Lifestyle

Who remembers my date from this post? Well this is the restaurant bae took me too.

Before the last Sunday, i had never heard of "barkono grill" which was strange cause it's right next to Chloe's cupcake and former yogurberry which were my all time place to be. Plus i know a whole lot of restaurants in Abuja, yet had never heard of this one.

So, we got there at 8:00 pm. There was a family birthday going on inside and it kind of made for a not so quiet date that we had had in mind. Anyway, i didn't really mind the birthday going on and before long, i and the Mr. Found ourselves been photographers to the family. It didn't take long before they were gone and we had the whole restaurant to ourself, which gave me time to really look around and get the feel of the place.  Let me just say "Barkono grill" cracks me up, i laugh anytime i hear or say that name, cause "Barkono" is a hausa word which actually means "pepper" it's a real memorable name to give a place that would most definitely get people to remember it, especially those who know the meaning. And they have an equally memorable slogan that says "Abuja just got hotter" lol. Really catchy. Let's get to it then, shall we..

MY THOUGHTS ON.... ?

Location and decor

It is located at the ground floor, Abiding grace plaza, Ahmadu bello way, Apo gudu, Abuja. A casual walk in.

The decor is simple, lots of browns and red, wooden chairs and tables are arranged in a casual setting of a walk in grill and the entire place has got this refined native vibe to it, with some sort of brick walls separating the dining area from the service area. There's a real cute little artsy table piece.(which i love)  I also love the informative bits they got on their wall explaining foodie stuffs like the difference between barbecue and grill.. Stuffs like that.

Menu and service

I loved the menu. Really pretty and very educative. Lol.  I found it utterly refreshing, if you know me, you know about my loathing for complicated menu. They have got this cute one page menu separate for meals and drinks. They also got this board with the main dish menu written on it in case you preferred to make your order from there. The service was polite and friendly (even respectful)

The food did take a long while to arrive. But i loved that the waiter was really attentive, apologized for the delay and said its because what we both ordered was "specially prepared" I was allowed.. Even encouraged to take pictures and i spent time taking pictures and chatting up with my date *blushing* while waiting for the food, we of course ordered our drinks. I had chapman while the Mr. Had a mojito. Of course i had a taste of both drink. The chapman was good, basic, nothing out of the ordinary. The mojito took time to warm up to, (of course, I'v never had a mojito before so i had nothing to compare with) but the Mr. Said it was fair. It had these mint leaves in it and after a while, the mint leaves settled in the drink and i think i loved it more then.

The food

Finally, the food arrived. It was really late, we both didn't order much, i was already half full infact so i decided to play it safe.

I ordered lamb chops and a side dish of extra spicy french fries.

He ordered steak (something called the porter house steak) with a side dish of fried rice. Our food got mixed up, and i got the rice with my lamb chops while he got the chips with his steak. We just turned the food and ate from each others plate (romantic right) and that was fine by me cause i went ahead to eat his food too.  I have to confess, i loved the steak, i didn't want to be rude or anything if not, i'd have fone ahead to finish his meal. Lol. It was so good, it took me by surprise. My lamb chops were nice too, really tender but it had the smokey taste was a bit too strong for me

Oh we were also given cake, from the birthday that happened earlier. But i could barely eat it cause i was so full. We didn't even finish our food so we both asked that it should be packed to go. (word of advice, when going on a date that involves food. Please don't eat all afternoon)

Conclusion Barkono grill?? 

The food was good and the environment was cozy. Great service (which is always a piority for me) the price (am a bit skeptical about, i think its quite pricey but none the less, you get the value of what you pay for) i love the ambience too.

If there is something i'd complain about, i think it would be the seats(not very conducive for lovers trying to have some quiet alone time) But for a lunch or some casual or semi formal dinner, i'd definitely go there again. Especially since I've heard good things about their chicken barbeque, that's next on my list to go try. So if you happen to be around apo or somwhere near and hungry for a good barbeque or grilled meal.. Then you should totally check out the Barkono grill. I recommend it.

Biko don't mind my pictures, still learning.

Let's interact....

Do you prefer grilled or barbecue meals? What takes precedence when you visit a restaurant? Good food or good service?