medium glass of chapman but that's me being liquid-greedy sha. 8/10
- pricing: ook. for starters, a doz wings, well prepared, well served for N1500. i'm loving. 'nuff said. lol. spicy grilled fish 2950 and club sandwich 1500...in all, not bad abi? 9/10 cos if e cheap pass, i for no complain (i hear my friend yelling 'tif'!)
that's about it. been there, had fun..going back soon.
