Hi guys, it’s been a minute since my last blog post and I’ve really missed writing on here. Today i’ll be sharing my experience at a new Chinese restaurant located at No 41. Gana street Maitama Abuja. Prior to my recent return to Abuja, my friend and I made a list of places/restaurants/dishes we wanted to try out and charme restaurant was one of them. Well quite frankly it wasn’t officially on the list but it sorta was. We actually just wanted to visit tea charme and get bubble tea (I’ll be sharing more details in my next blog post). Turns out ‘charme’ also has a supermarket, take out tea spot, and a Chinese restaurant. So we went ahead and checked it all out and we had an awesome experience.

Read all the juicy details below.

The charme restaurant ambience

The restaurant ambience was very beautiful and impressive. Walking into the restaurant you’ll be welcomed by a beautiful mural on one side of the wall and some beautifully placed 3d wall flowers. The entrance sort of looks like a lobby/waiting room and there’s a receptionist placed there to welcome you into the restaurant. Moving from the lobby area, you move into a beautiful white space decorated with a beautiful painting and the most beautiful Chinese lantern inspired light decorations that leads into the restaurant.

The restaurant is quite spacious, you can actually have an event of 50+ people conveniently. Like I said earlier the place is really beautiful and stunning. Although its not very ‘Chinese’ looking, the space combines a very contemporary and elegant look with a touch of modern china. Its very bright and well lit because of the large windows and white paint choice. It honestly looks like a showroom because every corner had a different design which was carefully put together. In general, I would say it’s a really minimal, carefully designed, and family friendly space. It also features a small outdoor area for those who want a breath of fresh air.

The menu

Their food menu features a couple of Chinese cold and hot dishes, as well as some Chinese desserts. The food menu is actually quite affordable but the drinks are over bit over priced in my opinion.

The food and drinks

The ambience was delightful I must say but you see the food, I can confidently say it was the highlight of everything. It was absolutely delicious! I initially wanted to try out the dumplings but it wasn’t available so here’s what I and my friends ordered instead.

Shredded chicken in garlic sauce – NGN4,000

I totally loved this dish. It was everything and more. I didn’t eat a lot of it, but the little I had was really nice. I paired it with the chicken rice and I liked it. I totally recommend it.

Handmade fried noodles – NGN3,500

I had a swell time eating this. As expected the noodles were uneven because they were handmade but it definitely didn’t stop it from being delicious. It was stir fried and as such it was a little bit greasy but it wasn’t really a turn off for me because I like my stir fry noodles a little greasy because it keeps it kinda moist, lol.

Kung pao chicken – NGN3,500

I liked the kung pao chicken just as much as the shredded chicken but I think I prefer the latter. It was delicious and had nuts in it, but I didn’t like the boiled cucumbers because I like my cucumbers crunchy. It’s actually not the first time I’ve had kung pao chicken at a Chinese restaurant that had nuts and cooked cucumber so I guess it’s a thing.

Chicken fried rice – NGN2,500

The chicken fried rice was the best thing I had, I loved everything about it. It was definitely a 10 for me.

Chicken spring roll – NGN1,200

The chicken spring roll was not the regular dry ass, really crispy and empty spring rolls most restaurants often serve. It had the right amount of crunch and they weren’t stingy with the filling. At first I honestly thought it wouldn’t be crunchy at all because it didn’t look like it, it actually kinda looked like meat filled pancake but it eventually turned out to be nice after the first bite. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

The drinks

I had a taste of the chocolate milkshake and mojito.

The chocolate milkshake was the bomb. Very creamy and rich, it also had Maltesers in it which I liked.

The mojito was not great at all! I didn’t like it. It tasted like soda water, mint leaves and lemon. It was tasteless. I tried stirring from the bottom to see if it would be better but it wasn’t. At first it seemed like there was sugar settled at the bottom but nahhh I don’t think there was any. I actually think a mistake occurred while making it. It was the only thing I didn’t like.

General service review

All in all I would say Charme restaurant is a great restaurant. Definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants here in Abuja. Their ambience is great, the have good service and most of all, they have delicious food. I think their food is quite affordable and their serving portions are really great. I’ll definitely want to visit again and try out more dishes from their menu. It’s a restaurant suitable for meetings, family lunch/dinner, dates and even mini events.

Lunch at Charme Restaurant | Chinese cuisine

The charme restaurant ambience

The menu

The food and drinks