Pheeww! it almost feels like i have taken 1 month to write this blog post but really i drafted it like a week ago. For some reason anytime i visit Cafe Dimanche i always drag my feet to write a review, but this time i’m fighting the demons and sharing it because it is totally worth the read!
Cafe Dimanche is located at Food City , Bangui street Abuja, Nigeria. I first visited cafe Dimanche with my girls when it first opened in 2021 and i wouldn’t really say it was excellent (check out the first review on my instagram page @rukky_ambursa). However, i hoped it would actually get better by the time i visited next, so i gave it some time and gave it another try this year. Here is how my latest experience went down.
Ambience
The ambience looks pretty much the same as the last time i visited, except for the bird cage chair addition on the inside and the umbrellas in the outdoor sitting area. The space is still nice and neatly maintained although it is starting to feel a bit crowded.
Menu
The cafe Dimanche menu has improved since my last visit and now offers quite a number of indigenous dishes which really stood out for me. I love that they tilted towards satisfying our Nigerian taste buds with delicious dishes. The labari grill stood out for me especially. The menu pricing is still quite affordable and can fit a N10,000 budget for two. It would also interest you to know that they are making a few more Nigerian friendly additions like uniquely made fried yam and plantain with egg sauce. I am looking forward to trying it out soon.
Food
Now here’s where it gets juicy, The food part! We ordered the labari jollof with fried chicken, plamb, french fries, combo bucket from the labari grill and sheet cake for dessert .
Labari jollof with fried chicken – NGN5,000
I’m starting off with this because it was the most tasty dish for me. It was a combo of authentic Palm oil Nigerian jollof, fried plantain, tripe and liver. It was served with fried chicken. The labari jollof costs NGN3,500 and the fried chicken costs N1,500. Before i get in too deep, if you spend N5,000 dish it may be the best N5,000 you will ever spend on jollof rice. The jollof rice checked all the boxes! It was not dry, it had adequate moisture, the plantain was freshly made so it was steaming hot. The liver and other proteins served with the jollof were tender and also tastefully prepared. one more thing i loved about this dish is the plating, the way it is served makes you droll even before you taste it. The plating style definitely make you appreciate the dish better.
Plamb – NGN5,000
The plamb dish is a combo of lamb and plantain sauce served with cous cous. This dish was surprisingly outstanding for me, I’ve never had cous cous quite like this before. I can’t fully describe the ingredients of the sauce but i know it was amazing and was a perfect pair for the cous cous. The sauce also had some mixed vegetables which i enjoyed.
Combo bucket(medium) – NGN4,000
The combo bucket is basically a medium platter with Balangu, chicken suya, beef suya and gas meat served with vegetables and nan bread. I was a bit disappointed at first when it wasn’t served in a bucket like the name implied, but i guess the tray like dish helps you appreciate what is served better. Everything served in the dish was a bit cold though but it was enjoyable. The gas meat was quite tough and hard to eat but every other thing was tasty.
Sheet cake topped with ice cream – NGN2,000
We ordered the sheet cake particularly for a friend celebrating her birthday and we were able to get it decorated with sprinkles and whipped cream on special request. The sheet cake was very moist and soft. I loved that it wasn’t too sweet and it paired nicely with the Vanilla ice cream. I will definitely be ordering it for dessert next time. (P.s i didn’t get a picture of it)
French fries – NGN1,000 per portion
Drinks
We had the iced strawberry mint lemonade and pina colada smoothie.
Iced strawberry mint lemonade – NGN1,500 The iced lemonade tasted pretty much the same as the last time i went. It tasted like an effortless drink really. I would not say i loved it, but i also wouldn’t say i hated it.
Pina colada smoothie – NGN2,000 The pina colada smoothie was quite rich. It had all the right ingredients and i definitely enjoyed it.
TOTAL BILL – NGN29,025 (including VAT and service charge)
General review
At my first visit to Cafe Dimanche, i totally liked the space but i wasn’t so sure about the food. The savory dishes i had were a bit bland, however the sweet dishes were nice. I felt like nahhh after the hype of the place dies down people definitely won’t be there a lot because the food wasn’t all that to me. Going back now i would say i am quite impressed. The upgrades to the menu were necessary. I absolutely love the new flavors and the efforts they are making to keep customers coming and happy. I would definitely be visiting again soon.
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DIARY OF A SOFT BABE 